Help an international student trim a very long college list

[distant veldt]

• Location/Region: Preferably East Coast, but I'm not too picky.

• Major: Mathematics, with a minor or possibly a double-major in Philosophy.

• GPA/Test Scores: 4.0 GPA, 1510 SAT (780EBRW/730M) no superscore (might retake in Dec for superscore)

• Curriculum: I'm also really into cognitive science and music composition, but I would appreciate the ability to take classes in any field I might get interested in. So far every school that I've looked into that offers my majors has a lot of classes that I'd wanna take, so that's not a big issue.

• Size: I'd prefer smaller sizes, which is why I'm mostly looking at LACs.

• Costs: My EFC is $0, I will be needing full aid.

• Schools You're Currently Looking At: I've made a list of far too many schools that I'm thinking of applying to, and I desperately need to trim it down. I don't need safeties since I've already been accepted to safeties in my country and will attend one of those if all else fails. I've already applied to Yale REA.

• Amherst College
• ASU (doesn't fit with my reqs but they apparently give great merit aid)
• Bates College
• Brown University
• Connecticut College
• Cornell University
• Dartmouth
• Duke
• Grinnell
• Harvard
• Middlebury
• Rice
• UNC Chapel Hill
• Vanderbilt
• Vassar
• WashU
• Williams
• Yale (Already submitted)

• Additional: I'd prefer a similar climate to what I'm used to here in the Mediterranean. I like winter, and I don't want it to be too humid. I like the idea of a closer knit community; but I also really like the opportunities that a larger school might offer, which is why schools with a res college system like Yale or Rice appeal to me. I like collegiate gothic, and have never been a fan of campuses like Stanford's. Mental Health resources are also really important to me. I also don't really like the STEM supremacy feeling I get from some schools like Caltech or Harvey Mudd, but IDK how much that actually comes through in campus.

[thin flint]

I'm not sure where to cut, but I can advocate for UNC and Duke in terms of MH resources & academic environment (although UNC premed kids can be a bit iffy). RTP is also a great area for applied math, and UNC has a PPE minor :) UNC might not give good aid since it's a public, but you might want to look at Carolina Covenant

In terms of climate, probably stay away from the "deep south" if you hate humidity; Florida gets pretty sticky. New England is pretty good for humidity, but it gets cold in the winter. Like really cold.

[distant veldt]

I'm used to the cold, I live near the alps and hike a lot. I did UNC's aid calculator and they said I'd have to pay around 3k a year. Grants only too iirc. Idk how accurate that is but that was the only reason it made the cut. RTP is alluring, even though I'm more of a theoretician. I'll take a look at Carolina Covenant, I seem to qualify income-wise.

As for the humidity, that's the main thing that's keeping me on edge about Rice, but everything else about it seems really good so i don't know

[graceful dagger]

asu only comes down to ~25k/yr even after the max scholarships, would be unaffordable

unc on the other hand has no aid at all for international students

[distant veldt]

are the net price calculators just wrong then?

im pretty sure they asked if i was an international student

[thin flint]

You might want to contact ASU's financial aid department if you need more specific details

If you're a dependent, then you should qualify for Carolina Covenant, given you meet the other criteria

[distant veldt]

out of state includes international right

[graceful dagger]

no.

fafsa can only be filed by us citizens, so that makes you ineligible

[distant veldt]

Yeah that's what I thought

Ig I can take it out then?

[thin flint]

Might be out of date but the FAFSA can be filed by international students? International students wont receive federal aid tho

International students do not qualify for aid through the US government. However, it's important to still complete the FAFSA because some colleges use it to see if you're eligible for aid from the school itself. Check with your school's financial aid office to see if it uses the FAFSA for international students. (source)

[severe scroll]

Hi 👋 – Because you mentioned Math and other LACs, you may want to look into us – Skidmore College – and one of our merit awards, the Porter/Wachenheim Scholarship in Science and Mathematics. We're just here on the server for general info (no way we can promise or give insights on admission), but wanted to chime in if it's helpful! https://www.skidmore.edu/financialaid/merit.php

[lucid pilot]

WashU I heard gives out a lot of aid money

If financial aid is your concern, see which of those universities meet 100% of demonstrated financial aid

If all of them meet 100% of need, then this is probably not helpful

[distant veldt]

I think most of them do

[thin flint]

I would also suggest, if you haven't already, looking at each college's major/minor programs specifically for the required coursework

[distant veldt]

i should be fine since I have taken the most rigourous system that our country allows me to take

some schools on my list had 2nd language reqs but i think ive got that covered as well

caltech has an ap calc req, and we dont have ap classes here so thats off the list

not that i wouldve applied otherwise

[thin flint]

Have you looked at the math degree programs, to see which classes you'll take and which classes count towards the major?

Less about being able to handle the rigor, but more about making sure you take the coursework that you want to take

[distant veldt]

i have for yale and a few of my other reaches, and theyve been relatively similar

ive got a rough map of the classes i want to take in my mind

[thin flint]

Solid

[distant veldt]

would bowdoin be a good fit? from what ive read it seems to be pretty great