Scholarships to USA

[SerenePearlCat]

DS is in year 11 and she would like to go to university in the US. Does anyone have any knowledge of the full merit scholarships available to international students at top level universities? While doing her research she came across the Robertson and the Morehead Cain, I would love to hear from anyone who has managed to secure one of the merit based scholarships to the US.

How far down the prestige ladder is she willing to go for a scholarship?

@LittleBigHead She hopes to study Mathematics possibly with Economics , she would like to stay in US and work within the finance industry. Studying a stem subject should help her, she plans to apply for the two scholarships I mentioned above which cover all the costs of studying in the US . They are at UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University. They may be other scholarships open to international students but we can’t find any other details.

It would have to be a fairly high ranking university, we don’t qualify for financial aid hence the focus on scholarships.

F

@marcopront could I have a link for the Facebook group for kids going this year please? I think technically in us speak they are class of 2029 (the year they graduate not the year they go…but I’m very confused)

@SerenePearlCat They really have very few. As DD found, even getting one didn’t make much of a dent in the finances. What’s the advantage of the US for maths? We have great universities here for maths and economics and many dc work in finance afterwards. Getting into Oxbridge or LSE is way cheaper and really won’t hold you back!

Of course they are class of 2025 when referring to school not university!!! Duh!

Are you sure there’s no financial aid? Dc was offered an Ivy League and it was a sliding scale, so free under 50k (then), then contributions went up incrementally with earnings.

I would suggest if your income exceeds the top bracket you can probably afford to pay 😂

dc is at a us uni on a sports scholarship. Which is a different kettle of fish as they actively recruit you and there is plenty of assistance to sort things out.

Studying a stem subject should help her

The majority of US universities don't officially admit by subject at all.

Your DD does understand, I hope, that she will need to study a range of subjects, not just maths/economics?

Has she looked at the College Confidential forum?

So both Duke (3% acceptance rate this year, so highly, highly competitive) and UNC Chapel Hill are in the "southern states" where abortion is illegal and racism is rife. These are Trump territories. I know this because I live in the vicinity of these places. Have you visited?

If she is excellent at Math then she should look at MIT and Cal tech.

If she wants to study Maths then she should strongly consider Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial etc. DS (an American) is a 2nd year Oxbridge Maths student and is already studying at US post grad level compared with his friends in Ivies and Top 20’s. This is because his course is specialized but the US universities require their students take a fairly broad range of subjects in the first couple of years.
Your DD will likely have to take English, Social studies, science, foreign language and PE classes for at least the first year which is great if students are undecided which area they want to go into but frustrating if they already know their major.

The top universities offer need blind admission and financial aid based on family income. Financial aid is not a merit scholarship. All the admitted students are there because they are very superior to other applicants in multiple ways.

There is a select few universities offering to meet 100% of the demonstrated financial need of admitted students, including international students. As you can imagine, competition for admission s fierce and these universities are extremely selective.

Does your student's school have a university applications counselor who could help in the process? If not, you need to do your own research online and look into attending any talks run by American universities in the UK.

If your student is really serious, you'll need to start the process asap. Your first step is creating a Collegeboard account.

Are you absolutely sure about not qualifying for financial aid at the small group of universities that offers to meet the full demonstrated need of admitted international students? The threshold where financial aid kicks in is pretty high by UK standards.

Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT...

Duke and UNC are great universities.

As noted by PPs, math and economics would be her majors, and she would start off doing whatever core courses or general education requirements each university demands. The core coursework makes graduates more versatile and well rounded.

Here you are

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Hdohr7PZt/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Will she need a visa?

@mathanxiety We would get a very small discount according to the Harvard calculator. We do have a relatively high income but wouldn’t be prepared to pay required fees. DD realises this which has led her to explore scholarships. There are lots of merit based scholarships for US students but she has only found two which are open to her. DD may end up attending university here, she will apply to Cambridge, LSE and UCL and Imperial. It’s her dream to study in the US , she does realise that they will be extremely competitive. I believe they each have about a 3% acceptance rate and all applicants have to be nominated by their school.

