Applying to need-aware schools as an international applicant with zero vs 1-2k$ family contribution — any difference? How screwed am I?

I’m from a country where probably 5 people max apply to US colleges each year. Iran has had no diplomatic relations with the US for the past 40 years and 99% of Iranian students my age can’t even speak English. Iran is also one of the travel ban countries so that has already stopped so many people from even considering US colleges. I’m pretty sure I won’t be hurting anyone by applying to colleges that are better than Harvard in CS and biomedical engineering, because those two seem to be the majors in the most likely to pursue. Thank you for understanding. I see it comes off as silly, but I think we all have these silly personal things sometimes. She said I’d never get in, and I would be happy to have proven her wrong if I do. That’s all...

/r/ApplyingToCollege Thread Parent