for my targets, the universities are 1. Ohio state 2. Pomona 3. Carlton 4 Washington Lee 5. St Olaf. My reaches are 1. Rice 2 Emory university 3 Yale (i know it is a bit too much) 4 John hopkins.
Is this a good list? Also what would you say could be my safeties? How is the aid for the ones I have included?
Are these schools affordable if you donât receive one if their generous merit awardsâŠwhich are very competitive? If not, I would say they also might be reaches. And a couple donât give merit aid.
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We canât answer this question until you run a couple NPCs. I provided links above, but you can run for any schools of interest.
If for example W&Lâs NPC says you can pay $30k per year, that school is out of budget without a merit award. That makes it a reach.
I donât believe tOSU offers need based aid for OOS students so it would also be a reach since a competitive merit award would be required for it to be affordable.
You get the idea. 
Let us know if the NPCs are under budget and we can be much more helpful in categorizing and identifying schools.
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okay sure
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We donât know your GPA but Pomona, Carlton, and W&L are not targets for anyone.
But ultimately, if itâs not affordable, itâs not a target or safety.
Ohio State, for example, unless you win the full ride - how will it be affordable - unless you are somehow in state?
If you are seeking a larger flagship, your most affordable will be Alabama and Mississippi State (assuming your GPA qualifies) - and mid size W Carolina and Alabama - Huntsville. All will be double your $10K budget or close to double at MS State and UAH- but then you said you can pay moreâŠbut again, they have to translate your GPA to see if it qualifies.
UNC and UVA are the only two US publics that guarantee to meet need - although that will likely include loans (which arenât free) and work study.
In the end, these colleges will tell you what you need to pay. Unfortunately, you donât get to tell them.
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Have you checked to determine if colleges in India would be affordable?
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This canât be stressed enough. Demonstrated need is based on the collegeâs calculation of need. It may differ from what you think you need or want to pay
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yep. I am going to apply to US, see which colleges I am accepted and how much money I am going to have to pay and then decide if I am going to study in India or the US. If my US options are too expensive or are not really good reseach colleges, then I will just go pursue some degree in India
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I tried using Washington and Leeâs npc and my net price was $5k (I am assuming I made no mistake) The data I entered was without my parents guidance so I could be higher or lower but definitely by a very small margin).
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Can you calculate your SAI?
https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/estimate/student-information
This^ will let you know what sort of federal aid youâre entitled to and whether youâd be a Pell grant recipient. Being a Pell grant recipient means 1) money for working class students that doesnât need to be repaid 2) a category that colleges are incentivized to admit because until now their admissions have balanced toward the wealthiest students. So itâs doubly beneficial if you qualify.
Being a US citizen living abroad is also a double benefit for the college: they increase their national and geographical diversity as id you were international AND donât have to fully fund you, since you qualify for federal aid.
These ^ + topnotch SAT+ high IGCSEs + A/A* predicted ALevels+ solid ECs would be very strong assets in your favor.
Question : did you take the SAT in 11th grade and vault above the super high overseas NMSF threshold? If so, that opens more possibilities.
Negatives: unless you forgot to list them, you donât have any history/geography/religious studies/social science& humanities iCGSEs. You have English and your native language/literature and everything else is STEM. US colleges understand that you canât have all 5 core subjects at ALevels but frown on applicants who didnât bother with all core subjects for IGCSE.
Another negative for you is that India is often over represented at many US colleges.
You need at minimum a full tuition scholarship OR need based aid as determined by your SAI and NPCs.
We can help you with safeties and matches once we know your SAI and some NPC results.
For research, your best bets would be national LACs (student research is emphasized and they produce A LOT of STEM PHDs) and honors colleges within R1 universities.
Further information that can be of use to people here - disregard any irrelevant question :
- How tolerant of drunkenness/okay with excessive drinking are you? Would a âdryâ campus or a âwellness/substance-freeâ dorm be of interest?
- Do you enjoy watching American sports, do you enjoy watching cricket, do you enjoy practicing or would like to try any sport (kayaking, rock climbing, pickleball, etc.)
- Are you okay with extreme cold (-10 Celsius and below)? With snow several months a year? With tropical heat&storms?
- Are you hoping to get into a PHD program or find a job in a US company?
