Hello, Thank you for reading my problem. I’m international student who accepted University of Massachusetts as a freshman. In my country government gives financial aid (40-50K) to students who accepted in top 100 universities. But this year due to economical difficulties they reduced number to top 40. So now my plan is transfer to the top 40 or find at least 30K aid next year. (((Ideal university will be one that completes both))) But I don’t know which university or scholarship should I focus most, which one has the highest chance? Your suggestions and advice will be more than helpful to me. Thank you for reading.
My info:
High school gpa 3.7
SAT 1800
TOEFL 85
9th place in National Physics Olympiad (I’m pretty good at science)
1st place in National Electronics Olympiad
and some other minor achievements and activities.
I hope your fin aid is secure for year 1 at U Mass. Your odds of finding $30K are slim, so focus on transferring. It would take a bit of research to pin down your best options as far as (least) selectivity. Don’t overlook the 3 Canadian schools.
From another thread: “My sat scores are 800 in math, 410 in reading, 600 in writing and 780 in sat physics.”
Make English your top priority (not math/science!) and retake the SAT late in the year. If you can show universities your willingness to improve that part of your profile, that will bode well for you, considering they can see that you are “pretty good at science”. And shoot for a high GPA in freshman year.
Also, figure out if your gov’t has plans to change the rules again in the next 3 years! Get something in writing, if it’s possible, although you may have very little legal recourse in your country.
Maybe U Washington and UT Austin. Check the transfer requirements and the costs. Plan your freshman schedule based on the major/pre-major requirements in the programs/schools you want to transfer to, because you’re not staying at U Mass. Focus on less competitive (non-impacted) majors: not engineering; physics perhaps. Get your SAT CR/W scores up. Also, be clear in your explanation of why you are transferring (just the facts, no sob stories or blame).
It is extremely difficult for international students to get financial aid. It is extremely difficult for transfers to get the kind of aid you want. This means that as an international transfer, the likelihood of you getting the aid you need is very nearly zero.
Can you take a gap year and reapply? That would be your best strategy. If you work on your English and raise your SAT score (or get a good score on the ACT), you will have a better chance of admission to the places your government would fund and to places that will give you significant financial aid.
