I applied to U.S. colleges during my year off after high school
from Nepal. First, I read the Princeton Review’s book,
Top 300 US Colleges, which has detailed basic information
about colleges. I was encouraged to make a list of three categories
of colleges on the advice of family friends, Mac Odell and Susan
Hand, who have significant experience advising pre-college students.
I was also encouraged to visit the colleges if I could. I followed
their words seriously, and thanks to their advice and encouragement,
I graduated from Yale University last May.
First Steps
|
The most important factor I considered while looking through
these hundreds of colleges was financial aid. I already
had three siblings in college, and knowing the strength
of the Nepali Rupee to the dollar, I wasn’t going
to ask my parents to contribute much to my college education. |
The Princeton Review Top 300 Colleges book was a useful
first step in identifying potential colleges. The most important
factor I considered while looking through these hundreds of
colleges was financial aid. I already had three siblings in
college, and knowing the strength of the Nepali Rupee to the
dollar, I wasn’t going to ask my parents to contribute
much to my college education.
These were the questions I asked when making my first list
of colleges:
1) Was financial aid available to international students?
This was important to me as an international student since
many colleges do not offer scholarships and loans to international
students. This should be the first thing you look into if
you are an international student looking for financial aid
from your college.
2) What was the amount of scholarship on average that each
student on financial aid at this college received?
This is a good indicator of how much you can expect to receive.
When you fill in your financial aid forms, you can match up
to this figure.
3) Was the scholarship need-based or need-blind?
If the scholarship is need-blind, it means that the admission
process and financial aid process are completely separate.
If you receive admission, the college will have to meet your
financial aid need regardless of whether the amount of personal
contribution is $ 20,000 or $ 0 (yearly).
Remember: Most colleges have separate admissions and financial
aid offices. When I first applied, I stated that I could contribute
$10,000 per year but when I was accepted, I negotiated the
amount to $4,000 stating that my family’s financial
situation had changed. Later, after my first year of college
I brought this amount down to $0, stating that the Maoist
crisis and the decline of tourism had affected my family’s
business. For the last two years of college, my college actually
gave me $4,000 per semester for living expenses.
In hindsight, I would add one more question to this list:
4) What does the financial aid package consist of, and
how is it determined?
The financial aid office takes into the account the total
cost of studying at the college, including tuition, housing,
books, and personal expenses. Then they subtract the amount
you say you can contribute from the total cost, which equals
your financial need. Accordingly, they will create a ‘package’,
which will break down the various sources of funding to meet
the total cost: financial aid from the college (this is absolute
free money!), self-help (your part-time employment during
the school year and summer), and loans.
Loans can be of various kinds. Since I was an international
student, my loan came straight from my college. For U.S. students,
there are Perkins, Stafford, and other loans. Some students
are afraid to take loans but I recommend it, as it takes the
burden off of personally working to pay off school bills,
and it builds your credit too (that is, if you pay back on
time).
Other Factors I Looked At
The racial makeup and percentage of international students
at the college, also known in popular college-speak as “diversity”.
I wanted a college with a healthy balance of Asian and other
races, to Caucasian students.
Ratio of men to women. I considered a ratio of 50:40 either
men to women or women to men a comfortable number. Having
said this, I did apply to a few women’s colleges since
these colleges are known to produce top-notch female leaders
in their fields. But since I had a co-ed high school background,
I ultimately preferred to be in a co-ed college, which gives
you a more real-world feel. This is, of course, your personal
decision.
Location of the college. I knew that I did not want to be
in a busy city where life would be too hectic and distract
me from my studies. I also knew that I did not want to be
in a very remote area since I would feel isolated and lonely.
But being in Nepal while first looking at my college options,
I had no feel for these places in America so I just guessed
my way through my first list.
The List
After considering all of the above factors, I made my first
list of about 15 colleges. When and if you make this first list,
it is very important to be very open. Do not overestimate or
underestimate your abilities and chances of getting into colleges.
You never know which great college might accept you or you never
know which dumpy college you might have to end up in!
My list had five top-notch colleges (Ivy Leagues and top 30),
five second-tier but very renowned schools (top 100-150), and
a third list of five good-to-mediocre schools. These are known
as “safety schools,” so that if you don’t
get accepted or you don’t get financial aid you can fall
back on these schools, which should be easy to get into and
inexpensive so you can fund through personal sources if need
be. Some guidance counselors recommend having good state schools
as safety schools since they are affordable and not too difficult
to get into.
My first list, as you can see (below) was quite varied in terms
of geography and other factors:
IVY LEAGUE
- Harvard, Cambridge, MA
- Yale, New Haven, CT
- Stanford, Palo Alto, CA
- New York University, New York, NY
- Cornell, Ithaca, NY
SECOND TIER
- Tufts College, MA
- Amherst, MA
- Wellesley, Wellesley, MA
- Mount Holyoke, MA
- Smith College, Northampton, MA
SAFETY
- Bates College, Lewiston, ME
- Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
- Bowdoin, Brunswick, ME
- Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA
- Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
Please note: This list is ultimately very personal (with of
course suggestions from your guidance from your counselor, family,
friends, books, internet, and Migyul). But you know your own
potential best so you should make this list accordingly. But
don’t forget to aim for the skies and be ready to land
on the treetops or even the lowest branch!
|
A few pearls of wisdom: Visit as many colleges as you can,
and speak to as many people as you can! |
A Few Pearls of Wisdom: Visit as many colleges as you can,
and speak to as many people as you can!