- Do you belong to a faith or religion and, if so, how important is practicing your beliefs?
- Are you okay with crosses on walls? Crucifixes? Members from religious orders (priests, monks, rabbi, imamâŠ) teaching? Religion-as-part-of culture classes (âApocalypse in Holy booksâ)? Religion-as-dogma classes (e.g., catechismâŠ)? Mandatory chapel attendance?
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Your categorizations seem close to arbitrary. For example, Pomona, by analysis, places 16th by selectivity nationally, Ohio State places 107th and St. Olaf places 130th, yet you included them together as targets. You listed Emory as a reach â which it may be, especially if their policy is to consider financial need â but at 37th by selectivity nationally, it is generally significantly less selective than Pomona.
I think Pomona is the only outlier. The OP may be influenced by how well-known the colleges are outside of the U.S. in which case Pomona, Amherst, Williams, etc may, in fact, seem like targets when they are reaches in reality. OP needs to spend some time looking at the CC overviews of the various colleges suggested.
I would suggest the OP skim this thread (using the summary option):
NESCAC Spoken Here:
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Carleton makes a nice inclusion for your academic interests.
I did a post in match me (Match American citizen living in India [rank 1, 1560 SAT, <$10k; physics / math] - #32 by circuitrider) that helped a lot. I want to identify the colleges that have the following criteria and I have a good chance of getting into. I want my total cost to be less than 20k. The next price calculator for hamilton suggested 15k, for washington and lee it was 9k and quite similar for others. My only needs are a)good physics department b) good computer science c)good flexibility in majors and courses (my dream is to become a physicist but I also love computer science so I am not entirely sure which one to go for). My stats are 1560 SAT, 8 A* in IGCSE (my school offers only 7 but I did Additional mathematics on my own and got 98) Predicted grades are 4A* and 1 A( it is an AS alone subject so no A* grade available). ECs are online tutoring and certification , 2 college courses, Headboy (School leader) of my school, software internship building and working with AI, Internship with non profit on helping HIV affected kids, 1 international exchange program, 1 year as give captain of school house, a few clubs at my school, a few interschool public speaking competitions, and CS50P. I created a list of all schools I could find:
Wesleyan
Haverford
Hamilton
Stony Brooks
St Olaf
Rice
Yale
Washington and Lee
University of Alabama
Ohio State
Washington University
Amherst
Emory University
Princeton
Case Western Reserve
Brandeis
Carleton
Pomona
I know most of them are reaches and I am not able to find some good target schools that are within my budget and are good at physics. Please help me identify the reach, target and safety schools for me that are good for my preferences and I have a good chance of getting into. Thanks in advance
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Finding the Venn overlap for colleges that are generous with financial aid AND reasonably considered âtargetâ schools would be difficult enough. Thereâs a definite correlation between being a reach school and having the money to attract applicants from many socio-economic backgrounds. Adding âgood physicsâ as an additional circle makes it especially tricky. My hunch is that all roads lead to the University of Alabama or some similar public university that is anxious to attract high-scoring kids from out-of-state.
Sorry for the late reply. Regarding the lack of humanities in my IGCSEs, I chose all the IGCSEs my high school offered and did one on my own completely. I would prefer a school with low levels of drunkenness and would like cricket, but these are not requirements. I dont worship publicly or practice any religion, so that is not an issue. I would prefer a college that is not too religious. I am hoping to either get into a PHD program or perform a job in the industry.
Also, what are some examples of honor colleges within the R1 universities you mentioned? What do you think are good LACs. My new updated list is Hamilton, Case western reserve, vanderbilt university, Rice university, Reed college, Washington and lee, Emory university, lafayette, Carleton, Rice (ED) and University of chicago ( I know it is rech, but I like the courses they are offering). Do you think this is a good list?
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It seems you have selected colleges that, by survey results, are not generally known for students who consume excessive alcohol in relation to students at other U.S. colleges:
Irrespective of the above, however, alcohol use may be prevalent at social events at the majority of the schools on your list.
You may want to look at colleges that have a wellness dorm (students agree to no drinking, drugs, etc.).
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I think itâs a good list. Sorry, if this has been asked and answered already, but do you, in fact, have a home state in addition to your residence in India? I would look to your stateâs flagship university as a possible high match.
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