A New Zealander wanting to go to Ivy League

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>Hi, I've just joined cc, so this is my first post :-)</p>

<p>I would really like to go to (in order of preference)
1.Princeton
2.Harvard
3.Yale
4.Columbia
I would also like to apply to
5.MIT
6.Duke
7.Stanford</p>

<p>I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what my chances are of getting into these universities.</p>

<p>In NZ our schooling system is a bit different from the US, and so I dont have any of the usual statistics to report (like GPA etc ) but here is an idea of what ive done:</p>

<p>Age:18
subjects studied untill year 13 level (ie aquivalent of grade 12) (meaning i have studied them for 5 years)
Calculus
Statistics
Physics
French
Economics
Art (sculpture)
English
(and have excellent marks in all of them, tho I wont write these out as our marking system is very confusing)
I have also studied various other subjects (eg geography) but for not as long.
Achievements:
Last year I represented New Zealand at the IMO, and will go again this year. I wasn't a medallist last year, but If all goes well this year I should get atleast bronze. I am among the top 3 math students in the country (which has a population of 4 million) and have been placed in a number of natonal math competitions. I can also get an excellent reference from the team leader of the New Zealand IMO team (who is from Russia and well known in the math world).</p>

<p>I havent yet taken SAT but going by practise tests I think I should get very good results (i.e 750 - 800 on all ).</p>

<p>I'm frequently placed in the top 1% in the country on exams.
Top student in my school (although doesnt mean much as its a very small school - only 40 students in my year level).</p>

<p>I was also among the top 5 in the annual national French speaking competition, winning a trip to New Caledonia.</p>

<p>I have won numerous shortstory, poetry and speech competitions, including a national short story competition.</p>

<p>I am doing grade 8 piano this year.</p>

<p>other ec's :
- member of regional youth orchestra
-played in chamber music competitions, and accompanied choirs (on piano)
-compete in equestrian events around my region with success
-represented school in Basketball (A team) and touch rugby
-member of school cultural committee
-member of amnesty international
-have won several wearable arts competitions</p>

<p>I have had a part time job(at a supermarket) for 3 years (9 hours a week).</p>

<p>Have not really done much community service, except for helping with collections and volunteering to waitress at several fundraisng events.
I also help tutor people in maths.(in NZ community service is not something many people do but I am hoping I still have time to involve myself in more activities before I apply).</p>

<p>If anyone could give me an idea of what my chances are of getting into one of these top universities I would really appreciate it,
thanks!!!</p>

<p>Eve</p>

2

<p>If you really want to apply to these schools then go ahead, no point in bothering about chances when none of us here can predict whether you're going to get in or not. I thought I had absolutely no chance of getting into Stanford, but I applied anyway and got in.</p>

<p>Grade 8 piano? Good luck, I decided to cancel the same exam because I was sick of playing just for the sake of preparing for my exams.</p>

3

<p>hey, just out of curiosity what are the colleges like in NZ? Is there any one college which stands out and would be worth attending ( for an intel student that is)?
o well u seem pretty well rounded...but as nkay said no one really knows with the schools u listed. they r rather unpredictable.</p>

4

<p>bad list. if you'd be careful, you might not end up like i did. bottomline is: no one can predict if you'll get in. No one.</p>

5

<p>agree w/ alyssa. the admission process is 20% abt how gd you are and 80% abt luck. if you really wanna go to college in the US, you MUST apply for some safety schools or you might end up being ultra disapted next april. btw schools like Penn n Brown ARE NOT satety choices.</p>

6

<p>I would give you a good chance but as everyone said nothing's certain with the Ivies. If you're hell-bent on going to the States then you should definitely take at least one or two safeties--school's that have literally filled out your applications, waived your app fee and just want you to add some details to your form. Okay, perhaps not to that extent but there are some pretty good schools that would readily take you.</p>

<p>Ivies--another story.</p>

7

<p>I know this is an obvious truism, but I strongly advise you to look beyond the Ivies and MIT -- and I don't mean safety schools. Hey, a year ago, Columbia was my top choice. Now, it seems I'll reject it for a college I didn't even know about back then (Amherst). The Ivy mania is especially acute for internationals; outside the US, Ivies + MIT + Stanford are pretty much the only American schools anyone has ever heard of!</p>

<p>I'd be more optimistic than Alyssa et al. Being international, being an IMO participant/medallist and being extremely well-rounded should get you into most of your top choices. Hey, if 80% of top college admissions was luck, Ivy students at large wouldn't be much smarter than the average guy you meet on the street! Despite all the hassle about balancing a variety of factors in the admissions process, academic performance remains king.</p>

8

<p>Nonononononononononono YOU HAVE TO APPLY TO SOME SAFTEYS!! None of the schools listed is not a saftey!</p>

<p>I've seen people with your records, your awards, being rejected by the top tier schools.
btw, I'm also from new zealand and i am HOPING to god that you are not TOM WANG because his awards seem VERY alike to yours.</p>

<p>If you take NCEA, you have to ask your councillar to really emphasize how hard it is to get 'Excellence' in your counciller report- my teachers told me, that last year, for biology, 3% gets Excllence from the whole country.</p>

<p>I disagree with Tadeusz. From being optimistic, you will get rejected. I know that sounds really harsh but internationals have a very big disadvantage, esp. if you are asking for fin/aid. For eg, acceptance for MIT for intels were like 3% couple of years ago. (or last year?)

