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There are several components to consider when creating your college list, including, but not limited to:
Financial Aid Opportunities
Acceptance Rate of the University
Academic Programs Available
Location of the University
Social Aspects like Religious Affiliations and Campus Organizations
You can find the SYE list of schools below:
Why are there so many more opportunities for U.S. schools than international schools?
While U.S. schools are significantly more expensive than opportunities in other countries, in general, they are also more generous with need-based financial aid, which means that they will provide scholarships/ tuition waivers based on the amount of money the students and their parents have.
Creating a College List: Financial Aid & Scholarships
Creating a College List: Financial Aid & Scholarships
Unlike domestic students, international students do not qualify for federal aid. However, financial aid packages can consist of grants or scholarships, loans, work/study programs, or a combination of all of these.
There are two main kinds of support students can receive:
Need-based financial aid
Need-based financial aid is given to students based on their financial need, which is calculated based on information you provide about how much your family has and how much your parents earn each year. Universities are not required to provide need-based financial aid to international students, and many universities do not meet the full need of international students. There are some universities (listed below) that provide full need-based aid for international students. These universities are often more difficult to get into.
Merit-based financial aid
Merit-based financial aid is offered to students based on their accomplishments in high school (grades, test scores, application essays, etc). Many U.S. schools offer partial merit-based scholarships, but fewer offer full merit-based scholarships. Some universities will offer both merit-based and need-based financial aid.
We discourage SYE students from accepting anything less than a full scholarship, as university can become very expensive very quickly when paying even partial tuition.
Need-based Financial Aid: In Depth
Need-based Financial Aid: In Depth
Colleges that offer need-based financial aid for international students include:
Harvard University
Yale University
Princeton University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Amherst College
Williams College
California Institute of Technology
Swarthmore College
Stanford University
Davidson College
Colgate University
Vassar College
University of Richmond
Duke University
While these schools all will provide you full financial support if accepted, many will consider your request for financial aid in the application. This makes it harder to get into these schools. You need to pay attention to whether a school is need blind or need aware/need sensitive.
Need Blind
US universities promising need-blind admission do not consider an applicant’s ability to pay tuition unassisted when deciding whether to offer them a place in a program. This may only apply to applicants from within the US, or it may be extended to international students as well. Some US universities have need-blind admission policies, but do not promise any connected financial aid. This means students offered a place may not be able to accept it if they’re unable to meet the costs of attendance. However, other U.S. universities accompany their need-blind admission policies with a pledge to meet the full financial need of all those offered a place. Most often, this pledge only applies to U.S. citizens, but there are currently a handful of institutions which also promise the same level of financial assistance for international students. These include Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, Amherst College, Dartmouth College, and Bowdoin College. These are among the most competitive institutions in the country.
Need Aware/Need Sensitive
Unlike need-blind institutions, for institutions that are ‘need aware’ or ‘need sensitive,’ financial need does play a role in the admissions decisions. So for international students with large financial need, the admissions process is that much more competitive for them compared to a full paying student.
Some need-aware/sensitive institutions claim to meet ‘full demonstrated need’ for accepted applicants. Schools that meet 100% of need will provide an aid package that fills the gap between what the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is and a school’s cost of attendance. Universities determine what the student’s EFC is per year based on the information they provide in the CSS College Board Profile and their financial aid application. For example, if the total cost of attendance per year for university X is $50,000 per year, and they determine that the student’s EFC is $7,000 per year, then they will provide $50,000-$7,000= $43,000 per year in funding.
How do I know where to apply based on financial aid?
How do I know where to apply based on financial aid?
When applying to universities, there are six (6) different categories of aid opportunity available. We encourage you to evaluate each university on your list and place them within this framework:
School is need blind and meets full need for international students
School is need aware/need sensitive and meets full need for international students
School is need aware/need sensitive and does not meet full need for international students
School has full merit scholarship for international students
School has partial merit scholarship for international students
School does not provide financial aid or merit scholarships to international students
Your list should prioritize schools which meet full need either through merit or need, although you can and should include schools which do not on your final list.
