I am a Senior Year (Year 12) student from India. I have a GPA of 4 in all my subjects. Could you please suggest some colleges/Universities I can apply for Computer (Software) Engineering (B.Eng) in the US?
P.S.: My co-curricular activities aren't too great and I'll need financial aid too.
USNews and World Report, one of the leading college ranking publications have put out a list of top colleges that offer the CS degree in engineering.
They are the following. It's no surprise that CMU, MIT, GTech, Stanford, UI, Berkeley, Cornell all come out at the Top 10. Here is the link.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/computer-science-overall
It's very complicated and difficult to know what colleges to point you to because you mention 2 critical things a) your ECs are not too great and b.) you require financial aid. All the Top colleges in America review applications on a holistic basis so grades are only one of many components or criteria they use. Each university has a different method and some are extremely difficult to get in to like MIT that only accepts 3.4% of International applicants versus 7-8% of US applicants. Extracurricular activities and evidence of intellectual vitality/curiosity outside of the classroom setting is very important, and you will have a difficult time being admitted to such schools without exemplary ECs.
Also, very few Top universities offer the same level of financial aid as they do for Domestic applicants. Some schools like UPenn and Cornell (I think are need-aware) so their admissions for Int'l applicant's factor in your ability to pay as well. Fewer than 10 colleges (perhaps it's 20) actually give full scholarships to International students and they get swamped with applications. Keep in mind these are the hardest schools to get into as well with an acceptance rate of like 6.7% on average.
There are literally hundreds and hundreds of excellent colleges that offer CS degrees so I recommend that you do your research thoroughly and see where you fit in the best. Use the college vine chancing profile and see how you fare against a list of different schools you choose. Make a list of 20 schools and see whether they are all reaches or safety or targets and adjust your list accordingly so you have the best chances of applying and getting accepted.
I'm sorry there is no magic bullet to offer you. It's a very long and arduous process to know where to apply to.
The last thing you need to budget and keep in mind is a.) our US travel and VISA process and the cost associated with getting a student VISA b.) the cost of traveling back and forth from your country over the 4 years, you have to pay for that. c.) You need to prepare for and get excellent scores on the IELTS or TOEFL English language tests as part of your application and report those scores. d.) Although Test Scores like the ACT/SAT, SAT 2s, and APs and IBs are optional, it's recommended that you take them to back up your academic transcript of course rigor and grades.
Good luck with your college process.
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If your co-curricular activities aren't too great then getting into a top American University will be tough. My suggestion is that if you want a Westernized education and more opportunities in North America, then look a the University of Waterloo in Canada and then move to America after you finish school. Its cheaper living in Canada, tuition is usually less than 10k and Waterloo computer science is the top in the country