My list was narrowed down after I visited almost all the colleges
on ‘the List’ over a period of two months. I visited
the colleges during my application process. So if I didn’t
like something about a college, I discontinued my application.
This way, several colleges like Harvard (too stiff), NYU (too
chaotic being in the world’s busiest city), Hampshire
(too remote), Tufts (not diverse enough) and all the colleges
on the West Coast came off the list (the west coast was wonderful
but too relaxed for me and I felt I wouldn’t get much
studying done).
You can call the admissions office and schedule a tour on your
own, or with a family member or a friend. I also interviewed
at some of the schools that offer interviews as part of the
admissions process. This helps them to get to know you personally.
Check with the college if they offer interviews.
I finally applied to ten colleges: Yale, Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke,
Cornell, Smith, Bates, Hampshire, Bowdoin, Amherst, and Colgate.
I got accepted into seven but got rejected by Bates and Bowdoin
as they thought I was not serious enough about coming to their
college since I was applying to bigger schools (they explained
it quite politely in their letter), and I was waitlisted at
Amherst.
|
Other things you can do to get a better understanding of
the college: speak with current students of that college,
your guidance counselor and your contemporaries who are
applying to colleges as well. |
Other things you can do to get a better understanding of the
college: speak with current students of that college, your guidance
counselor and your contemporaries who are applying to colleges
as well. If you have a friend already at any college you are
interested in, I recommend you go and stay on-campus with them
to get a feel for what it’s like. This is how I made my
decision to go to Yale since I had stayed in the dorms and attended
some classes. Some colleges have programs through which they
actually set you up at the college and have you visit some classes
etc. Check with the colleges of your interest.
Beyond the SATs: Be Unique. Yes, SAT scores are important,
but they are not all-important. To get into a top tier school,
you also have to set your self aside from the rest of the thousands
of bright students, who by the way will most likely have perfect
SAT scores (of course most of them have private SAT tutorials
that cost hundreds of dollars).
|
You have to set yourself apart from the competition. The
good news is that being of Himalayan background you are
already unique, and you should play this up in your application.
|
You have to set yourself apart from the competition. The good
news is that being of Himalayan background you are already unique,
and you should play this up in your application.
But of course please be sincere. Don’t make up stories
of things you don’t know about or worse don’t care
about, and don’t plagiarize. Rather, take an active interest
in your background, and explore your family and community values.
You don’t have to be an expert; you just have to be sincere.
Remember, the admissions committee is made of real-life human
beings who are looking for a ‘personal touch’ to
your essay and application. When they pour through hundreds
of applications, you should stand out not because of your SAT
scores or high school scores, but because you have something
interesting and personal to offer.
Treat your application packet as if you were presenting yourself
to a group of strangers; you want to put your best foot forward
but you also want to be genuine. An application packet consists
of: The application, a personal statement (usually 250-300 words),
recommendation letters (usually two, sometimes three), and any
additional materials you would like to include to back up your
application.
For my personal statement, I wrote about my first close encounter
with street children in Nepal, looking at the disparities in
our lives. Whatever you do, remember it has to be about a definitive
moment in your life, something that changed you for the better,
from which the admissions personnel can derive meaning. Since
I had taken a year off, I also included an essay broken down
into three parts based on my personal passions that I pursued
during my time off —
- Travel; where I listed down the places I had visited during
my year off – Solu Khumbu, Mustang, Manang
- Writing; where I wrote of my interest in social and political
commentary
- Development and Social Work; where I wrote about my belief
that Nepal can only truly develop when Nepalis learn to stop
relying on foreign aid and help themselves and one another.
Recommendation letters are also very important. Make sure you
get these from teachers who know you and your work and interests
very well, so that their letters are more than
the standard spiel. In my application packet, I sneaked in a
booklet made on Nepali rice paper with photos and accompanying
poems written while en route in Mustang, newspaper clips of
articles I had written for the Kathmandu Post on the nuclear
crisis in South Asia, and a booklet for a program I began for
street children in Nepal.
|
To this day, I still believe that I got accepted into all
these very competitive schools because when they opened
my application packet, someone on the other side thought
I was special. |
To this day, I still believe that I got accepted into all these
very competitive schools because when they opened my application
packet, someone on the other side thought I was special.
Good Luck! If you have any questions about the application
process, please feel free to contact me at kesang.sherpa@gmail.com
and I will try and best to answer your questions. I will not
write your personal essay or any letters from scratch. However,
I will be happy though to review and help edit your application,
your list of colleges, and personal essay.
