[throawa]

Thanks! This was 96-97, applications were all free, except for the postage. There may have been some higher-end schools that required money, I probably didn't even consider those. My algorithm was to go through Kaplan's (or one of those) catalog of all US colleges and universities, request an info package from each college where it seemed I can get a full-ride, receive it a few weeks later, fill out the enclosed application, send it out.

I did some prior research into scholarships and didn't even consider top schools (Harvard, Stanford, etc.), as I knew there was no chance to get a full-ride with my credentials. I mostly focused on smaller regional colleges.

[throawa]

Actually, I take that back. You're right, there were fees for the applications. And I didn't send out 200-300 applications. I just received >200 info packages (not even sure anymore of the estimate, but it was a lot). Out of those info packages, I applied to several schools (probably five or so), which clearly stated their criteria for qualifying for a full-ride scholarship (usually GPA + test score combination).

Sorry for the unintentional lie, I wish I could edit the original post. I guess so many years do weird things with memory.

[sireat]

You did a lot of legwork to get achieve your dream, I really do admire your drive and focus.

Canada isn't a bad place to end up after all.