What kind of schools I might be able to get in? just want to have an idea (int'l student, HS senior, CA)

Chance Me / Match Me
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1

Please give me some recommendations. I’m a senior in public high school now.

Demographics

  • When I apply I’m most likely to be considered as an international student, though I’m in US high school for 2 and a half years.

  • my country of residence is China

  • Currently in a public high school

Cost Constraints / Budget
40-50k for each school year, but I need to try hard to get the scholarship.

Intended Major(s)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: The GPA on my high school transcript said that so far it’s 4.52, but that’s without my 10th grade fall semester, so once I calculated using AP 5, honor 4.5, regular 4, it should be around 4.32.(I just couldn’t find an app or web that provide reasonable calculation)
  • Class Rank: no class rank in my school, but I’m probably the top 1%
  • ACT/SAT Scores: highest superscore is 1510(710+800), highest score is 1500

List your HS coursework

  • English: IB English reading & writing+ listening & speaking–English 2–American Lit–English 4
  • Math: started with IB math(only 1 semester though), then I self-studied two of the calc, which is Cac ab and bc, both got a 5 in AP exam, in school is AP precal–AP stat–Math 4(Still trying to get in)
  • Science:started with IB physics & chem in the fall semester of 10th grade. I studied outside of school for AP chem and AP physics 2, in school is honor chem+computer programming–AP biology+ AP physics C+AP csA–AP environmental science+ AP psychology,
  • History and social studies:Started with IB econ in fall semester of 10th grade, then US history & world history–AP macroeconomic+AP gov
  • Language other than English: Chinese(the school said I don’t need to take any more since I come from China)
  • The result of AP exam is: AP calc ab & bc, AP chem, AP physics C E&M, AP cs, AP macroecon, AP stat are all 5, with AP bio & AP physics C mech being 4.

Awards & Extracurriculars

  • volunteer as a tutor in math for 70 hours
  • AMC 10 qualification
  • ACSL finalist
  • irvine science fair honorable mention(independent research as the leader of the team)
  • global research challenge Top 40(also independent research)
  • UCI internship for molecular biology, specifically doing de-novo design for YAP binder.
  • a local internship competition, most influential award
  • JPOP club president(quite hard to find members actually)
  • AP scholar award and college board school recognition award.
  • ULP molecular biology summer program
  • IVC dual enrollment
  • paid work for helping with SAT math part in an organization
  • I’m writing a novel on Royal Road

Schools

Hoping for the biological/ biomedical engineering major.

I’m thinking about ED UPenn or Georgia tech, for Georgia tech it’s because their acceptance rate for out-of-state is quite low…

for RD just all the UC, carnegie Mellon, Rice(maybe), UIUC, stanford(just trying), Johns Hopkins.

not thinking of EA though… Can someone explain to me if there’s anything special about EA?

If you have any recommendations for me please leave them in the comment

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The UCs will be out of your budget.
Expect to pay about $80,000 a year. There are very few limited scholarships and most of those go to the residents of California because the California taxpayers pay for the UC schools.

Right now, your budget will drive most of your decisions.

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Georgia Tech does not have an ED application plan. And ED at UPenn isn’t likely to meaningfully improve your chances.

At many schools, you have to apply EA to be eligible for scholarships and honors programs.

Do you know whether your family qualifies for financial aid? Have your parents run the net price calculators on UPenn’s website, to see if it (and schools in a similar price range) are affordable. UPenn and most other elite schools don’t provide merit scholarships, and out of state schools won’t provide you need based aid.

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EA (Early Action) is NOT a binding acceptance. You can continue to apply to additional colleges, and make up your mind by May 1. Exception being SCEA or REA…you can’t apply early to other schools except as defined by the REA or SCEA college.

ED (Early Decision) is a binding acceptance if you get accepted. You are expected to withdraw any pending applications and acceptances and attend where you are accepted ED.

As an FYI…Georgia Tech does not award scholarships or need based aid to international students…so you would be a full pay student there. If you are instate, this might be affordable. If out of state, it might not be.

RE: the CA public universities, you need to check to see if you will have instate status by the time you graduate from high school…as an international student. What visa do you currently hold? If you don’t have instate status, the UCs probably won’t hit your price point, but some of the Cal States will.

UIUC GIVES some highly competitive scholarships to international students, but no need based aid. It won’t hit your price point without a merit award.

And be aware…the net price calculators are not always accurate for international students.

Also, in your tags, you have American University tagged. I don’t think that’s what you meant. Would you like me to remove that?

Would you like some suggestions regarding affordable options for you? If so, can you give us some geographic preferences.

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As an international applicant, you should be applying to at least 15-20 schools, including a couple of safety options, given the much lower odds of getting admitted. Your current list is a fine one that you should expand.

