How does a foreigne student apply for U.S. high schools?
Hoping to be better perpared for U.S. university application (SAT, ACT, ECA and all those stuff), I think it maybe a good idea for me to study in a U.S. high school for 11th and 12th grade. Also in that way I can avoid taking the TOEFL exam. I want to know:
1.) Can a british citizen apply for U.S. public schools?
2.) How high school entence is granted? By ability or simply by where the district you live. (I’ve American relatives living in Colorado.)
3.) How can you tell, on the web, which are good schools and which are not?
4.) When do a high school student start taking SAT tests?
5.) What are the entrence requirements for AP classes? And does they give you an advantage in applying for universities?
Thanks very much.
Ordinarily, students attend schools in the district where they reside. Since schools are generally funded by local property taxes, they do not take student from outside their district unless those students pay tuition, and the better school districts accept very few tuition students. To become a tuition student you inquire at the district office.
Each state department of education has a website and generally you can look up facts about schools and school districts. Generally the better schools are in suburban districts near the larger cities, NOT in the larger cities, and not in rural districts. Please remember this is a very general idea, and this is not a rule.
Students generally take the SAT in the spring of their 11th grade year, however you may register, pay, and take it whenever you wish and as often as you wish.
Schools set their own entrance requirements for AP classes, ranging from none to a certain mark in a previous course (AP English would probably require a high mark in English or Honors English the previous year). AP courses are one factor that universities examine when granting admission. I don’t know how much their are weighed. I do know that not all universities grant credit for AP courses.
You would also need the correct student visa in order to study.
I don’t understand about TOEFL. If you are a native speaker of English, I would imagine that you would not need TOEFL to attend a US university, or, if you did, it would be a piece of cake to pass.
I think that most US public high schools would be reluctant to admit a foreign student unless he or she was an exchange student with an approved exchange organization (which helps take care of the visa and tuition issues)or had become a resident immigrant.
Good luck in any case.
Financial Aid For Students In College: Scholarships
If you are one of those, who want to get financial aid and continue education, you need to think about the idea to get a scholarship because of personal skills and talents. Do you think that your skills and qualifications deserve a scholarship? Do you think that you are better that the others at something? Are you ready to prove your abilities? Then such financial aid as scholarships should interest you.
Definition of a Scholarship
A student scholarship is a kind of financial support that is usually based on students’ achievements, talents, and abilities to improve this world and the society around. The peculiar feature of scholarships is the absence of the necessity to repay this aid.
Sources of Scholarships
Scholarships are characterized by a variety of its sources:
1.Communities (American Legion, Girl Scouts, Rotary, and other groups are eager to offer scholarships for students, who have a burning need);
2.Schools (such factors as GPA, portfolio, and sportive/artistic achievements are considered by school administrations in order to clear up whether a student is worth of getting a scholarship);
As a rule, such sources help students avoid some kind of dependence on loans both private and federal that are still required repayment within some period.
Tips to Apply for Scholarships
You need to admit that almost each student is eager to get such financial help as student scholarship. This is why it is necessary prepare the best demonstration of your talents and think over several powerful reasons of why this scholarship is so urgent for you.
It is necessary to writer a letter to college administration and give enough information about your personality;
It is obligatory to fill in an application form and make no mistake in it;
It is also better to be ready for oral representation of yourself and your abilities before a wide audience of professionals.
To get the desirable scholarship, mind that your main purpose is to prove your talents but not to humiliate other students. Good luck!
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How does one go about receiving grants for college, what are the qualifications to get grants?
I am looking to go to college in the fall part time since I work full time and am moving out in May. I heard that people who don’t live with their parents get better finncial aid and grants, but then I also heard that a person has to have a child or be married in order to get grants for college.
Any good websights or advice or info would be great. I need to get the ball rollin so I actually go to college this year instead of taking another year off.
Thanks
Go to the FAFSA government website. And fill out a FAFSA.
The thing is, unless you are over 24 or married you must put your parent’s information on the FAFSA. There is a way to get around it, but you have to have a lot (I mean a LOT) of proof that you have no help from your parents at all. You have to talk to your college’s financial aid office to do that.
If you and your parents make less than (I think) 75,000 dollars per year, you may qualify for some grants (such as Academic Competitiveness Grant)- to get a need based grant, you have to have combined incomes of less than 40,000 dollars I believe. You can also qualify for work study programs, and government subsidized student loans.
Hop on it though! FAFSAs are due by May 1st, 2008 for you to get aid in the Fall 08-Spring -09-Summer 09 semesters!!!
Financial Aid is first come first serve, so keep that in mind when reapplying next year. The earlier you apply, the more aid you can be eligible for. Also, the FAFSA takes care of any State Aid you may recieve.
Over the summer, you should receive a letter from your college letting you know if you received Aid, where the Aid is from, and you must decline or accept that Aid before the year starts.
The best source of info though is your school’s financial aid office and FAFSA’s web site. If you apply online it is much quicker (plus I think required now since May 1st is so close!).
How to Gain Admission to America’s Top Universities
Admission to top U.S. colleges and universities has never been more difficult.
