Advice needed on US uni applications and SATS( Computer Sc at MIT and Caltech)

[Homefireburn1ng]

Ds in year 10 and interested in the above. Yeah I know extremely difficult and unlikely but looking into it before I burst his bubble.

He is v good at coding, maths etc. Codes in spare time was G&T in this area.Bright non sporty all rounder. He has done a load of research himself but I’m not sure how accurate it is. He has sat some Sats on the official site and is getting high 80s. I thought they were supposed to be hard, wondering if he is on a mimic site although he says the site he is using offers free courses in the areas you need to brush up on( Kahn ?)

So what sat scores should he be aiming for?

He reckons he would be eligible for financial help( better had as not a hope in hell otherwise). Is this true?

His extra curricular is mostly coding comps/ courses and a bit of volunteering. I’m guessing not enough. Yes/ no?

I read on a thread some US unis lookvat school l reports from year 7. Yes/ no? What would they expect from these? Can’t see that on the MIT site.

Haven’t done any research on the best computer sci course to look at yet. Are U S courses transferable to UK. May well be better UK and indeed US courses. Might a UK degree be better, cheaper, more likely and then a US masters?

Won’t be shooting down his dreams without a shed load of research and obviously agree you need to be in the barrel but thought I’d start my own research here.

But you need to consider money first.

When looking at any $$ amounts associated with US universities remember that tuition is just one part of the total cost of attendance. Room and Board is the other major part, and then 'miscellaneous' after that includes books and materials and health insurance plus travel costs.

Given that most universities have a core coursework requirement (or at least a 'general education' requirement) no matter what you hope your major may be or what school within any given university you enroll in, your DS would be unwise to rule out any of the highly selective universities and should start researching universities that offer high levels of foreign student financial aid.

lendedu.com/blog/international-students-financial-aid-study
He can't go to Barnard, Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr and maybe one or two others because they are women's colleges but the others on this list of colleges and universities in the US that give the most financial aid to foreign students are well worth a look.