<p>@ jvtDad </p>
<p>Yeah, I know a Bangladeshi (non-U.S. citizen) girl who’s been accepted at Berea College in KY and she’s getting a full ride. Her SAT score was around 1700.</p>
<p>I think I’ll add that school to my list after all.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>2collegewego, yes, a friends son managed to fail out of a highly selective college and left to move to another state. He had to pay his own costs as his parents said no to any more college tuition. He worked for a year or maybe two at which time the college granted him in-state tuition (he was, at the time 21) but he was not able to get additional financial help until he was 24. He kept a 4.0 scholarship and received a significant department grant as well as being able to file for his senior year as independent. Residency and financial aid independence are different hurdles.</p>
<p>Let’s talk terminology for a sec: Full Ride means tuition, room, and board are paid for. Full tuition means just tuition is paid for. Merit aid or non-need-based aid is money based on academic achievement (grades, test scores, etc.) or other skills and capabilities desired by the school; need-based aid is money based on your family income and assets (or lack thereof).</p>
<p>So when you say your schoolmate got a full ride at Berea, understand that this award is need-based. Students with moderate or higher family income/assets can’t go to Berea. So Berea only makes sense for you if your family’s income and assets are low.</p>
<p>If you have low family income/assets, then you have many financial aid possibilities beyond schools like Berea. You started out the thread asking about Full Ride scholarships that are merit-based - these are usually sought by students with higher income since they don’t have access to the need-based aid.</p>
<p>@ 2collegewego</p>
<p>Nope, I didn’t take anything because they don’t HAVE them in Bangladesh. So, no, I’m not eligible.</p>
<p>I really don’t want to be a burden to anyone. I appreciate your suggestion and it only makes sense. But I want to be on my own - TOTALLY.</p>
<p>@happymomof1</p>
<p>The only two schools like that here are the American International School Dhaka and the International School Dhaka. They don’t let any outside students (doesn’t matter even if you’re an American citizen) take any tests or anything. They’re quite stingy, have this…attitude.</p>
<p>@BobWallace</p>
<p>That’s the very first list I looked up when I was looking for full ride schools. It has Coppin State University, which is on the other list too, if I’m not mistaken. I also marked Florida A & M University and Louisiana Tech University. Oh and Alabama University too.</p>
<p>So, you’re 100% sure that the schools on the list you shared which say that guarantee a full ride, they actually do guarantee it?</p>
<p>Of course I’ll check each school individually, but I want to make sure I’m on the right track this time.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>@ BobWallace</p>
<p>I’m qualified for any need-based aid out there. I even qualify for the SAT and college application fee waivers. My family can’t invest for my education in the United States.</p>
<p>That’s why me and a great friend of mine started looking up the need-blind admissions on Wikipedia. Due to the need-blind schools nature, they’re all very selective.</p>
<p>The only less competitive schools I found so far are Knox College, Denison University, Lawrence University and Beloit College.</p>
<p>But 4 schools isn’t just enough. I’m adding Berea College. </p>
<p>I know I’m sounding really stupid due to not knowing these things and not having a clear concept of how things are happening in the United States. I mean, I haven’t been in the USA for about 10 years. This is the result.</p>
<p>Anyway, now you know that I’m qualified for any need-based aid. </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I don’t see those 4 colleges on the usual list of “meet full need.” Didn’t see it in their web sites-?</p>
<p>Try to run the NPC/Net Price Calculator for schools you are interested in. You also want to see if they include loans in meeting need. Because nearly all schools leave you with some cost and you may need to finance that. If they already “gifted” you with a loan, then it’s not available for your own final costs.</p>
<p>Also, about working- the schools will likely give you “work study,” an on campus job, maybe 10 hour/week, flexible scheduling to accommodate your class times- usually $1700-2200 worth. That can cover your misc personal monthly. Whether or not you can work off-campus will depend on where that school is located, what the local economy is like- and how far you have to go to get to that job.</p>
<p>What is your gpa, have you taken the rigorous track of classes at your school? If I’m understanding, you don’t have a SAT score yet?</p>
<p>ps. I hate to think you’re looking this up on wiki- can you get a Princeton Review or Fiske Guide?</p>
<p>Remember, “need based aid” means the school calculates your need, not you. Even “meets 100% of need” is based on what they think you need. Go look at finaid.org, which will help you learn.</p>
<p>Does Berea give “free rides”??? I could be wrong, but I thought that they only gave free tuition. If so, then you’d still have to pay for room, board, books, personal expenses, transportation, AND int’l transportation. That could easily be $15k or more per year. You may get a $5500 student loan, a $5550 Pell grant, but how would you cover the rest?</p>
<p>Full tuition is the minimum at Berea - they do give additional financial aid, including guaranteed full ride when they admit international students.</p>
<p>"@ 2collegewego … I really don’t want to be a burden to anyone. I appreciate your suggestion and it only makes sense. But I want to be on my own - TOTALLY."</p>
<p>Yes, that’s the point. You would probably only get instate tuition if you are totally on your own and have been for some time-- often a full calendar year. </p>
<p>You have not given your gpa or class standing so it’s hard to assess how strong a student you are (and that is hard, anyway, when looking at a foreign school). If you are an average student, your chances of finding a meet full needs college decrease dramatically. If your mom is low income, you may qualify for a Pell Grant and student loan. </p>