Harvard broke all records in 2008, accepting just 7.1 percent of applicants, while Yale accepted 8.3 percent, Columbia 10 percent, and Princeton 9.3 percent. Brown and Dartmouth accepted 13 percent and 13.2 percent, respectively. Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury, and Amherst Colleges accepted 16.3 percent, 18.4 percent, 18.3 percent, and 14.2 respectively. Swarthmore College granted admission to a record-low 15 percent, while the University of Pennsylvania admitted 16.4 percent. Boston College admitted a record-low 26 percent of applicants, and Duke reported record selectivity admitting 19 percent. The overall Ivy acceptance rate this past year was 12% — again, an all time low. For students applying from India the odds are even lower.
With Harvard and Princeton dropping early decision/action and Harvard, Dartmouth, Swarthmore and Tufts announcing expansions of financial aid in recent months, the pool of applicants for the Ivy League and other top schools is overwhelmed with qualified students and as a consequence, this year was the lowest ever in terms of acceptances. We don’t see this trend changing any time soon with a population bubble increasing the number of teenagers and more and more highly credentialed students applying. This year there are 3.23 million graduating U.S. high school seniors, and 60-65% of them now apply to colleges. The swelling population of 18-year-olds will peak in 2009, when the largest group of high school seniors in the nation’s history, 3.2 million, are to graduate. The early application information is already in and applications are up by 40% at some top schools.
All is not lost, however. Qualified students from India are being sought out by top Ivy League colleges and universities. Yale recently announced that it is intensifying efforts to recruit Indian students and create more faculty and student exchanges, research partnerships and leadership education.
Each year, as America’s leading college admissions experts, we receive hundreds of emails a week from devastated high school seniors who did not receive the news they had hoped for in the college admissions journey. Many of them had high scores, great extras, and amazing grades. We also hear from younger high school students who are desperately seeking the secrets that will make them stand out amid the scores of other super qualified applicants. Our Application Boot Camp® workshops in Cambridge, Massachusetts (right next to Harvard University) fill up quickly with rising seniors who take part in our four day events to present themselves in the best possible light in their applications. The results for the students we’ve worked with have been astounding. But, we can’t work with everyone personally, so we created a product that duplicates what we do in the workshop — Application Boot Camp® Self Guided Program : www.ApplicationBootCamp.com/self. We made sure the product, including four audio tapes and a workbook, were available as an instant download for Indian students who are working on their January 1, 2009 U.S. applications. In fact, from now until January 1, 2009 we will give 10% off the price of this particular product. Just type in INDIA in the discount box.
We wanted to share our knowledge about what it takes to stand out and achieve success in the grueling Ivy League admissions process. We believe that knowledge is power! SO…to that end…to follow are some of our tips on what it takes to get into America’s top colleges. These coupled with a copy of Application Boot Camp® Self Guided Program should help qualified Indian students rise above the rest in the college admissions process:
1. Grades. This is one of the first areas a college admissions board will consider. Even if a student’s SAT scores are sky-high, high school grades, rank in class and rigor of courseload matter the most. A student who starts off strong but lets his grades lag in the final year, or vice versa, will have a hard time in the admissions process. Colleges want to see grades trend up in tough classes and students in the top 10% of their class. At Dartmouth College (one of the eight Ivy League schools) this year, for instance, 93.4 percent of accepted students ranked in the top 10 percent of their secondary school’s graduating class. Our students who have gotten into top colleges typically are A students who have taken 5-6 Advanced Placement classes.
2. Test scores. The SAT score is a big part of the admission’s picture because colleges report their freshman class averages to U.S. News and World Report. The biggest mistakes we see are students waiting until their senior year to take their first SAT test. Remember, colleges will see all of your SAT scores and will count the highest score in each section. So, begin early and take your first SAT in December or January of your junior year. That gives you time to retake it if you need to do so, with SAT preparation in-between. We don’t much like group SAT classes, but rather encourage students to work with someone who can teach you how to be a savvier test taker or to learn that skill yourself. We supply resources on our website including some amazing tutors who can work by phone even with international students.
3. Extracurricular activities. Don’t trust the lists of suggested extras that some college preparation sites offer. An admissions board will be much more impressed if you follow your passions and take them above and beyond. Show leadership and a theme. Use your summers to deepen that niche or themed interest.
4. Awards. Students who are talented, driven and dedicated will be seen favorably by college admissions boards. State, district or national awards in an area of expertise will set a student far apart from their competition.
5. Hooks. Sure, if you happen to be a legacy, recruited athlete, development case, famous person or have any other major ties to a particular college, leverage that hook!
While the Harvard acceptance rate and other Ivy League admissions rates are surprisingly low, it is by no means impossible to win a spot at one of these schools. For the exceptional student who works hard and prepares for college applications well in advance, an Ivy League education is still within reach.