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You are a strong student. You need to identify affordable colleges where you will be accepted. And it might not be 15-20. I can think of five off the top of my head that will be affordable and where you would easily get accepted.

Now…if you are looking at elite colleges…I think your issue will be affordability.

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I think there’s a ton of schools where you get go for $40-50K as an international student.

However, what first will matter with a UPENN or CMU, etc. - is will they meet your budget. These are schools that only give need aid - and not all do to international. So you need to run their net price calculators (which may not be accurate to Intl) or talk to the schools But ED is binding so it’s dangerous in your case - because if you get in and it’s $100K a year and you didn’t check, while no one will put force you, you’d be breaking rules. In the end, it’s not what they say they can pay - but schools will determine what they can pay - so a U Penn could say $80K or $100K.

I put two NPCs below for your parents.

So it’s not a question of where you might get in. But rather a question of where can you get int that you can afford. Then don’t forget, others schools have higher fees and less scholarships for international.

So Georgia Tech as an international, you’re not going to be $50K and when you move off campus, it can cost more than on.. You’d need to look at Rice and Johns Hopkins as to whether they give substantive aid to internationals. If they do, just like the two NPCs below, you need to fill out to see.

UIUC and all the UCs are too expensive.

So biomedical engineering is a tough major - perhaps the lowest paying and job placement isn’t great. For example, in Georgia Tech’s last career outcome report, only 61% of kids who wanted jobs found them - at whatever point the report came out (how many months after graduation I don’t know) and you’re international.

But the reality is, in the US, there are 165 or so ABET accredited schools. There may be others accredited in MechE with a bio focus - but what you need to do is to find schools that will 100% as an international hit $50K.

That’s first and foremost.

Now, you might find a UPenn and CMU will. But if they don’t, eliminate them. And even if they do hit $50K, you have to get in.

So looking at the list of 165 and who might hit $50K for an international??

I put it at the very bottom. Yes it’s long and apologies to the regular posters that don’t like that I do this but several students have thanked me for doing so. It helps them - and the link alone doesn’t do the job.

Many on here might but these certainly will. You can research others - UAB, U Hartford (maybe), Florida Tech (maybe), Southern Illinois U, Kansas State, Wichita State, Grand Valley State, Mississippi State, Missouri S&T (likely) - well that’s through the Ms.

This is the reality of an international student - often your tuition/fees are higher and scholarship less. And top schools will say things like - very limited financial aid.

So take your chances - but make sure you find a sure fire school. Most, if not all below, are fine schools but many are not affordable for you - so instead of U of Illinios, it’s Southern Illinois - as an example. Or a U Wisconsin Milwaukee instead of of U Wisconsin. And don’t waste your time on the UCs.

Good luck.

Net Price Calculator
Net Price Calculator - Undergraduate Admission - Carnegie Mellon University