[quote]
Despite all the hassle about balancing a variety of factors in the admissions process, academic performance remains king.

[/quote]

:eek: Have you not seen this year's round of admittance? 1600 800x6 4.0gpa have been rejected from penn. If you take a curriculum where it's widely known such as US school system, APs, cambridge, IB, acadamic grades need to be good/average because they are familiar with them. But, if one takes a lesser known curriculum, extra curricular stuff counts the most. Not to mention LEADERSHIP! Leadership is what nearly all colleges want.</p>

<p>If you live in Auckland, there's a conference thing with admission officers from duke, wellesly, yale, dartmouth, u of chicago. If you live here, pm me and i'll get you info on dat.</p>

<p>BTW, it is possible for you to get into your choices.. (Search around Cc and you'll see people getting accepted to the top 5 ivies and such).. It's just a bit tricky since we are all intels.
ohh and since your the valedictorian, that should be a big plus!
GOOd luck!</p>

9

<p>Thanks for your advice everyone,
Yeh I will apply to some safety schools as well, but im not sure which ones yet. I would really love to go to one of those mentioned above though. man it sucks being internationals, its so competitive!! If I dont get into a good us uni than I can always go to Auckland uni, but it is pretty average (and its probably the best university in NZ). </p>

<p>BTW Nofx I'm not Tom Wang, tho I do know him - he's on the IMO team with me this year</p>

10

<p>Ad. Int'ls at a disadvantage: It's not so clear. While indeed few schools offer need-blind admissions to international students, the mere fact of coming from a foreign country is a big plus. This may not matter as much at those schools that receive a lot of apps from abroad, though -- which is why big-name schools aren't necessarily a good bet.</p>

<p>Ad. safeties: I hope I didn't sound as if saying "safety schools are a waste of time." They're not. However, my experience (as well as that of other graduates of my high school who left for the US) is that there are NO safety schools for internationals. I got into two Ivies adn two good LACs, but to neither of my low-ranked "safeties." Only top schools give out significant amounts of financial aid; at less distinguished ones, you run a very high risk of being denied enough money to afford college. So, one should definitely apply to decent schools outside the Ivy League (top-20 LACs, etc), but not necessarily to some considerably weaker institutions. The latter aren't "safeties," in the meaning of the term the natives use ("schools I'm 99% sure to get into"); and they probably aren't any better than Auckland anyway. I personally don't think it's worth the time one could use for boosting apps to the top schools. On the other hand, if they accept the Common Application and will waive your app fee -- go ahead!</p>

<p>Ad. academic excellence as admission factor: I admit that ECs and leadership activities may be important admission factors. But being one of a nation's best mathematicians is a credential that few colleges can resist; it's something FAR more than top SAT scores. It is leadership in an academic field. Still, I agree that even the most qualified applicants may get rejected. Apply to many -- but apply mostly to the top.</p>

11

<p>What do you intend to study Eve? Do you have financial restraints or limitations? That will help us give you a list of reaches, matches and safeties that will actually meet your needs.</p>

12

<p>Thanks for your help tadeusz.<br>
I intend to study math, and unfortunately I would need to apply for financial aid (and quite alot of it!)</p>

13

<p>Definitely apply to MIT. They are generous with aid and they love female applicants. I know of a very bright young lady in the UAE who has been admitted into MIT this year and she got over $40,000/year. </p>

<p>Look into some of the LACs as well. Schools like Pomona, Amherst, Williams, Grinnell, Swarthmore etc...</p>

<p>Some of the Ivies, like Princeton, Harvard, and Dartmouth are quite generous. Others, like Cornell and Penn aren't. </p>

<p>Stanford is traditionally know for being stingy with international applicants. </p>

<p>Another school worth looking into is the University of Chicago. They have a great math department.</p>

<p>Some state universities, like Cal and Michigan have top 10 math departments, but they usualyl do not give aid to internationals.</p>

14

<p>evemarni, from what I can see, you are an absolutely amazing applicant, both academically and extra-curricularly. But, beware, as there are many amazing people in this world in your generation and most of them will be applying to the Ivy League ;). I should say that you will need luck to get into any of your choices, because there are lots of hyper-qualified people in the applicant pool.
Definitely look into other places as well - try the Top LACs listed on CC - most of them do give some FinAid for Internationals, some even claim to be need-blind towards internationals (i.e. Williams and Middlebury). And, while I agree there are no safeties for Internationals, there are some schools which get fewer applications from traditional HYP applicants and still offer FinAid, but then again, as Tadeusz put it, you should decide for yourself if they're worth it.
Be advised, though, if you decide to apply only to the schools on your list, you can view the whole thing as a game. You should cast a wider net, in order for you to have more choices.</p>