Help with suggestions for international needing full-ride

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics

  • international student
  • Bangladesh
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): NCTB curriculum (graduated 12th. Applying to US as a freshman)

Cost Constraints / Budget
Almost no budget

Intended Major(s)
Physics (don’t mind CSE)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.93 (in 12th final, i.e. HSC)
  • Class Rank: 1st from 6th to 10th. And, no ranking in 11th and 12th.
  • SAT Scores: 1390 (can go SAT-optional as well)

List your HS coursework
HSC (Science group)

And, I believe all the coursework of high level of A level is included.

Awards

  • reached national and regional level of Olympiads (Physics, NEO, Math)
  • stayed the top of my class from 6 to 10.
  • (I don’t remember the name of the event that’s why I’m not adding it in the awards list, but I plan to mention it from LOR) so basically, during 8th grade, I joined this specific event (programming problem-solving related) and I was the second out of all of them, the first won by 1 minute time difference.
  • Certificate of Appreciation (one of the best contributor to the company) from Khelboo

Extracurriculars

  • Co-founded a tech startup. Basically, I worked on the web development and giving ideas and critical thinking since the very beginning.
  • Took the Lead in the First-Ever Hackathon at Schoolhouse (used my previous experience and utilized everyone’s idea to make it success and taken the fourth place)
  • Leo Club of Emerging Centennial (Lead Temar, Treasurer, Vice-president) (I was active during my temar years. And, it was in 6th or 7th grade)
  • Author of a Novella in Bengali and a Poetry Book (consists of 100, but in the description I had written 70+) (in draft)
  • Tutor at Eden Residential School & College (part-time Math of 10th graders) (Mathematics and Physics)
  • Prepared foods (overnight) for the people who faced flood
  • Topped-up in-game diamonds (managed several groups at the same time. Ensured that each client’s needs are met)

(I have the description written. But, I thought it would become very long if I added all of them. So, I tried my best to bring the most important values)
Essays/LORs/Other

  • Essay is good enough if not perfect
  • I would rate my first two LOR 4 out of 10 (almost AI generated). I hope the next 2 will be 7 or 8 out of 10.
  • I will add the poetry book, and it is 30% perfect, 20% good, and other 50% are so-so.

I would prefer to ensure 90%+ need-based or merit-based financial aid/scholarship.

School :
I am interested in research particularly. So, I would prefer if the designated university/college have a lab facility. I want to major in Bachelor of Science not Bachelor of Arts.

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This nominal partiality would eliminate many colleges with notably strong physics programs, however.

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But if the university/college has good coursework and research opportunities, I can give it a try if I have the chance of getting good financial aid.

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Does no budget mean you can pay $95,000 US a year. Or you have no funds and need a full ride ?

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No funds

I am not specifically looking for full ride cause I know it’s literally impossible given my profile. I would prefer to get 90%+ unless it’s literally impossible for me.

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That’s a big difference from no budget.

Need based schools provide based on how they determine your need. No idea if you’d get 90%.

Therefore it’s too hard to match you.

Ps most colleges have good coursework and research. That’s all over.

Good luck.

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Need based schools

That’s what I’m aiming for. But, I was asking to see if it’s possible to match me given my profile.

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@MYOS1634 has a solid understanding of international school systems and may have suggestions that fit your profile.

I’ll check back later with a list of schools that offer need based aid to international students. Sorry, running into a meeting now.

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Thanks a lot. It’s ok. I would appreciate any suggestions, even no suggestions as everyone is busy with everything. Your time means a lot. :blush:
Thanks

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While it’s true that no one can estimate what need based aid you would get based on your post, there is a very limited number of schools that meet full need for international students. I’ve seen a list posted on reddit but hesitant to repost it here since I’m not sure if it’s accurate. But, the list does include a few schools with an average SAT of 1390. Best of luck to you.

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Would it be possible to share the link?

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How do your HSC results compare nationally (ie., top 0.5, top1%, top2%, top 5%, top10%, top 20% nationally…) ?

Physics is a good major to apply for, not as much competition as for CSE or such, more colleges offering it (and if you’re a girl it helps because the field still has a huge gender imbalance.)

Any chance you can train for and try for the ACT?

An obvious suggestion would be Lawrence University in WI.

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above 64% students. The percentile isn’t provided directly. I just made a calculation.

GPA 5 is above 74% for my city.

if you’re a girl it

I’m a guy. :3

The cost is very high. Though, they provide a generous amount of financial aid, but honestly that’s not good enough.

Thanks for the suggestion tho. I’ll add it to my list.

4.83

I noticed that I mistyped. But other information are correct.

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So, when you say, “no budget”, you’re saying even $5300 (USD) a year is more than your family can afford?

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yeah. more or less.
They can barely manage to pay once.

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You’re looking for a school that will pay for books, room and board as well.

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How is this split between the math and English scores? This is quite low for many of the schools in the US that meet full need for international students.

Were these letters of reference written by people who know you well?

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Did you run the NPC (net price calculator) for Lawrence U?

Have you run NPCs for any school and found the aid to be sufficient for your family? If so, what schools were affordable?

There are schools that provide full need (as they define it) for international students. Some of these schools are need-aware, which means they will consider a student’s financial need when making an application decision. Unfortunately, most of these schools are extremely competitive for any student, even domestic students. International students often need to be the top in their country to gain these acceptances. Please make sure you have more realistic options in your home country as a backup plan.

Concentrate on meet-need schools. You can also take a chance on less prestigious schools that may possibly meet your need, even though they most likely will have no prestige or recognition in your home country. If a US education is your primary goal over international name-recognition, let us know. An affordable acceptance should be your number one priority. When and if you have affordable acceptances in hand you can consider your other preferences, such as strength of major, geographic location, etc.

Schools known to offer generous aid to international students (in no particular order)… run the NPCs and confirm policies on their websites. Some of these are out of reach for your stats, but this gives you a starting point for research.
Wesleyan, Wellesley, Haverford, Duke, Dartmouth, Williams, Washington & Lee, Vassar, Amherst, Georgetown, Cornell, Stanford, Pitzer, Smith, Harvard, Pomona, Yale, Vanderbilt, Bowdoin, Skidmore, Princeton, Brown
(Hopefully others will add those I may have missed.)

There are other schools that may not meet-need or have limited funds for international students, but may be affordable if you qualify for merit aid or meet other institutional priorities:
Gettysburg College
Rhodes College
Alabama
Mississippi
@tsbna44 , you know more about this area… do you have suggestions?

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Here is a resource I started following after a poster shared it here a couple years ago. (Sorry I can’t recall who at the moment.) This may be helpful in identifying other schools generous with aid for international students.

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Applying to Berea College could be a good idea. They accept only students who need full rides, and provide a tuition-free education with other costs met through their on-campus work program. Berea is very well-regarded and has an extremely strong alumni network.

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