Creating a College List: Acceptance Rates of Universities
Creating a College List: Acceptance Rates of Universities
When creating your college list, we recommend that you apply to at least 10 schools and no more than 15 schools in the U.S., and no more than 15 schools in total; we will make exceptions on a case by case basis. When choosing universities, we recommend creating a balanced list that includes colleges with a variety of acceptance rates.
A note about applying as a scholarship student: while many schools will appear to be "target" or "likely" schools, the fact that you are applying for aid will often limit your chances and lead to a rejection even if you are otherwise a strong candidate. This is particularly true for schools that are need aware and meet full need. We encourage you to add these schools to your list, but not to put all your expectations into them.
Which categories different schools fall will vary based on student, but please use the general guidelines when deciding which schools fall in which categories:
Reach Schools (4-6 Universities, with no more than 2 with <5% acceptance rate)
Reach Schools (4-6 Universities, with no more than 2 with <5% acceptance rate)
Reach schools are universities that are the most challenging to get into. You could have a perfect score on your baccalaureate, perfect SAT Scores, and perfect essays, and you could STILL be rejected from these schools. In general, a school can be considered a “reach” school if it has an acceptance rate below 25%.
Example Reach Schools:
Harvard University
Vanderbilt University
Oxford University
Cambridge University
Stanford University
Princeton University
Rice University
Northwestern
Middlebury College
Georgetown University
Wesleyan College
Colby College
New York University
While SYE students have gotten into these schools, only 1 or 2, if any, students gain admissions to each of these schools each year. Thus, you DO NOT want to rely on getting an acceptance letter from these universities.
Target Schools (4-6 Universities, with no less than 2 total)
Target Schools (4-6 Universities, with no less than 2 total)
There is a medium chance that an applicant will get into these schools; oftentimes financial aid does make these admissions more challenging. The competitiveness between these schools vary widely. We recommend choosing 4-6 that have an admissions rate between 25% and 40% and 2 that have an admissions rate between 40% and 55%.
Example Target Schools:
University of Richmond
Brandeis University
Franklin and Marshall College
Macalester College
Occidental College
Likely Schools (4-6 Universities, with no less than 2 total)
Likely Schools (4-6 Universities, with no less than 2 total)
Likely schools are the most essential schools on your college list. While admissions is not guaranteed (it never is!), these are the schools that are most likely to accept you, and ensure that you have a path forward in your pursuit of higher education, even if the more competitive schools do not come through. These are all excellent schools that will give you a strong foundation for any future you wish to pursue.
Example Likely Schools:
Centre College
Drexel University
Mercer University
Stetson University
University of Denver
The importance of a likely school:
Some students push against applying to safety schools, convinced that they will gain admissions to competitive universities, or that it is not worth attending university in the U.S. if they do not get into a school like Harvard or MIT. This could not be more wrong. First, all of the schools on these lists are amazing universities that will give you an incredible education. Second, SYE strongly believes in the following:
“Applying does not mean getting in does not mean going.”
Likely schools are about keeping your options open. Once you have heard back from all the schools you’ve applied to, and the likely school is your best option (for financial aid and compared to other universities), you can then decide if you want to attend. But if you don’t apply, you cut off the possibility that you may wish you had when admissions results come in. Several SYE students who have only applied to wild card and reach schools did not get into any universities. Don’t let that happen to you!
Furthermore, not only should you apply to likely schools, but you should put as much thought into those applications as you do with your other applications. Colleges can often tell when there is zero interest in their school, which can in some cases lead you to be waitlisted or even rejected.
Non-US Schools (We recommend applying to between 1 and 3 non-U.S. schools if interested)
Non-US Schools (We recommend applying to between 1 and 3 non-U.S. schools if interested)
As many of you will know, gaining admission to a U.S. university is only the first step in actually attending a school in the U.S. While SYE has successfully supported several students in getting visas, several other students have been denied. Because denials are largely arbitrary (without any explanations for the denial and with strong applications), we highly recommend that SYE students consider options outside of the U.S. as well.
Demonstrating Interest
Demonstrating Interest
Demonstrated Interest, put in simple terms, is if and how much interest you express in a college. Colleges want to admit students who are more likely to accept an offer of admission from them, since it helps fill class sizes to desired numbers and represents the overall perception of a college’s quality.
