<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>I'm a Dutch guy living in Switzerland. I got one more high school year and then I'm going to study. I'd love to study in the USA...</p>
<p>I've always had very good grades in Switzerland. (Something close go 5.7/6 average). I've just done the SAT, and I don't have the scores yet but it went well and I'm pretty confident of getting at least 700 in each section, I hope even higher. And it's only my first time taking it so I'll probably try another time if I'm not happy.</p>
<p>Anyways, I've done lots of stuff for my school and I also play tennis at a pretty competitive level.</p>
<p>I've chosen 3-4 colleges I'd want to go to. I know I aim "unrealistically" high, but back in Switzerland we have some excellent engineering colleges (EPFL & EPFZ) and if I leave the country I'd do so only to go to a top top college, so it's not about me thinking I'll get in for sure. I know I'm looking at a 1/100 chance here, even less, but I want to try at least!
The Colleges I've seen are MIT, CalTech, Stanford and Princeton.</p>
<p>I'm planning on taking 2 more Subject Tests (Math II & Physics).</p>
<p>Oh and obviously (because of the list of colleges), I'd love to study in software engineering, or at least computer engineering.</p>
<p>My question is: what are the basic procedures to follow? I know I'm aiming for colleges who accept such small percentages that's it's very tough, but I'd still like to give it a try.
What are the next steps to take? Any advice? What "minimum" SAT scores are required to not be at disadvantage?</p>
<p>Thank you guys very much.</p>
<p>Some additional questions:
Do I have to make 4 completely different applications (I know I have to make different essays, etc)?
Or is there at least a centralized website that can help me?
Thanks</p>
<p>Same question here</p>
<p>Haha I see we are not alone. Ok so I’ve seen 3 of the 4 colleges I’ve looked at are on the Common App thing. And MIT has its own system.
But basically, what are the procedures? At what dates should I start doing this or that?
Any help would be greatly appreciated ! Thank you so much.</p>
<p>CommonApp start in August. You need to create a new account when the new application is up. You may create an account now to get a feel how the application looks. The account will be gone when the next application cycle begin. At this time, you can look at the essay prompts. It will be the same for next year, so you can start working on it now. Schools may have supplemental essays that the prompts are likely different for next year and they will not be available until mid Summer. You may check if the schools you are interested in are on CommonApp or not (only ~550 colleges are on CA). You will also see the different deadlines for each school (note that it may vary slightly for 2014)-2015).</p>
<p>Thanks for the answer. So basically the biggest part of the application are the essays, no?
Once you have your test scores in and the new application is up, what other things will you have to do, besides the essays?
Thanks for the info !</p>
<p>The biggest part is application fee. ;)</p>
<p>Ha yeah. How high is that fee more or less? or does it depend a lot on each college?</p>
<p>It varies by university, but generally in the $75 range.</p>
<p>Damn, this whole process, from the SAT prep books, SAT tests, probably even the TOEFL test to prove I can speak English…expensive, haha.</p>
<p>It is typically $50-$100 (I have paid amount near both end). Don’t forget that you need to submit scores, transcript, and sometimes CSS profile to each school that all require additional costs. So it costs around $100 per school application totally.</p>
<p>MIT has a different application (they don’t use the Common App like the other schools you mentioned). MIT requires you to write 5-6 mini essays describing different aspects of your life and yourself. Their app usually releases a bit earlier, like in July. And I hate how expensive this process is. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much. 100$ per school…damn. So that’s 400$ for the 4 schools. More or less 100$ in prep books, even more, but whatever. Dunno exactly how much but I paid quite something for the SAT test and the subjects tests (hopefully won’t have to do either again…), and the TOEFL too. Close to 1000$ there. With a big chance of not getting in anywhere. Why oh why. Anyways…</p>
<p>Mini-essay, what exactly does mini mean :P?</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>like 100-250 words. If I remember right, there are 2 100-word essays and 3 250-essays</p>
<p>Ah yeah, that’s really mini. So: the scores, the essays, the forms and stuff, and that’s pretty much it.
Start around july/august. Perfect!</p>
<p>For all the exams, test preps, college applications, score reports, etc, I think my D spent around a little bit over $2000. She applied to only 7 schools and took the advantage of free score reports for at least half of the schools. </p>
<p>I don’t think you’ve mentioned the required recommendation letters from teachers and a counselor (or equivalent). The Common App will guide you with respect to these, as will the website of any school not using the Common App.</p>
<p>Ah, of course, the letters. I’ll have to start asking next school year then. Thanks!</p>
<p>And 2000$ for 7 colleges sounds about right. Not cheap, eh…</p>
<p>^ Over half of that cost i for a SAT/ACT prep course and the cost of multiple AP exams. The prep cost is not essential and not very helpful. Take it out and it would be around $1200 for all the test, 7 applications (one free), and score reports (half were free).</p>