<p>I think these are some good options for you:
1- Come to the U.S., find a job, support yourself, be accepted at a state school that gives you instate tuition and pay your way through.</p>
<p>2- Apply to and find a work college (Berea is one. There are others; just google.) And see if that is workable. </p>
<p>3- On another thread, happymomof1 gave you excellent advice:
Run a search for the threads started by momfromtexas to find out how to find good merit aid for students with lower scores.</p>
<p>including guaranteed full ride when they admit international students</p>
<p>The OP isn’t an int’l. Would he still qualify?</p>
<p>No he would be treated as US and anything above tuition would be need-based. It likely explains the aid his friend received, however.</p>
<p>Coppin State offers Golden Eagle scholarships for those with a 3.2 GPA and an SAT score of 1820. It covers tuition, fees, room and board. I don’t think it’s automatic.</p>
<p>It seems like you may be interested in HBCUs. Here are some other ones with big merit aid:</p>
<p>Fisk University (Nashville, TN) offers a full scholarship to students with a 3.7 unweighted GPA and an 1860 SAT score. You must maintain a 3.5 GPA to keep it, plus community service and a study abroad requirement.</p>
<p>Hampton University (Hampton, VA) offers a Trustee Scholarship that covers tuition, room, and board plus a $500 book stipend. You have to have a 1400 CR+M. If you have a 1300 CR+M, you are eligible for the Presidential Scholarship, which is tuition, room, and board.</p>
<p>Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, AL) offers a Presidential Scholarship if you have at least a 3.7 GPA and a 1300 CR+M SAT score. It’s full tuition, room, and board.</p>
<p>Dillard University (New Orleans, LA) offers a full scholarship for a 3.8 GPA and a 1220 SAT CR+M score.</p>
<p>North Carolina A&T (Greensboro, NC) offers two full scholarships. One is the National Alumni Association Scholarship - you have to have at least a 3.0 GPA and an 1100 CR+M SAT score, but I’m pretty sure in order to actually be competitive you need to have higher scores. They also have the Lewis and Elizabeth Dowdy Scholarship, which you are eligible for with a 3.75 GPA and a 1200 CR+M SAT score.</p>
<p>I don’t think any of them are guaranteed, but you will be competitive for them at least.</p>
<p>Check the EducationUSA website for the location of the advising center in your country of residence. The counselors there are expert at helping students educated in that country find good places to study in the US. If they haven’t worked with a US citizen recently, they have colleagues in other offices who have. EducationUSA is a not-for-profit organization, so any fees they have for theirservices will be minimal.</p>
<p>For Howard ( Go Bisons!), the offer is first-come-first-served until the money runs out.</p>
<p>" Scholarships are awarded until all funds have been exhausted and not all eligible applications will receive an award.", so not guarenteed. Also an HBCU…not that there’s anything wrong with that!</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.howard.edu/financialaid/grants_scholarships.htm[/url]”>http://www.howard.edu/financialaid/grants_scholarships.htm</a></p>
<p>@ lookingforward </p>
<p>I don’t know, these 4 schools were each on the need-blind admissions list. Lawrence University says that they “try” to meet full need of their applicants.</p>
<p>Yeah, that’s the sort of plan I have. What other choice do I have besides work-study programs and loans?
I’ll look for the guide at the American Center (EducationUSA) over here.</p>
<p>Okay, first of all - I went to a typical Bangladeshi school where the eduacation literally SUCKS. I went to a Bengali medium, not Edexcel or anything like that.</p>
<p>The GPA is scale is 5 over here.</p>
<p>High school means up to 10th grade in Bangladeshi schools, college starts from 12th grade (pff, see how stupid everything is here?!?)</p>
<p>My 10th grade GPA was 5 on a scale of 5. My 12th grade finals are coming out on the 18th of July. I’m hoping to get a 4.8 on the scale of 5, AT LEAST. </p>
<p>Correct, I never took the SATs before. They don’t know a THING about a THING that has to do ANYTHING with American education over here at typical Bangladeshi schools!</p>
<p>I miss America. All I want to do is get accepted somewhere with a full ride or <em>almost</em> a full ride, be it a need-blind school or one like Berea College. I don’t care! I just want to come back home! I haven’t been in the United States for 10 long years. I’m homesick - THERE, I said it!</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>@ juillet</p>
<p>Thank you so much! I think I might have a chance at these schools. These all seem pretty doable.</p>
<p>@ happymomof1</p>
<p>Right. I’m volunteering there and I’m attending their seminars regularly. Thanks</p>
<p>@ Shrinkrap</p>
<p>I guess then I don’t have to omit Howard University from the list. Thank you.</p>
<p>Oh and, the courses I had to take in high school were all fixed by the teachers. You don’t get to choose from a lot of options like you do in the United States.</p>
<p>Here they are:</p>
<p>a) English (1st & 2nd Paper)</p>
<p>b) Bengali (1st & 2nd Paper)</p>
<p>c) Accounting (1st & 2nd Paper)</p>
<p>d) Economics (1st & 2nd Paper)</p>
<p>e) Principles Of Business (1st & 2nd Paper)</p>
<p>f) Business Entrepreneurship (1st & 2nd Paper)</p>
<p>g) Mathematics (General)</p>
<p>h) General Science</p>
<p>i) Computer Science</p>
<p>These are the courses I had to take from 9th grade to 12th grade.</p>
<p>@ juillet</p>
<p>For the HBCUs, don’t I have to be from a specific ethnic background or anything?</p>
<p>I’m an American citizen by birth, but my parents are from Bangladesh. My father’s a citizen of America, my mother isn’t. So, what am I, an Indian American or Asian American? I know this is a really dumb question, but what should I put during filling in different forms online? What is my race or ethnicity or whatever?</p>
<p>I just want to know whether or not I qualify for the HBCUs.</p>