<p>Are these three safeties enough? (I'm an international homeschooled student seeking FA, btw.) Or should I add a few more? The application fees are already pretty hefty, though...</p>
<p>Grinnell is not a safety for anyone unless you have a very unusual connection you haven't mentioned (like a parent on the faculty).</p>
<p>There are virtually no safeties for an international needing aid. The situation is better if you only need a little aid. If you need a lot, for those to even be a match you would need very high stats, and as a home schooler, extremely high scores.</p>
<p>Same goes for Colgate. With an admission rate of just 24% last year (I don't have this year's numbers) it may be a match for some, but it's not a safety for anyone. </p>
<p>Oh, OK... what's the acceptance rate for Grinnell? I couldn't find a hard figure by Googling it. I suppose these aren't really "safeties" per se, but more something to fall back on if I don't get into the really top schools, and after those come the universities on this side of the Atlantic.</p>
<p>I think the universities I have the best chances of getting in are those here in Britain; this is why I'm not applying to American colleges with acceptance rates like 80%, as application fees do add up quite quickly (plus the fact that it's hard to find many, apart from the usual colleges, that are good and offer a reasonable amount of FA to internationals)</p>
<p>@hmom5: How high is extremely high?</p>
<p>Try this website: College</a> Search - Find colleges and universities by major, location, type, more.</p>
<p>Also, though you didn't ask, Colgate and Grinnell are very different schools. Small colleges have distinct social and academic cultures, and before applying you should try to figure out what the predominant culture is and whether it fits you. Colgate is on a beautiful but geographically isolated campus in rural upstate NY -- Division I athletics, strong Greek system, many preppy students, and lots and lots of partying. I know less about Grinnell, but it, too, is isolated -- in the cornfields of Iowa. Its student body is more funky than Colgate's and there are no fraternities or sororities. Both schools have strong academics.</p>
<p>^Thanks, that's a really useful tool ^^</p>
<p>I don't think I'll be partying much, but I'm not sure what location or school size would fit me best.</p>
<p>python -- I suggest that you buy a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges. It's the best of the "Big Books" IMO. There's basic statistical data for more than 300 U.S. colleges on such factors as location, size, cost, graduation rates, selectivity, and yield. For each school there's also a useful narrative that discusses academics, campus culture, housing, food, special programs, what makes each school distinctive, etc. A guidebook can't substitute for actual campus visits, but at least you'll get an idea of what's out there.</p>
<p>Grinnell had an acceptance rate of 27% this year, with average ACT around a 31 or 32 and SAT around 2000 and 2100. That does not mean if you have above that average you will get in. You need to have at least those scores + top grades/class rank+top essay+ really strong ECs. It is very selective and is not a guarantee for anybody, but especially not a international with FA.</p>
<p>^ A lot of sources say 50% acceptance rate for Grinnell...or a pretty high number. Those are usually a couple years old.</p>
<p>How much financial aid are you looking for? If you don't mind large schools, Canadian universities usually charge less...though I don't know about how much aid they give.</p>
<p>According to collegeboard: Colgate had 24% acceptance rate, 1365 median SAT; Grinnell had 43% acceptance rate, 1340 median SAT, Illinois Institute of Technology had 57% acceptance rate, 1235 median SAT. I doubt Grinnell's admit rate dropped from 43% to 27% in a year when most LACs had a higher acceptance rate than the year before. </p>
<p>How did you pick these three schools to look at? They're very different from each other.</p>
<p>I promise you Grinnells did: here is the link from an ADMISSION officers blog:</p>
<p>Grinnell</a> College Admission & Financial Aid: Boarding pass, please</p>
<p>
[quote]
This made our acceptance decisions this year particularly difficult as we were only able to admit 27% of this year’s applicants compared to 36% last year.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>and btw college board is wrong, per the common data set last years admit rate was 36%</p>
<p>You need to haul your ass into the International Students forum. Seriously. Asking for FA as an international student is immensely unreliable, and Grinnell most of all isn't a safety unless you've got some bangin' stats.</p>
<p>I haven't taken the SAT yet, but I've been getting 2200-2300 on practice tests. I picked Grinnell, IIT and Colgate because they all have no application fee for online applicants (I can barely afford the application fees as is, TBH), and all of them have awarded a reasonable amount of FA to internationals according to the thread on international student aid.</p>
<p>Would it be worth applying to Canadian universities as well? I don't know much about them.</p>
<p>@fiona_: OK, I'll, er, go and ask there, lol :). Thanks for the heads-up.</p>