Internationational student(Nepali Students) in USA in 2025/2026?

College Search & Lists
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I just want people to mention the college types I should be looking for and scholarships amount I should be expecting. I just want some professional people to show me the direction because I dont come from the family that could do it for me. I will be waiting for honest replies.

I have maintained a GPA of 3.70/4.00, published research papers as preprints, and actively participated in numerous hackathons, including the NASA Space Apps Challenge. I have led and contributed to several passion projects that blend astrophysics, artificial intelligence, and software development. I developed and manage a website focused on astrophysics and coding, where I share blogs and original projects such as Astral View (a 3D simulation of all discovered exoplanets using NASA’s open databases), Orbital Nexus (a space debris tracking model using LSTM neural networks), Plan My Sky (submitted to the NASA Space Apps Challenge under “Will it rain in my parade?”), and The Interstellar Signature (an open-source framework for tracking interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS, with contact initiated with Professor Avi Loeb regarding the project). I also plan to expand this platform by adding courses and services in the future, as the intersection of coding and cosmology remains a very limited niche online.

I am the founder and president of the Science and IT Club at my school, which now has over 60 members. Under my leadership, the club participated in the School Enterprise Challenge, earning Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards, and we were honored by Manabir Pun, the current Education Minister of Nepal. I have also won Second Place among 2,000 participants in a National Essay Writing Competition. Alongside academics, I have been involved in community and leadership activities through Nepal Scouts and the Junior Nepal Red Cross Society.

Beyond school, I am the founder of NexusCosmos, an open-source ecosystem designed to simulate, predict, and visualize space phenomena using AI-driven physics modules. It aims to make space technology open source, much like Linux did for computing. I have also built valuable connections on LinkedIn with top scientists and professionals working with NASA, several of whom have interacted with and commented on my work and projects.

For SAT exam, I had given long time ago and got 1300 which is worst but then I wasnt prepared and even didnt knew the format but now I am expecting around 1500-1550 in Novemeber. I have Duoingo test score of 145.

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How much can you afford to spend?

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10k usd/annum

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In reality, there will likely be none - but you’ve probably heard of the meets need, need blind schools. They will determine your cost - it could be more or less than $10K but you are unlikely to all. Move your SAT up, still highly unlikely, but you never know.

I hope you are making plans for school somewhere else.

Your ECs are outstanding- and you never know.

Good luck

Amherst College
Bowdoin College
Brown
Dartmouth
Georgetown
Harvard
MIT
Notre Dame
Princeton
Wash & Lee
Yale

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The 2025-2026 academic year started this fall. If you aren’t starting college until fall 2026, you would be in the 2026-2027 academic year as a freshman.

Please please do a chance me/match me thread. Your information posted here in the long paragraphs is not easy to parse.

All international students should be looking at colleges in their home countries, or perhaps in Europe where costs are less.

You need a LOT of aid to attend colleges here. A LOT. Many of the most generous colleges are need aware for admissions so your high level of financial need will be considered.

The schools @tsbna44 listed above are highly competitive for admissions anyway with international student acceptances being in the single digits.

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@Vishal_Kumar if this is your real name, you should change it asap. Here is how:

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Thank you for your effort. Actually some of these colleges are in my list and I do have some college in my home country on the list as well which I am very sure to get in but I am trying my luck and hardwork for USA as well. I am not sure if I get in these college but I will try. I have fee waiver for the applications and tests from my high school along with LOR’s and simialr documents. Sure! one thing that I have learnt from other’s experience is that everything is uncertain in USA’s admission process.

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this is my former legal name but I will change it

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I will consider that but if you would mention some colleges in Europe like UK where English is the primary language then it will be helpful.

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Agree that you need to do a “chance me” template and list your actual coursework other than anything related to your hobbies.

Because the universities and colleges, in the US, admit according to your school record, we need to see what courses you’ve taken that are not solely based on your interests. You need to meet admissions requirements in English, Math, History, Foreign Language etc.

Fill out the “chance me” template.

I don’t know what your career goal is, but anything NASA-like in the US, typically requires US citizenship. Attending a US university, means you will be expected to return to your home country after you graduate. So you need to see how a US education will support and benefit you in your home country.

You need to look for any school that is willing to admit you with funding. As of now, the numbers of schools with scholarships, are dwindling. Do an Internet search and search for: US colleges and universities with international scholarships.

Full rides are very rare now, but you can try to search for those schools. The price range for many universities can be anywhere between $35-$90,000 a year. As a nonresident to any state, you will be paying the higher costs of OOS (out of state) at public schools.

Each university is very different in location, costs, climate, size, community, and diversity. No two universities or colleges are alike. So you might get in somewhere with some funding at “XYZ” University, but you might not like the location because it might be very rural and have more agricultural majors. Or, you might get into a university in the city, but they don’t have your major.
Do an Internet search and find out about some of our 4000 colleges and universities.

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One issue is that different countries and different school systems have wildly different grading scales. In some high schools in the US this would put you in the top 10% of the school. In some high schools it would not put you in the top 10%. In the high school where I studied (in Quebec) this might put you in the top 3 students in the high school, or might not. There might or might not have been one single student in my high school who had all A’s, but I thing “not” is more likely (the student who was second definitely had plenty of B’s, and this did not stop him from getting accepted to very good universities).

University admissions is quite good at accounting for the different grading schemes and interpreting your grades accordingly. However, most people commenting here on CC will not be familiar with the specific grading scales used in your particular high school particularly since you are international.

As an international student who needs a lot of financial aid, you would need to be relatively close to being the top student in your high school, if not in your country, to get a full ride to attend university in the USA.

However, whether a 3.7 GPA puts you as relatively close to being the top student in your high school is something that I just do not know because I am not familiar with your education system.

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Admissions requirements will vary according to what is available in each country, though. Many other high school systems are more specialized than the US curriculum and colleges recognize that they may not always have the same breadth as those from the US (though they may be more advanced in specific subjects such as A level maths or further maths).

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