School Name City State
University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham Alabama
Alabama State University Montgomery Alabama
Grand Canyon University Phoenix Arizona
Arizona State University Tempe Arizona
The University of Arizona Tucson Arizona
University of Arkansas Fayetteville Arkansas
Harding University Searcy Arkansas
University of California, Davis Davis California
University of California, Irvine Irvine California
University of California, San Diego La Jolla California
California State University, Long Beach Long Beach California
University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles California
University of Southern California Los Angeles California
California Baptist University Riverside California
University of California, Riverside Riverside California
San Jose State University San Jose California
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo California
University of the Pacific Stockton California
University of Colorado Boulder Boulder Colorado
University of Colorado Denver Denver Colorado
Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado
Fairfield University Fairfield Connecticut
University of Connecticut Storrs Connecticut
University of Hartford West Hartford Connecticut
University of Delaware Newark Delaware
The Catholic University of America Washington District of Columbia
University of the District of Columbia Washington District of Columbia
The George Washington University Washington District of Columbia
University of Miami Coral Gables Florida
Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers Florida
University of Florida Gainesville Florida
Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne Florida
Florida International University Miami Florida
Florida A&M University - Florida State University Tallahassee Florida
University of South Florida Tampa Florida
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta Georgia
Hawaii Pacific University Honolulu Hawaii
Southern Illinois University Carbondale Carbondale Illinois
University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign Illinois
The University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago Illinois
Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago Illinois
Northern Illinois University Dekalb Illinois
Northwestern University Evanston Illinois
Trine University Angola Indiana
Indiana Institute of Technology Fort Wayne Indiana
Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis Indianapolis Indiana
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute Indiana
Valparaiso University Valparaiso Indiana
Purdue University at West Lafayette West Lafayette Indiana
The University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa
Kansas State University Manhattan Kansas
Wichita State University Wichita Kansas
University of Kentucky Lexington Kentucky
University of Louisville Louisville Kentucky
Tulane University New Orleans Louisiana
Louisiana Tech University Ruston Louisiana
University of Maine Orono Maine
The Johns Hopkins University Baltimore Maryland
University of Maryland College Park College Park Maryland
Stevenson University Owings Mills Maryland
University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst Massachusetts
Endicott College Beverly Massachusetts
Boston University Boston Massachusetts
Northeastern University Boston Massachusetts
Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Dartmouth Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell Massachusetts
Tufts University Medford Massachusetts
Western New England University Springfield Massachusetts
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester Massachusetts
Grand Valley State University Allendale Michigan
University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan
University of Michigan - Dearborn Dearborn Michigan
Wayne State University Detroit Michigan
Michigan Technological University Houghton Michigan
Oakland University Rochester Hills Michigan
Lawrence Technological University Southfield Michigan
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis Minnesota
Mississippi State University Mississippi State Mississippi
University of Mississippi University Mississippi
University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia Missouri
Saint Louis University Saint Louis Missouri
Washington University Saint Louis Missouri
University of Nevada, Reno Reno Nevada
University of New Hampshire Durham New Hampshire
The College of New Jersey Ewing New Jersey
Rowan University Glassboro New Jersey
Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken New Jersey
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New Brunswick New Jersey
New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark New Jersey
New York University Tandon School of Engineering Brooklyn New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York Buffalo New York
Hofstra University Hempstead New York
Cornell University Ithaca New York
Columbia University in the City of New York New York New York
City University of New York, City College New York New York
Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester New York
University of Rochester Rochester New York
Union College Schenectady New York
Stony Brook University Stony Brook New York
Syracuse University Syracuse New York
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy New York
State University of New York at Binghamton Vestal New York
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill North Carolina
Duke University Durham North Carolina
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Greensboro North Carolina
North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh North Carolina
University of North Dakota Grand Forks North Dakota
The University of Akron Akron Ohio
University of Mount Union Alliance Ohio
University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio
Case Western Reserve University Cleveland Ohio
The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio
Wright State University Dayton Ohio
Miami University Oxford Ohio
The University of Toledo Toledo Ohio
University of Central Oklahoma Edmond Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma
Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon
Lehigh University Bethlehem Pennsylvania
Widener University Chester Pennsylvania
Gannon University Erie Pennsylvania
Bucknell University Lewisburg Pennsylvania
Messiah University Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania
Drexel University Philadelphia Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Duquesne University Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania
West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester Pennsylvania
Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico San Juan Puerto Rico
The University of Rhode Island Kingston Rhode Island
Brown University Providence Rhode Island
Clemson University Clemson South Carolina
University of South Carolina Columbia South Carolina
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Rapid City South Dakota
University of South Dakota Vermillion South Dakota
University of Tennessee Knoxville Knoxville Tennessee
The University of Memphis Memphis Tennessee
Vanderbilt University Nashville Tennessee
The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington Texas
University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas
Texas A&M University College Station Texas
University of North Texas Denton Texas
University of Houston Houston Texas
Rice University Houston Texas
University of Texas at Dallas Richardson Texas
The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio Texas
The University of Utah Salt Lake City Utah
University of Vermont Burlington Vermont
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg Virginia
University of Virginia Charlottesville Virginia
George Mason University Fairfax Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond Virginia
Washington State University Pullman Washington
University of Washington Seattle Washington
Marshall University Huntington West Virginia
West Virginia University Morgantown West Virginia
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison Wisconsin
Marquette University Milwaukee Wisconsin
Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee Wisconsin
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Cal Polys are your best bet in terms of academic quality×budget and Cal Poly SLO is within reach.
UCs won’t be within budget (80k/year, no scholarships).

Have you run the NPC on UPenn?

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Unless you have a green card, you will certainly be.

Re benefits of applying EA: many schools who offer this fill up a significant portion of their class during EA, and more and more people are applying EA, so your chances of admission are somewhat higher if you apply EA. For this reason, our school’s counselor recommended that students apply EA wherever this is offered.

Agree that the UCs (unless you are on a H4 visa with parent having lived/paid taxes there for at least a year) and UIUC won’t meet your budget. I don’t know about the other publics.

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Thanks a lot for explaining, I’ll look for more details.

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Thanks a lot for the list, I’ll check that out!

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I am not sure whether there are any states where this would make you an in-state student for the public universities in your state, and it might depend upon what type of visa you have. You might want to ask your guidance counselor. This might vary from state to state. I am going to assume for the purpose of this post that it does not, and that you will therefore be considered an international student wherever you apply.

