Heyo, I’m a rising senior with no idea of what schools I would have a shot at.
Profile:
Indian male, applying from India but spent most of life in England
Currently attending a well regarded IB boarding school
Trans and pansexual (lol)
Both parents have degrees from India
Need fin aid for sure, family income around $45k
Academics:
2290 old SAT (CR 770, M 780, W 740) [one sitting. Writing sucks ik]
excellent grades in grades 9 and 10
also the first semester of junior year (42/45 IB) but then it fell to around 38 because of mental health issues - I have the chance to improve again in senior year
Will either do subject tests or the ACT with writing in senior year
Want to study Linguistics - subject to change
Achievements?
Did YYGS last year and will do TASP this summer
Also attending the IB World Scholars Conference
In a couple of sustainability / language clubs
Part of a team that fundraises for our school
Played the lead in a school play (kind of grasping at straws here)
Should have excellent essays and LoRs.
Thanks, and feel free to reverse chance me and suggest good fits What would be a safety?
Chance me for Brown, George Washington, Rice, UChicago, UPenn, UCs?
The ivies are a super high reach, as well as UChicago and Rice. The UCs look a lot at stats, and you need subject tests. From what I see, George Washington might be a good fit; you really need to lower your expectations.
You’re an international student from India who needs a lot of financial aid.
YOU HAVE NO SAFETIES.
Read through this subforum, especially the pinned thread for those needing a lot of financial aid. Lower your expectations, cast a WIDE net, apply to a lot of schools and have a back up plan. The reality is that you may not get into the selective schools you listed or will not get enough FA to attend.
What jumps out at me is the $45,000 annual income.
Tuition alone at Brown is more than your family makes in a year.
You sound like a bright kid-- do the math and come up with a college list that starts off by being affordable. Don’t assume that there are a whole lot of schools willing to GIVE you a college education.
California UC’s are $60K+/year and no financial aid for International students. As stated by @katliamom, you have not safeties here in the US due to financial need.
Depending on the OP’s immigration status in the UK, he may have the same access to financial aid as UK nationals. He may have perfectly affordable options in Europe.
However, international students with significant financial need don’t have any “safe” options in the US. (Not even matches, to be honest.) The safest it will get are guaranteed full-tuition merit scholarships based on SAT scores, but that’s no good if you cannot afford to pay for your living expenses out of pocket. Budget at least $20,000 a year for living expenses, textbooks, airfare, health insurance, visa expenses, fees not covered by your scholarship, etc. You would need more in expensive cities.
Need-based financial aid for international students is extremely competitive. Here’s an example. I went to Bryn Mawr, which has an overall acceptance rate of around 40%. The domestic students were (mostly) bright but not exceptional. However, the international financial aid recipients were all exceptional, every single one of them. One student was the head of the national young adult section of one of the two major parties in her country. Another one held patents for medical devices that were in the process of getting into production. Several students had national or international academic awards. All of them had near-perfect standardized test scores.
Check the links here to see which of the guaranteed scholarships still exist and if they are available to international students: http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
What would be a safety?