@SerenePearlCat DS applied for the Morehead Cain scholarship. His school is approved by the Morehead Cain Foundation as a nominating school,, he got to the semifinals in November but didn’t make the final selection.The final selection takes place at UNC in February,, it’s an extremely competitive process. Two or three students from the UK get the scholarship each year. There was a lot to work involved but he is glad that applied, if your DD wants apply she should but needs to prepare for disappointment.A fully functioning merit scholarship to the US will attract outstanding students, We attended the event for semifinalists in London before Christmas, they fly in from the US for the event. The finalists then spend 4/5 days in the US for more interviews and a written paper.

Your DD ‘s will have to be approved by Morehead Cain , they are looking for very strong academic schools.The school will then have to nominate your DD as an outstanding student in every respect to get the process started.

DS received an offer from Cambridge, it softened the blow but he was still disappointed, he put 100% into his application.Your DD will need to prepare to be disappointed and move on if he doesn’t reach the final stage.

UK Mathematics and Economics undergraduate degrees are WAY better than US Mathematics and Economics degrees.

Erm... nothing wrong with UK degrees but this is an unprovable generalisation and a useless one. It doesn't matter what the quality of a University of Northeast Nowhere degree is if you're not going there. What matters is the quality of where you go. It's all well and good to compare specific institutions, but you can't compare countries on that level.

There's scads of students who want to do maths and/or economics at top universities though, economics is now the most popular major at some. She will not stand out with that subject choice. The US system shines when someone wants the flexibility it offers, or the broader-based liberal arts curriculum. I mentioned on another thread someone I know who was interested in both mathematics and linguistics, and the American system meant he could study both. I also know someone who double-majored in physics and music and went on to do a PhD in physics. If your interest is really in one subject, or closely related ones (like maths and economics) the English system can suit better. Now if you were in the financial aid bracket, the US might pan out better on that score but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Universities in the USA do vary with how many other required subjects there are and how much (e.g. university of Chicago and Columbia are famously very strict about it whereas Brown has no distribution requirements at all).

It’s her dream to study in the US

I still think this needs probing. Has she spent extended time in the US? Has she looked at UK universities which offer a year abroad at a variety of US universities?

It just sounds all a bit "teenage dream" rather than thought out career plan.

Imperial doesn’t do Economics does it? @SerenePearlCat None of the universities mentioned will hold her back. Also, dreams change. She could go for the needs blind us universities but cannot see that they are value for money if she doesn’t get a scholarship. Cambridge et al are much better if you are a uk citizen. USA for masters is totally different. Far more achievable.

I think it’s good that you’re exploring UK options as well as US. Some courses may offer a third year in the US/Canada and fees will vary. UCL’s third year at U Penn /Georgetown / McGill (Canada) costs 15% of Uk fees which is an amazing saving.

I appreciate your daughter may not be thinking about the current political situation in the US, but I am beyond relieved my DS is no longer going to the US. American friends have agreed that Canada is a better option - indeed one former colleague said he was encouraging his daughter to apply there. Keep an eye on things over the next year or so.

@TizerorFizz She has looked at Economics, finance and data science as an option at Imperial College.

@Radiatorvalves Did your DS study in the US?

@YourJadeQuail Thank you for sharing your experience, DD knows Morehead Cain is a long shot, well done to your DS for making it to the semifinals. Congratulations on his Cambridge offer!

Everyone admitted to one of this select group of colleges gets financial aid (i.e. a chunk waived from the cost of attendance, on a sliding scale) unless their family makes more than a certain fairly high threshold.

The college looks at the family finances and simply eats the cost of attendance if the family income is below the threshold. Scholarships and financial aid are completely separate beasts. Students accepted on a needs blind basis who are below the finaid threshold will have varying amounts of the CoA simply waived.

Nb just seen the latest Trump requirements on international students in a letter to Harvard. Anyone who has posted a penguin meme might not be allowed in….