<p>Hey aastavik, </p>
<p>You have a lot of questions, which is good :D</p>
<p>First, teacher recs are important, definitely, and it doesn’t really matter whether your teachers have the best writing skills or not. I would suggest that if they are ready to write for you then appreciate the gesture and trust them; they won’t mess it up I’m sure 
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a correlation between well-written teacher recommendations and successful college applications, I doubt you’re going to find any 
It’s ‘what’ they write about you that matters over ‘how’ they put it!</p>
<p>Second, taking the TOEFL isn’t absolutely necessary but definitely recommended for students applying to US colleges. For instance, you can always submit your TOEFL score in place of the SAT I at MIT And as we all know, TOEFL’s a breezer compared to SAT I Verbal! </p>
<p>Now, about the finaid at colleges that aren’t needblind. I had the same question when I was applying (I needed HEAVY aid) and since I didn’t have much guidance, I ended up applying to about 2 dozen colleges (!!!) and I can tell you I was a fool :D</p>
<p>Anyway, here’s a message from the old CC forums that I saved on my computer long back when I was looking for answers … It was posted by Carolyn…</p>
<p>" Because I frequently get emails or see posts here from international students who are looking to go to a U.S. college but need financial aid, I have done some research that I thought I’d share. </p>
<p>First, while Harvard, MIT, and other well-known name schools do give financial aid to international students these top schools are difficult to get into and, more importantly, are NOT THE ONLY SCHOOLS that give financial aid packages to internationals. If your goal is to study in the U.S. you must look beyond these schools to schools that are less selective and also give a large number of international students financial aid. Second, don’t just apply to the most expensive schools in the U.S. and expect a free ride - you need to find the schools that are less expensive to begin with PLUS that meet financial need for international students. </p>
<p>So, what are those schools? Here are some worth looking at: </p>
<p>Let’s start with Berea College in Kentucky - they accept 30 international students each year and tuition is FREE - you will pay for your room and board, expected to be about $3500 a year. In exchange for free tuition you — and everyone on campus -will have to work in a campus job during the school year. You will also, as a Berea student be able to work over the summer for pay to help meet your living expenses. Berea is a decent liberal arts college with some excellent programs. The main drawback for some may be that it a “Christian” college, although it is not affiliated with any particular religion and welcomes students of every faith. </p>
<p>Barry University in Florida - This school gives financial aid to almost all of its 173 international students (7%of the student body is international). Barry’s strongest programs are in business administration, education, psychology, and computer sciences. </p>
<p>Eckerd College in Florida - another good smaller liberal arts college with a beautiful waterfront campus. Has 102 international students, gives financial aid to nearly all of them who need it.
Strong programs in biology, oceanography, business, psychology. </p>
<p>College of Wooster in Ohio - a very good liberal arts school. All students must complete a research project and Wooster has good grad school placement rates. Has about 133 international students (7%of student body), gives financial aid to almost all who need it. 38% of all students also receive substantial merit awards. Strong programs in history, biology. </p>
<p>Marquette University in Wisc. Has 143 international students - gives financial aid to nearly every one of them who require it. Marquette is a larger university (7000 students) that is affiliated withthe Roman Catholic church but you do not have to be Catholic to attend. Strong programs in engineering, nursing,business, biomedical sciences. </p>
<p>Illinois Institute of Technology - Small technically oriented school with good enginering, computer sciene, and science programs. Has 380 international students, gives financial aid to about half. </p>
<p>Clark University (Mass) This university is strong in pychology, business, biology - has 152 students and gives financial aid to nearly every one of them who needs it. </p>
<p>I could go on — but here are some other schools worth looking at if you are an international and need financial aid:
University of Rochester, Eastern Michigan University, Macalester, University of Bridgeport, Ohio Wesleyan, Mount Holyoke, Grinnell, University of South Florida, Oberin, Slippery Rock University, Texas Christian Univrsty, University of Miami, Florida Inst. of Technology, Calvin College,Alleghey College, Beloit, Denison University, Lawrence University, Lewis & Clark, St. Lawrence University, Trinity College (CT), Lake Forest College. All of these schools give financial aid to a substantial portion of accepted international students - even better, many are excellent schools that are relatively easy to get into. </p>
<p>I hope this will help increase the chances of studying in the U.S for some international students. "</p>
<p>Also, do check out <a href=“http://www.internationalstudent.com%5B/url%5D”>www.internationalstudent.com</a> for a more comprehensive list of aid-granting universities in the US.</p>
<p>If you have any further questions, drop me an email on <a href=“mailto:laila@mit.edu”>laila@mit.edu</a></p>
<p>Goodluck! :)</p>