Demonstrated Interest can take multiple forms.
If you apply Early Decision to a college, your demonstrated interest is quite evident since an acceptance there requires you to commit. However, not all colleges offer Early Decision and there are numerous other methods to demonstrate interest in the application process, whether or not you apply Early Decision
One of the easiest ways to show your interest is by viewing resources from the college, such as visiting the college website, signing up for regular emails (they might be in the form of newsletters) and liking posts from the college on social media platforms. It is quite common for schools to check the analytics of this information in determining interest from prospective students
Engagement that helps emphasize your interest consists of visiting the campus and doing official information sessions and tours. In-person tours have not usually been an option for international students and the presence of Covid-19 has affected colleges’ abilities to organize them in general. As a result, it has become increasingly popular for colleges to develop virtual tours. Similarly, interviews (if not already required, which is the case for some colleges) are a fantastic way to show your qualifications and interest in a college. Colleges have transitioned to primarily conducting interviews virtually as well
Even though the Common App is a great timesaver, filling out the same information for all colleges you apply to does not work in every section. Many colleges on the Common App require supplemental essays. Of course in an essay on why you want to attend one college you should not be discussing what you love about another college, for example. Even in a less obvious sense, you want to write all supplemental essays for the colleges they are meant for, so not making a template and just changing the names for each essay. To learn more about supplemental essays, go to this section.
Keep in mind that while Demonstrated Interest is a significant component in many colleges’ admissions decisions, its importance varies among admissions offices, with some colleges considering it minimally or not at all. In any case, Demonstrated Interest, whether through reading a college newsletter, or sitting for interviews or other actions, helps you learn more about the school and is never a waste of your time.
For a more detailed explanation of demonstrated interest, you can watch this video from SYE partner CollegePrep360.
Next Steps
Next Steps
You can find, and fill out, the College List document in your student folder. It asks for the following information:
School Name
City and Country
Application deadline
A brief description of why you want to apply to this school
Scholarship deadline (if any). Some schools will have additional requirements to be considered for merit-based scholarships. You are responsible for doing this research.
CSS profile deadline
Application status
Using this tool will help you compare universities and decide on which ones are best for you.
College List Resources
College List Resources
College Essay Guy has provided step-by-step guidance for creating your college list. While it is similar to the guidance in this list (and largely created for American high school students), this still may be helpful for some additional guidance.
BigFuture is an extensive database through the College Board that lets you search for colleges based on numerous filters (selectivity, majors offered, campus size, etc.). You can also use the site to build a college list and compare colleges side-by-side.
This website is a search engine for both universities and scholarships. You need to register, but it’s free.
“The Fiske Guide to Colleges delivers an insider’s look at what it’s really like to be a student at the ‘best and most interesting’ schools in the U.S.. plus Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland”
Colleges that Change Lives is a consortium of universities that are more accessible (have higher acceptance rates), but are still incredibly highly-regarded and are known for the wonderful experiences that students have at these schools
This site gives you access to tons of statistics as well as student reviews and letter grades for different aspects of student life. You’ll also see lists of the best schools in different categories based on reviews.
A list of universities that have given SYE students full scholarships over the past few years. Please note: this list has not been updated in several years and is NOT complete. Check out the SYE University list linked at the top of this page for the most up-to-date information.
International Student provides a search engine that allows you to search for universities by U.S. state to see which schools give aid to international students. Information included in the search engine includes (1) annual tuition, (2) the number of international students, (3) the number of international students awarded aid, and (4) the average award. This will give you a sense of how generous universities are with their financial aid for international students. Note that the award amounts are averages, meaning that some people get much more, and some will get less.
External Scholarship Resources
External Scholarship Resources
Knowing that all schools do not have full scholarships, here is a list of external databases to identify scholarships.
Online community of international students studying in the United States.
Free online financial aid source for scholarships, grants, and loans for all college-bound students, including permanent residents and international students wishing to study in the United States.
Free online scholarship search service.
Free online scholarship search service designed for international students.
Free online scholarship database for international students wishing to study worldwide.
Free online scholarship resource for non–U.S. citizens with disabilities.
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