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Articles / Paying for College / Scholarship for International "A" Student?

Scholarship for International "A" Student?

Sally Rubenstone
Written by Sally Rubenstone | Oct. 21, 2015
Question: I have straight As in GCSE O/A LEVELS

Sat 1 =pending (giving it in jan )

Sat 2 =pending (giving it in june )


Ielts=pending (giving it in dec )

I wanna get some good scholarship in good US university. Plz help me.

“The Dean" receives hundreds of queries from highly qualified international students who seek scholarships to U.S. colleges and universities. And even for those with perfect grades, these can be hard to come by.

If you're seeking financial aid from a U.S. school, the “average" admitted student statistics (grades, test scores, etc.) don't apply to YOU. Your “numbers" will probably need to be higher than the norm … higher, too, than those of classmates or fellow countrymen who have been admitted to those same institutions but without asking for aid.

So, although your grades so far are excellent, your standardized test scores (SAT or ACT, and TOEFL or IELTS, if English isn't your first language) may play a starring role in your admission outcomes. It's impossible to predict your chances or direct you toward appropriate college choices without test results.

Even if you're applying to one of the very few U.S. schools that is “need-blind" for international students (i.e., they don't look at how much money you'll require when making acceptance decisions), you still must have super-high statistics because these colleges (mostly Ivy League or highly selective liberal arts colleges like Williams and Middlebury) are extremely hard to get into for everyone and are always flooded with applications from abroad.

If your college application includes atypical accomplishments (e.g., achievements in athletics, arts, sciences or, ideally, in a unique area) or if your background is unusual (you may be the child of royalty … or of paupers), this could work in your favor, too. It also helps if you come from a country that doesn't send a lot of students to the colleges that you're pursuing. In other words, the more you stand out in a crowd, the better your chances are that college admission officers will want to fund you.

Once you have test scores, you can use the College Board's search engine to find colleges that offer financial aid to international students. Go to: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search?navid=gh-cs Look for the heading that says, “Paying," and—under it—be sure to check the box that says, “Financial aid available for international students." Again, keep in mind that, if you are seeking financial aid, your best bet will be to choose colleges where you will be not be equally qualified as the majority of other applicants but MORE qualified.

Written by

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.

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