Expert: Bruce - 11/4/2006

Question
thank you bruce,i am very impressed. thank you.i will be giving TOEFL and hopefully my score will be 600+(pbt).i have been studying on english medium school since grade 1.i also heard that critical writing section is not that important,please clarify this,500 on writing section is bothering me.and i am not looking for full scholarship(thats next to impossible).i am ready to pay upto 5000$(grand total) per year.i have no problems searching for canadian universities unless it requires IELTS.
please ,if you have any other recomendations or just have some college that are worth the time spent.
i look forward(egarly) to hearing from you
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Dear Bruce,
i am an international student pertaining to Nepal(India's neighbour). i have finished my A-levels with B on physics,C on

Mathematics, A on Economics and D on Chemistry. only three of the subjects are compulsary thus i had given economics on self

-study and would like to pursue economics on the college\university.
My SAT I score is 1750. critical reading= 600,math=650 and critical writing= 500.
i am looking for a college\university that would give good scholarship to international students,if it has quota for south

east asia or nepal it better. but i want the college and university of my range,but grades and sat. and no IVY leagues or top

20 collegs;because i know my chances will be slim.
other things like geography,religious affilation ,etc doesnot bother me.
I look forward to hearing you.
please try and help me.
bibek
-----Answer-----
Bibek,

Thanks for writing. I'll do the best I can to steer you toward a some schools that might be worth a look.

Before doing so, though, a couple of thoughts. You didn't say if you are looking for a full scholarship to a US school, or just a generous one that in combination with what you can pay would make US college possible.

Also, while your SAT critical reading score is good, if your instruction to date has not been in English you may want to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language, as some colleges might require it.

Your basic SAT score of 1250 (excludes writing) is good enough alone to get you some decent scholarship offers from schools in the US.

Here are some schools to look at. Since I am in the NY region, these will tend to be NY region colleges.

Rider University, near Princeton, NJ
Bryant University, Rhode Island
LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY
Mansfield University, Mansfield, PA
Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania
St Peters College, Jersey City, NJ
University of Hartford, Hartford, CT
College of the Ozarks
Grove City College, Grove City, PA
Gannon University, Erie, PA
Alfred University, Alfred, NY
York College, York, PA
Berea College, Berea, Kentucky
State University of NY @ Plattsburgh
State University of NY @ Oneonta
Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY
Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
Lycoming College, Williamsport, PA
Albright College, Reading, PA

There are also here in the US many two year schools. Students attend these schools for the first two years of a university degree and then transfer to a larger school for the last two years worth. I know that there are a couple of these in our area that either have a sizable international contingent, or that are looking to build an international program. Your SAT scores will look especially good to these places:

Gensesee Community College, Batavia, NY (has many internationals)
Jamestown Community College, Jamestown, NY (looking to start recruiting internationals)

It is competitive to get scholarships on the US. You have very respectable SAT scores in your favor, plus I don't think that the colleges I've listed see many students from Nepal. And your expectations are very reasonable.

Having been an admission director, here's how I would approach the schools that you decide you wish to pursue. E-mail the international student admission person and tell him/her:

Your name and home city & state/provice (obviously)
Your SAT scores
What level of English language training you have had and if your schooling has been in English, be sure to make mention of that.
What you want to study and when you would like to begin your US schooling
What your career goals are, if they are defined at this point
What you are looking for in terms of US support and how much of your own resources you can come up with.  If you would like me to review a draft of such an e-mail letter, I would be happy to do so.

One last thought, don't overlook Canada as a possible location, especially Ontario. It might be worth your time to check out the university of Toronto, Humber College, Redeemer College and someothers.

Best wishes, Bibek. I hope this information may be useful to you. Let me know if more questions arise.

Bruce  

Answer
Bibek,

You are correct that the SAT writing is not that important to many schools. Alot of colleges view it with skepticism. Your verbal SAT is solid and you have many years of English studies - that should be good enough for many colleges.

I would start with the colleges on the list I sent, if the northeastern location is OK for you. I tried to identify colleges to whom your 1250 SAT (minus the writing) would be attractive. Hopefully you will find some interest from among this group.  

Are you hoping to begin school next fall?