Please Suggest me some colleges and Chance Me! [international, 92.8/89.8/96 GPA, 1360 SAT, <$7k; electrical engineering]

Chance Me / Match Me
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1

Demographics
Male
Indian; Currently Living in India

Intended Major
Electrical Engineering

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Class 9th: 92.8% ; Class 10th: 89.8% ; Class 11th: 96%

  • Class Rank: Top 10%
  • SAT Score: Applying test Optional ( 1360 )

Awards
National Science Examination: Won 4th Place in State
The Student of the Year Award (Class 11)
Chess: Have won 1 gold and 1 silver in my 10th Grade Intraschool Competition
Debate: Won 1st place in Intraschool Competition

Extracurriculars

Start-Up: Founder of a small start-up for the past 8-9 months and have reached 500+ Users and 7+ Countries.

Research Paper: My Team & I have completed writing the paper, and have published it.

Org:(CTO) Built website for Project ; Worked as volunteer and donated 36 meals and 4 neck bands to stray dogs.

Web Developer Internship: Built various plugins; built mobile responsive pages; worked on multiple different pages; supervised and served as Volunteer to monitor the website.

Debate Club: Organized weekly meetings; Prepared & Coached weekly lectures on various different techniques; developed ability to speak extemporaneously

StartUp(Co-founder)*: Qualified for zonal rounds; will be aired on national TV. Start-up focused on products & services for completely Deaf People.

Ukulele: Used YouTube tutorials to teach myself Ukulele, learned several popular music covers, performed for family and friends.

Community Service (Volunteer): Taught to 50+ underprivileged children; Engaged children in learning spoken English through stories and also taught basic Math.

A Summer Program:- I conceptualized and drove the development of innovative strategies aimed at reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

Chess: School team for 2 years; Organised monthly tournaments & conducted weekly workshops. Reviewed previous games and provided feedback to 20+ students.

Essays/LORs/Other
(Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)

Cost Constraints / Budget
Can Afford about 7000 Dollars per Year

Schools
Applied to Arizona State University, Boston University, Dartmouth College, Duke University(ED), University of Wisconsin-Madison
Could you please guide me through this process of making a college list… I don’t have any restrictions on the type of colleges but I would need a lot of AID (If possible a good ranking university to make my parents proud)

Thank you in Advance!

2

So this is your issue and none of those schools will get you there unless they see you have need as some will meet need but are need aware and your stats are unlikely.

Hopefully you have a great school in your home country to attend - or you can find more $$ to study with.

Good luck.

3

Duke will provide you an answer in 2 days.

4

The issue that you and many students have are the costs of a US education. For many students, their families cannot afford the tuition and fees that now run about $60-$90K per year.

As an international student, there are limited funding resources. While domestic students can access limited federal and state funding, the expense is still high for families. US students have some benefits of attending their state’s flagship public universities which bring the costs down.

Public universities are funded by their state’s taxpayers and some cannot afford to fund non-resident students.

Start your search by going to the financial aid scholarship pages of each of the universities you have listed. Find out if they will fund you. Most scholarships and funding will be very, very competitive.

From BU’s website: > INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

International students are considered for two of our merit-based scholarships, specifically the Trustee Scholarship and the Presidential Scholarship. Both are offered on a competitive basis to those with outstanding academic records and both require that candidates apply for admission by December 1. For more information about application requirements, visit the Admissions website.

International students are not eligible for need-based financial aid from Boston University, the state, or the federal government. All need-based financial aid is available only to U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens.

Most lenders offering credit-based educational loans to international students require that a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen credit-worthy co-borrower apply for the loan along with the primary borrower. Certain lenders do not require a co-borrower. However their interest rates and other terms may be less favorable.

International students applying for admission must present evidence of sufficient funds to cover all tuition, fees, books, and living expenses for their study at Boston University.https://www.bu.edu/finaid/apply/international/

Also, please note that the US universities will educate you. Once you receive a degree, you are expected to return to your home country. You should not expect to be sponsored for employment by a US employer after you complete your degree.

1 Like
5

Yes! I have already applied to the colleges I have listed above! and I am searching for more but can’t seem to find them!

6

I am not going to be studying in my home country due to the lack of research facilities in many universities… I don’t think I will have any more funding. So yeah I will try to apply to as many colleges as possible which are offering a full ride.

7

But I’m not sure your current list works.

You should apply to the meets needs /need blind schools that have your major but your stats are not there for these and then others that offer full rides like W&L or SMU or that guarantee to meet need if they admit you but as need aware they take finances into account.

You might seek schools in other countries.

One thing you don’t know is what a school will define your need as. What if they say you can afford $15k or $30k - then what ?

If you are unable to study in the US, what is your plan ?

You need to assume this plan.

Good luck.

2 Likes
8

Well,
A number of US universities lack research facilities, so you can’t use that argument to not consider your home universities.
A number of universities don’t have funding for non-residents. Funding is finite.
The number of US universities offering full rides are practically non existent.
I agree with @tsbna44

Your EC’s wont make up for your stats. A number of universities don’t look at EC’s. As an over-represented minority, who requires a full ride and has chosen a major that is impacted at many US universities, you need a Plan B.

Apply, but you need to be aware that you really need safeties in your country because for US schools, you will be “grasping at straws.”
If you happen to acquire funding somewhere, then in 4 years you will be returning to your country anyway. So Plan B is a realistic option.

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