<p>It’s very difficult to answer your question. Your SAT scores suggest that you’ll have a great deal of difficulty assimilating coursework that is taught in English. That and the requirement for financial aid probably means that there are no safeties. Further, thinking beyond your undergraduate program, going form pre-med to medical school is by far the most competitive career path in the US system. You’ll need a very high undergraduate GPA and stellar scores on the MCAT.</p>
<p>Consider taking a gap year or two between your graduation in Japan and entry into the American system to sharply focus on acquiring the necessary English language competency that is necessary for success at an American university.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, your test scores are too low for most schools that offer a lot of financial aid. Schools that can give a lot of aid are usually quite wealthy and selective. </p>
<p>First, you need to raise your CR/Writing test scores. Anything below 500 looks very bad in the US. However I also know that these scores probably don’t reflect your level, since the test is peculiar and takes some adjusting when one comes from another culture/education system.
Among top MUN colleges, Florida State is both Top MUN and USNWR lower ranked than the usual suspects but in my opinion the stand-you-ground laws make it potentially unsafe for foreign students (everyone knows about Trayvon Martin, few people remember the foreign student who got lost and walked up to a house to ask for directions, only to get shot in the shoulder). Floridians will probably disagree and Tallahassee may well be a “safe” town. Check to see if there’s a “linkage” institute with scholarships for Japanese citizens. Same thing for FIU which is much easier to get into than FSU.
Clark university is academically accessible, has financial aid for foreign students, and has one of the top MUN teams in the country. Unfortunately it, too, isn’t in a “safe” town by Japanese standards.
Elon university has an excellent MUN team, is preprofessional, and in a safe town, their financial aid for internationals is not very good.
If your family makes less than $4,000/month then you could qualify to apply to Berea College. However with under 5% acceptance for internationals it’s really competitive. Then again, if you get in, your education is free and it’s very safe.
That’s it for safeties.</p>
<p>Eastern Mennonite University would probably accept you with those scores. They have an excellent acceptance rate for med schools, and the location in Harrisonburg, VA is very safe. It is 2 hours from Washington, DC. </p>
<p>EMU does not have the clubs you mentioned, but it is a good place for international students, and there is an international scholarship you may be able to get. If your English isn’t quite ready for American college, they have a language program you can enter first Here are some links if you want to take a look:</p>
<p>It’s much closer to home than the continental U.S., that might be something to consider. You would need to up your CR/W by at least 100 each for it to be a true safety, but you’ll get in with those stats.</p>
<p>your scores aren’t high enough for sizeable merit at the schools that give such to int’ls. Your scores aren’t high enough for the schools that give good need based aid to int’ls.</p>
<p>However, if our parents will pay a good bit, there may be some schools that will give you some merit money if you can get your M+CR up a bit…at least to a 1330 or so.</p>
<p>even though I am applying, I think you have a great shot at Wake Forest University. It is TEST OPTIONAL so that means you don’t have to send those horrid SATS (no offense). They do offer merit aid so if those SAT’s never see the light of day you could potentially receive some.</p>
<p>However many test-optional schools are NOT test optional for internationals who need financial aid…
Here’s a list of test optional colleges at Fairtest: [SAT/ACT</a> Optional 4-Year Universities | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional]SAT/ACT”>ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest)
You’ll need to look at each website to see whether you can apply without tests as an international AND qualify for aid if you don’t submit them.</p>
<p>many test optional schools will not award merit w/o the test scores. They often have too many high GPA students, so they need the test scores to determine who should get the merit. There are a few exceptions. I doubt Wake is one.</p>
