Kelly Said:

Good liberal arts university in the US?

We Answered:

To go to school in the US requires you to meet the same academic standards as an American applicant and to have the means to pay for it. You have to pass the SAT (GRE for grad school) and if your native language is not English, the TOEFL exam.

Because Universities in Europe and Canada have heavy government subsidies, for a foreign student to consider a US school, they are in for what we call “sticker shock” The cost of attending a US University for an International student in the US is between US$35,000 to US$65,000 per year.

As well, you have to prove you have this sort of funding available to you from family, a sponsor or student loans that you got from your home country.

You cannot make enough money working in the US while at school there to pay your way either. Your student visa limits you to 20 hours a week of work (40 in the summer). This work must be either an on campus job or an outside job that the school approves as being relevant experience for your degree.

For finance, private US schools may give you a partial scholarship but public schools will give you no aid. My Canadian daughter got $9500 a year from her undergrad school towards the $33,000 a year cost.

However, in some cases, like for Canadians going to a US school, you may be able to get aid from your native country. In my daughter’s case, the BC and Canadian governments loaned her a total of $10,000 per year.

Beyond the scholarship and loans, her grandmother contributed $4800 Canadian a year and I paid the rest, about US$12,000 a year.

Graduate students can get a GA after their first semester which will pay their tuition and give them a small living allowance if they have an exceptionally good GPA. My Canadian daughter earned one with her 4.0 GPA and because a US government research institute felt her research is important to the USA. Doctoral students, if they get a decent fellowship during grad school in the USA and if their research is considered important enough can get fully funded PhDs.

As for getting your student visa, the school’s international student office takes care of most of the paperwork. And they will guide you through your part.

As for a sports scholarship, you cannot merely be decent. You have to be championship level. One of the finest.

Ricardo Said:

Why do people complain about "Liberal states"?

We Answered:

As a Massachusetts native, I agree with you. And the person who thinks that all the colleges there are liberal arts schools has never heard of M.I.T.?

Gloria Said:

Which liberal arts colleges have a strong english department?

We Answered:

Bowdoin (Maine), Williams (Massachusets), Tufts (Massachusetts), and Swarthmore (Pennsylvania) are the best little private colleges in the US. http://www.swarthmore.edu/englishliterat… College of William and Mary (Virginia), Miami University (Ohio), University of Vermont, SUNY Binghampton, and Pitt also have excellent programs.

Sandra Said:

Top Ten Small Liberal Arts College or Tier 3 University?

We Answered:

I'm not sure how you can compare these. Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, Haverford, etc. (top ten small liberal arts colleges) are basically in the same category as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. (tier one universities).

Megan Said:

New Ranking of Liberal Arts Schools — Seven Most Relevant Criteria?

We Answered:

I wrote a long answer to the previous question on this matter and was disappointed to find that the question had been deleted. Essentially I said that students will take the classes that they need and want in life. I have never seen the point in taking trig, no pun in intended ;-)

Stacey Said:

University of Illinois vs. University of Michigan in a battle of Liberal Arts?

We Answered:

Michigan is ranked slightly higher overall. But the truth is that on the undergraduate level, there is very little difference between them.

Alberto Said:

What is it that makes Liberal Arts colleges so selective?

We Answered:

Selectivity is one way to cut down the number of applications and make the admissions process more time and cost efficient. Obviously, they get more applications than they want or need to fill their classes. I have no idea why they are popular, but it might be because class size is small, and the students get a lot of personal attention.