<p>Hey, im applying regular decision.</p>
<p>Stats :
SAT : 2110, M : 720, CR : 740, W : 650.
GPA : 16.77 out of 20 last year, will probably go up to 17.5 out of 20 this year. ( that's like having a 3.8 GPA in america i suppose ).
High School : VERY competitive, i got into it after a national exam at the end of 9th grade, so only the best in the state get to go there.
I speak four languages fluently : arabic french english and spanish. And i speak some german and some russian (self-taught).</p>
<p>ECs : i did about 150 hours volunteering and i started a community service club at my school ( it's very uncommon in Tunisia ), i was an exchange student in the USA for 10 months, did some volunteering then. I did peer tutoring in english, I taught 13 year-olds english ( my brother and some of his friends ) for two summers, helped at cleaning campaigns around the city, i'm a representative of my class in student govmnt. One last thing, i took part in a revolution ( don't know if i can count that as an EC ).</p>
<p>So what are my chances for UChicago, Cornell, and Williams College ?</p>
<p>buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuump</p>
<p>You are very impressive for an applicant from an Arab country. No, I’m not being racist. I’m Arab too, so I would know our standards. I’m not exaggerating when I’m saying that, if you don’t need financial aid, you have an extremely good shot.</p>
<p>Decent chances if you write great essays…write about your experience in the revolution!</p>
<p>Sent from my SGH-T959V using CC App</p>
<p>@cardgames: As a matter of fact, I do need a LOT of financial aid 
Thanks for chancing me though :)</p>
<p>@bioboy12: I think my essays are quite decent, I had them proofread and I was told they were just perfect !! As for my experience in the revolution, I biefly talked about it in my common app personal essay and I wrote about it in the EC common app short statement; I talked about my volunteering at a refugee camp, during the Libyan revolution.</p>
<p>No one here can tell you anything reliable. It will simply come down to if they want representation from your country and can afford it in your budget. Yur stats are just OK, and unless you lead the revolution you don’t have a stand out ED. So your best shot is if any of these schools currently don’t have a student from Tunisia and don’t have another applying who can pay.</p>
<p>In your situation I would actively look at each school’s international list and focus on the ones with no representation from your country.</p>
<p>That’s exactly what I have been thinking. I know most of the Tunisians applying to colleges in the US, and only two are applying to UChicago ( my first choice), me and a girl from my school, who actually has dual citizenship ( both Tunisian and American ) so she may not be considered as an international student ( she’s applying for aid as well), therefore that makes me the only Tunisian int’l applying. So that might be a plus maybe ?</p>
<p>Molectron -</p>
<p>All of the places on your list are unpredictable for international applicants, and since you need financial aid they are even less predictable. No one here is really going to be able to tell you very much. The people who are most likely to know about your options are the counselors at the EducationUSA office in Tunis [EducationUSA</a> - Center Profile - AMIDEAST Tunis](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/EducationUSA.Tunis]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/EducationUSA.Tunis) </p>
<p>I do like that “EC” of yours for 2011. Here’s hoping for good (if somewhat less adventurous) things in 2012!"</p>
<p>I did actually resort to the EducationUSA center in Amideast Tunis, that’s where I had my transcripts translated, that’s where I learnt how to use Common App, and that’s where I had my essays proofread. But, they didn’t tell me anything as to what my chances of getting in are. My counselor there was very proud of me though ( She kept saying that over and over again ), since not too many Tunisians apply to colleges and universities in the US, and for those who do the average SAT score is around 1800.</p>
<p>Believe me, it seems to me that 2012 is going to be even better 
</p>
<p>@Waverly: Now that I’m thinking about it, I didn’t lead the revolution in the country ( Well my name is not Mohamed Bouazizi ) but I did lead it at my school, for about a week I was the only one protesting.</p>
<p>Molectron, if the EducationUSA counselors can’t predict your admissions chances, then no one can. All you can do is make your list, apply, and then see what your results are. I know that you’d like more certainty than that, but it really is all that you can do.</p>
<p>Chicago likes to have students with extraordinary background, and your revolutionary experiences will entice them to accept you. However, cannot wage on the amount of Financial Aid you will receive from Chicago as it has high COA.</p>
<p>Thanks artloversplus!</p>
<p>When looking at representation from your country it’s important to look at who’s already there, not whose applying this year. So check their lists. If they already have a couple of Tunisians, they don’t need to accept any this year and will use the money to further expand their list of countries.</p>
<p>I asked if there were any Tunisians at UChicago, and the answer was no.
Thanks for your help though, I really appreciate it :)</p>
<p>No Tunisians at UChicago? If it weren’t for your needing financial assitance, you would be so in. I don’t believe people on this site know how high a 2100 on the SAT is for an Arab- it’s probably the 99.99th percentile (slight exaggeration, but still accurate). Believe me: competition doesn’t exist for many Arab applicants.</p>
<p>I believe the adcoms will have that in mind when they review my app, or at least, I hope they do.
Thanks for the moral support cardgames 
I saw that you got in UPenn, congrats on that man :)</p>
<p>Oh and just to clear things up a little, 16+ GPA in Tunisia is a 4.0 in the US.</p>
<p>@Waverly You’re such a pessimist.</p>
<p>Another random arab here (Jordanian) :p</p>
<p>Dude, that’s ****ing amazing o.O
getting a 2100 as an Arab [assuming English isn’t your first language] is harder than getting 2400 as an American (I’m not even exaggerating)</p>
<p>I go to a very prestigious private school in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Through the last 10 generations of graduates, and only 2 got over 2000 (one was Jordanian, the other was Lebanese)</p>
<p>I don’t want turn it into a sob story, So i’ll try to make it as short as possible
I studied the entire summer by myself for the SAT (while my family was vacationing in italy under the sun). Got an 1800 in the Dec SAT (Which I’m grateful for) seeing as the only other person to achieve over 1500 was my best friend with a score of 2080, He’s also Jordanian, but he was born and raised in America (therefore has the American passport). He’s literally Shakespeare reincarnated, no wonder he achieved a score of 2000+ on the SAT (on his first try).
The rest of the class of approx 70students scored less than or = to 1500 points.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that Waverly is a pessimist; I agree with most of what he said and find him to be quite knowledgeable. What Waverly is not acquainted with is the different levels of international students in each region. If the Molectron were from China, his chances wouldn’t be that high. Before anyone starts whining about inequality, people need to realize the vast differences in education between , let’s say, China and Tunisia. Molectron is truly exceptional for a Middle Eastern applicant- I know that for a fact.</p>