I’m an international student and I have applied for undergrad.
Waiting for decisions is full of stress, but it is also fun. I want to ask you how do you see my chance to get in MIT, CalTech, Princeton, UChicago, Harvard, and Stanford? I have applied to them.
GPA: 3.98 (unweighted)
Class rank: 5 out of 180
Studied in the best high school in my country.
TOEFL iBT: 70 - I’d take one in April.
All of above universities have waived SAT and ACT for me, because these aren’t offered in my country.
Honors:
Silver Medal in IPhO 2014
Gold Medal in National Physics Competition 2013
Silver Medal in National Physics Competition 2012
Best Project Title in Student Project Exhibition 2012
A Physics simulating project with research paper.
Extracurriculars:
Playing an traditional instrument
Publishing a literature magazine in high school
@Anish14 What do you mean by I need a hook?
I really want to know is it even theoretically possible for me to get an admission from at least of one of these universities?!
Your hook (something that makes you stand out) is clearly IPhO - this is an achievement that even the best schools will recognize as something outstanding.
Everything depends on your essays and recommendations. You do have a chance, I believe, although I have to admit that your TOEFL score is rather low for these competitive schools and can seriously undermine the overall impression of your application.
@vlad7777 OK… You really improved my hope! I know my TOEFL score is low. I really hope they comprehend that improving English isn’t too much hard… Thank you.
I am sorry if you do not already know but your application does not meet minimum requirements for all these schools. A TOEFL score of 90 is a minimum at all these schools with a 100 recommended. If your score is below this your application will not be considered. It is a shame though because you seem really bright.
@Bored1997 I asked them. Just MIT have minimum TOEFL score requirement, and all of them would review my application. However, they said it’s a disadvantage point.
I am an international student as well and just wanted to warn you about one thing. Basically, English isn’t my first language but I’ve been learning it pretty much since kindergarten so I was always very good at it. But, when I transferred to a new high school that taught sciences in English, I realized just how difficult it was to learn these subjects in a foreign language. It had a huge effect on my grades initially too. So, my advice is, read some science textbooks in English and get familiar with them, memorize the terminology and etc. If you do not do this, you won’t be able to understand properly much of your college material thus won’t be able to show your talent. Also, colleges are well aware of this and that’s the reason they told you that 70 TOEFL will decrease your chances of being accepted.
The country from which you are applying from will have significant bearing on whether you have a chance or not. If you are applying from over-represented countries like India, China, Korea, etc you will be competing with high stats/extraordinary extracurricular activities countrymen…if you are applying from under-represented countries like Sudan, Congo, Costa Rica, etc you will have a much better chance…
…international applicants are holistically evaluated based on where these students educational opportunities came from…the more opportunities the higher the expectation…the fewer opportunities the lower the expectation…
…which country are you applying from? or what region of the world if you do not want to be specific…
Thank you for letting me know. I usually don’t chance but I would not be surprised to hear you get into at least one or two of the schools! Best wishes!