There are a small number of very highly ranked universities that meet full need for all students. You would need to run the Net Price Calculator for these schools to figure out whether they are likely to be affordable. For example, if you Google “net price calculator harvard university” you will find the NPC for Harvard.

Some are also need-blind for international students. Some consider your need as an international student when deciding whether to admit you. To give two examples. I am pretty sure that Harvard is need blind for international students, meaning that whether you need financial aid will not have any impact on whether you are admitted. In contrast, I am pretty sure that Stanford does consider your need in deciding whether to admit you. However, it is not obvious to me which would be more likely for admissions for you. There are many excellent international students who are going to need 100% full financial aid to attend university in the US. Since you can afford to pay roughly half the cost, this might give you an edge at Stanford compared to some students who cannot afford to pay anything (basically they might be able to afford to support two of you, or one of a student that needs 100% of the cost covered by the university).

However, the highly ranked schools are all reaches for pretty nearly every student (this is assuming that neither you nor either parent has a Nobel Prize or is the official head of state of a medium sized country).

There are also hundreds of very good universities in the US, and many will provide merit based aid.

Some schools are more likely for admissions if you apply EA. Some schools are more likely to provide you with financial aid (such as merit aid) if you apply EA. Some schools applying EA will just allow you to get your results back earlier. This varies a lot between different universities. To apply EA you just need to get your application in before a relatively early deadline.

Personally I thought that getting an affordable acceptance back early made the process much less stressful for both daughters (and for me a long time ago). This is true even for those of us who ended up going somewhere else. Also, because EA is not binding, you can apply EA to many schools, and you can get most or all of your acceptances back, see what type of financial aid you are offered at each school, and they decide where to attend.

I am not a big fan of ED because it is binding – if accepted they you have already agreed to go there (the one valid reason to back out is that you cannot afford it, but you should have run the NPC ahead of time to verify whether affordability is likely). Since it is binding, you can only apply ED to one school.

There are a LOT of very good universities in the US – hundreds of them. Given your excellent results in high school and a reasonable budget I expect that you will be able to get multiple acceptances to universities that will be affordable. You have earned this opportunity. However, it is most likely that they will not be the most famous schools (such as U Penn or Stanford or Harvard or MIT). Rather, it is likely that you will find a more affordable, good fit, and an acceptance coming from one of the very good universities perhaps ranked something vaguely in the range of 30 to 200 (or even 400). This however still leaves a LOT of options.

As such knowing things like what geographic area you would prefer would help us to give suggestions.

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OP: You should consider both RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology up to $30,000 per year merit scholarships for international students & limited need based financial aid for int’l students) and RPI (Rensselaer Polytech Institute–up to $20,000 per year merit scholarship for international students) for both your desired major & for merit scholarships & financial aid .

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Small clarification. You can only apply to one ED school, agree. But you can apply to any number of RD and EA schools (check policies for SCEA and REA). BUT if you are accepted to your ED school, you are required to withdraw all other pending applications and/or acceptances. The ED acceptance is supposed to be a binding one. If you get accepted, you agree to attend.

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Just to reiterate that being classed as an international student for admission purposes and potentially being eligible for instate tuition can both happen, if parent is also there and they are on an appropriate visa. Actually I would assume the parent is there as you can’t attend public high school for longer than a year on a student visa, but would help if OP can confirm and clarify visa status.

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Not sure Cal Poly would be affordable - or am I missing something?

And don’t forget, you’ll need health insurance as an international - that can add $3-6K - if you don’t have from your parents (who I assume live here). CP SLO prices it in.

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Is there a Cal State you could attend that is within close enough commuting distance from your parents? If so, the tuition, and fees only would likely cover your costs to attend. Add to that costs to commute (commuting isn’t free). Just a thought.

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Agree. This could be a pivotal issue for you, @Eric.H. Interwebs says:

"For foreign nationals legally living in the U.S. on valid non-immigrant visas, eligibility depends on whether the visa permits establishing permanent domicile under immigration law:

"Eligible Visas (Dual Intent / Long-Term): Holders of visa types that permit establishing a permanent domicile (e.g., H-1B, H-4, L-1, L-2, E-1/E-2, or A/G visas) can qualify for in-state tuition. They must meet the standard state residency timeline (usually living in the state for 12 continuous months prior to enrollment for non-educational reasons).

"Ineligible Visas (F-1, J-1, B-1/B-2): … "

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Your current list appears to comprise big research universities with big name recognition. You might think about including some small colleges that have the majors you’re interested in, especially those that have healthy endowments with generous financial aid – although it will be less generous to international students (unless you’re a permanent resident or an “eligible noncitizen”).

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Is OP in California ? I missed that. If so, yes, hopefully they qualify for in-state. That could be a game changer.

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