Chance me for USC, Pomona.. Do I even stand a chance?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics

  • Gender: Male
  • Race/Ethnicity: Indian
  • Residence: India
  • EFC: $15k/year ( need aid )
  • Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): none;

Intended Major(s): CS

Academics

  • GPA/Rank : Grade 9 : 92%; Grade 10: 93%; Grade11: 96%; Grade 12: 98% ( Predicted ), Top 5% in my class of 250.
  • APs - 5 APs ( AP Calc BC, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science A, AP Statistics )

Standardized Testing

List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.

  • SAT/ACT: 1550

Extracurriculars/Activities:

  1. self-taught python, java and also build couple of projects and apps with 5k+ downloads on play store.
  2. Published a Book
  3. Independent Research ( Research Paper: Not Published )
  4. USACO Gold
  5. Run a podcast with 100k total plays till now.
  6. Internship at a startup
  7. Tutored kids for a year in my Grade 11
  8. Around 50 hrs of volunteering
  9. Facial Recognition app and couple of other ML projects
  10. Played badminton as a hobby

Awards/Honors:

  1. 100% Merit scholarship in grade 11 & 12
  2. Gold medals in a bunch of Olympiads

Recommendations:

  • Math Teacher: 9/10
  • English Teacher: 7/10;
2

Yes.

But if you have need and are international, you should also look to the 7 schools that are need blind and meet need - the two you chose could turn you down based on your financial need.

Is 15K the absolute stretch of you could go $20/25K - because if so, U of Alabama and Western Carolina are two to look at. I realize you are seeking a name…but if you want a US education, that’s two possibilities. Good luck.

  • Amherst College.
  • Bowdoin College.
  • Dartmouth College.
  • Harvard University.
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  • Princeton University.
  • Yale University.
3

Are you a senior right now? If so, have you been accepted/denied/deferred to any schools in India? US? Elsewhere?

4

Honestly, it will be tough at those schools with EFC of $15K.

Your strategy should be to identify schools that offer some aid to bring your COA to ~$15K. There are many such schools but international students get fixated on prestige and brand…and they do not get it.

3 Likes
5

Im not applying in India. It doesnt work like that here. You’ve to prepare for JEE exam for 2-3 years before and have to get at least below 1000 rank in it to get admission in decent school, and you can only choose CS if your rank is good. More than 1-2 million people give this test.

Im just not made for this BS, thats why applying to US, Canada , Australia , and Switzerland.

6

I understand.

So you are a senior now and already applied to USC and Pomona? Did you apply to USC EA or RD? Did you apply anywhere else in the US?

Do you have any affordable acceptances in the other countries where you applied to schools?

7

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