<p>Hello!
I’m an international applicant (Indian), female, interested in the Liberal Arts. My SAT 1 scores are 780 WR, 710 CR and 650 M. I’m taking the Eng Lit and Chem sub SATs this Nov; expecting 650-750 on them.
I have strong high school grades- 97% with CGPA 10, in class X, 85% (but still in the top 10%) in class XI, and i have yet to take the 12th exams (expecting 90%+).
ECs:
1.Commonwealth Essay Competition (international) runner up/bronze medal winner/commended/highly commended in 2008/2011/2007/2006.
2. School magazine editor.
3. Interviewer, script-writer and narrator for an official school documentary.
4. Have a huge amount of data from a 2 yr project (as part of a UK school exchange program) on a local lake, as a member of the Leadership club: Interviews, reports, articles, photos, poems, skits.
5. School cultural captain and House Captain (our house got 1st prize in EVERY competition that year).
6. Team member for a science project that won 1st prize at the national level science exhibition.
7. Contributed an article in an award winning local magazine.
8. Exhibited oil paintings and photographs twice in IIT Bombay’s annual exhibition.
9. Have a blog where i put up my articles.
10. 60 hours of community work teaching.
11. Have sports prizes for inter-house athletics and throwball competitions. (1st prizes)
12. 1st prizes in one interschool and multiple within-school essay competitions.</p>
<p>My app essay and recos will be pretty good. I need financial aid >90%.
Is it worth applying?
Thank you for chancing me, and all the best :)</p>
<p>I’m not sure how much my opinion is worth, but no one else is answering this, so I’ll take a crack at it.</p>
<p>You have the same problem as me, which is that your highest SAT score is the one that is generally counted the least (writing). Your scores are a little bit on the low side for Amherst, but I think their admissions approach is holistic enough that you could still have a chance if the rest of your application is awesome.</p>
<p>Your financial situation shouldn’t affect you because Amherst is need blind for all students, including internationals…and if you do get in, they will meet 100% of your need. I’d say it’s worth applying based on just that alone; very few liberal arts colleges in the US give such good financial aid to international students. </p>
<p>So, yeah…If you like Amherst, apply. It might be a bit of a reach, but you’ve got a shot and the potential benefits of a crack ton of finaid definitely outweigh the cost of the application fee.</p>
<p>Thanks for replying
Yes, im hoping that with amazing app essays i might have a decent chance. But do you think that right now, the rest of my app is strong enough to outweigh my SAT scores? (High school scores, ECs, good recos).
All the best to you :)</p>
<p>Honestly, it’s very difficult to say what exactly would outweigh your test scores…a lot of this depends on how much Amherst values each indivudual thing that you submit, which we really don’t know. Your ECs are pretty good and I don’t know much about your recs, but I like to think that a combination of good grades, ECs, recs, and essays will give you a good chance…but of course, there are no guarantees.
Best of luck and sorry for the vague answer.</p>
<p>Your only problem is the aid issue. Only a few top colleges are need-blind for internationals. I suggest a few good safeties like Macalaster, Vassar, HWS, and schools that might be willing to support an international who is very bright to get diversity on their campus.</p>
<p>In my opinion, a 710 CR for an int’l student is impressive enough, although your M score is rather low. I am an int’l student applying this year too, and I honestly think that you have decent chance to get into Amherst. Good luck with your application. </p>
<p>Hey IRBCobalt, I know this is probably really late but I think you should deff apply. I was just accepted a couple days ago and I have lower scores than you. Plus you have a good resume and seem well rounded good luck!</p>