Application Boot Camp® Founders:
Dr. Michele Hernandez and Mimi Doe are the founders of
Application Boot Camp® and award winning authors. Their work has been seen in all top American press including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week Magazine, The Boston Globe, USA Today. Between them, they have appeared on all major television news programs including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Early Show, and Good Morning America. Michele Hernandez worked for four years as Assistant Dean of Admissions at Dartmouth College and attended Dartmouth. Mimi Doe has a Masters in Education from Harvard University.
Inside The Mind Of The Financial Aid Administrator
Have you ever wondered, just what your Financial Aid Administrator was thinking? Especially once you received your financial aid award. I have worked for 20 yrs as a financial aid administrator and can take you inside the mind of the FAA.
I can tell you that FAAs are a dedicated lot that see their mission as assisting students to attain their academic goals through financial aid, while keeping student debt at a minimum. Financial Aid philosophy is to award scholarships/grants first, followed by work study, then loans, as a last resort.
Students must demonstrate need by completing the FAFSA. Once need is determined then, the FAA can package using the above mentioned philosophy. How much of each type of aid is awarded is based on a number of factors: criteria for each separate scholarship, grant, work study or loan. In the case of scholarships, grants and work study, what funding is available at the time package is being created is also a major factor. Aid is given on a first- come, first-served basis. So if you apply late or don’t get all your required documents in to the financial aid office quickly you may end up with a less generous aid package.
Counseling students against excessive borrowing is an integral function of any financial aid office. There have been countless times when I sat with a student who had requested a loan or loan increase that I felt was not necessary to: 1) determine why the student felt the need to request a loan or loan increase, 2) explain his/her options and 3) discuss future education plans, such as grad school (grad students rely almost exclusively on loans), and how this request will impact those plans. Loan entrance and exist counseling is required at all colleges. And although students roll their eyes at the mention of loan counseling and drag their feet to comply with the requirement, it should be viewed as an important planning tool and consumer loan education opportunity.
It is also important to note that if a borrower is eligible for a loan through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), a FAA is bound by federal law to certify the loan, unless there is knowledge of fraud or intent of fraud by the borrower with respect to the FFELP loan. So FAA’s are not pushing loans to drive up student debt, quite the contrary. In fact their Colleges’ ability to participate in the FFELP loan program is tied the annual Cohort Default Rate for Student loans. A high default rate at a college will cause the US Department of Education to rescind a school’s ability to participate in the FFELP programs. As a result none of the students who attend a college banned from FFELP can apply for those loans.
Unfortunately there is never enough scholarship/grant or work study funds available to FAA’s to fully fund students’ need, so loans are generally included in an award letter. This is the eternal frustration of any financial aid administrator.
As far as educational loans are concerned, FAAs always recommend that students first apply for Stafford and PLUS loans due to their lower interest rates as compared to personal loans or private educational loans. Most students do not have a credit history and would not be eligible for a personal or private (alternative) education loan without a co-signer and/or a high interest rate. These are credit based loans, meaning that the borrower would need a good credit score or a co-signer with a good credit score to receive the loan or the best rates. The repayment is generally non-deferrable and require payments while the student is in college.
As the financial industry seized up in the last two years, lenders of private student loans have tightened the credit requirements and increased the interest rates. Fewer students and parents are eligible for these loans.
Some may feel that FAA’s are unwilling to give a comparative analysis of federal loan rates. Are you aware that there are over 1,000 lenders that participate in the FFELP (Federal Family Loan Programs) programs? It is more than a bit difficult for schools to do a comparison of all lenders with that many lenders participating in FFELP.
However, many colleges put together a list of 3-10 lenders that they assess annually through a process referred to as Request For Information (RFI). Even this has become more difficult as numerous lenders have exited the FFELP program or changed their borrower benefits to address the changing financial environment and federal legislation over the last two years. Schools may have a Preferred Lender List for FFELP loans and/or Private loans. It is important to note that students and parents are not required to utilize a lender from the schools’ lists, but it is there if the families are looking for options or guidance.
I hope this gives you a better insight in to the minds of and appreciation for financial aid administrators. For with out them, many dreams would go unrealized.
Hello, I am a senior in high school and have not been accepted to any colleges yet.
I am starting to apply for financial aid, so besides scholarships I know that I can apply for grants too.
I just don’t know if I have to get accepted first into the university in order to apply for grants, or if I can apply right now while still being in high school.
Please help! Will grant opportunities be included in my financial aid package for my colleges? I already submitted my FAFSA, and I am elegable for up to $5,000+ for the Pell Grant.
Thank You! I love Yahoo Answers!
L to L:
Grants come from three sources, the federal government, your state, or your school. You will be considered for all grant programs that you are eligible for – as part of the aid analysis that the financial aid office will perform once they have received the results of your FAFSA application.
You may want to check with your high school guidance department, just to make sure that there aren’t additional steps that you may need to take to gain eligibility for any available state grants. In California, for example, applicants for Cal Grants must ensure that their school provides GPA verification to the California Student Aid Commission – and in Florida, a Bright Futures hopeful must sign up for the program before graduating from high school. If there are similar programs in your state, there may be separate steps that you’ll need to complete – and your counselor can explain those to you.
But yes – you’re already covered for “grants” – that’s part of the FAFSA process.
Good luck!
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