Hispanic male.
Ieb accredited private school
First Gen
Income : 36k
Major: Aerospace/Mechanical engineering
GPA & Scores
4.46 W, no UW converted
No class rank
SAT: 1500+ (Writing in october)
SAT II: Math 2 (800); Physics (800) (again hopefully bases on practice tests)
AP: IEB AP math (Basically all your AP calculus + SO stats)
Awards
1st in math ibt
2 top 100 in math ivy
3 top 1% in ivy english
Semifinalist at regional science fair
EC’s:
Volunteer at local youth group
Volunteered at kliptown youth prohect
Competed in Soccer Squad coached by former national player
Formerly a honey badger (Club setup at the hub zoo)
Other:
Proficient in three coding languages and regularly compete in game jams.
World record holder in some racing Assetto cross (Probably useless info)
I know my chances are virtually non existent but you know what they say there’s no harm in trying
Your stats are very good, but you’e aiming at schools with single digit acceptance rates. So you know what your chances are. If you’re serious about studying in America you need to increase those chances by applying to more schools, and ones that are less selective (though still very good.)
BTW: Applying for financial aid?
International applicants compete with other international applicants and colleges generally have a targeted number of admits in mind by region. So a lot depends on the pool of applicants you fall into.
Is your citizenship South African or the Hispanic country? This can make difference.
Whether or not you apply for financial aid can also make a difference. MIT is need-blind for internationals (but their overall international admit rate is about 4%). I believe Stanford is need aware. This doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t get need-based aid from Stanford, only that the competition is stiff.
Your chances are not non-existent, but admission rates are low. I agree with @katliamom, you should widen your net.
Super selective schools not only require excellent grades and scores but also look for achievement in extracurriculars and talents as well as demographic diversity and life stories. So be prepared to devote a lot of energy to how you present yourself in your application, in resumes, supplements, essays and recommendations.
As others have said the acceptance rates at MIT and Stanford are very low, and particularly low for international students.
However, IMHO you have great stats and do have a chance. Also, both schools are need blind and claim to meet full need for accepted students, including international students, so your income should not hurt your chances. Both schools care about the diversity of their students, which might help you depending upon how many other strong students happen to apply at the same time from your part of the world.
I have citizenship in both the Hispanic country and South Africa
@DadTwoGirls, OPs test scores are estimated, not achieved and GPA is self-converted from another system. The OPs primary ECs are holding the world record in a race car driving sim video game and participating in weekend build-a-video game competitions. The Honey Badger Club is a program at the Jo’berg zoo for primary school kids.
OP, first gen is not a ‘hook’ for international students. You don’t need an official class rank to know if you are seen as an academic star in your school: are you? Would your teachers say that you are one of the more outstanding students that they have ever taught? What is your pitch as to why you would be such a great addition to the student body that MIT or Stanford should invest $250,000+ in you?
For most colleges that consider hooks, such hooks only apply to domestic applicants or else are minimized by the fact that the applicant is international.
IMO, not a dramatic difference, if any difference. These schools with single digit admit rates have more than enough applicants that they do not need to select one from a country just to stick a pin in the map.