Applying to Amherst, Pom, Middlb... (Chance+LGBT?)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
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<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I am an international student from eastern Europe. I am an IB student and would like to apply to the following schools and need your comments/help on whether my choices are fine :slight_smile: note that full financial aid is a must! :)</p>

<p>Amherst
Pomona
Middlebury
Bates
Princeton (already deferred to RD)
Connecticut C
U of Florida (safety - good relations with my school)
U of Oclahoma (safety - every1 accepted from my school, don’t like it though)</p>

<p>Amherst is my top choice! :slight_smile: (next to pton)</p>

<p>Okay so here goes my story, I go to an international IB school outside of my country of origin. I went to a lot of conferences (some of which were organized by the UN and UNAIDS) and have 4 leadership positions in my current school and was leading some gvt/politics organizations back 2 years ago, also voluteered etc. IB program lasts for 2 years.</p>

<p>My IB score is 44/45 predicted (which is close to a 5.0GPA since I have only one six and that is about 4.67 GPA, so when calculated it’s close to a 5.0)
My SAT score is pretty low, 1790, but since my high school is very well known amongst US colleges I am in a slight advantage.
I have an aid package of $10 000.
I have a strong background story and am a double minority (gay + a last name which isn’t quite likeable in my native country)</p>

<p>I would really like if you could tell me whether my choices are good. I am also looking for schools which are LGBT friendly since it’s an improtant factor for me and I represented my country once in Switzerland for it, also in some Asean coutries so I would appreciate an idea of a college where LGBT rights are really talked about etc… :)</p>

<p>Thank you SO SO MUCH!! :)</p>

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<p>ah not gonna lie the SAT is gonna hurt you…but I guess the standards are diff for international students… Bates is test optional!</p>

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<p>I know, the SATs are a big problem, my entire school to be exact… Some of my schoolmates apply to Ivies and get accepted with those scores (brown, harvard, yale) but I am really attracted to little ivy schools more than ivies themselves… I don’t know what gets them in so I was wondering if anybody has an idea of what it could be (what type of an essay, and what makes it good etc…)</p>

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<p>I won’t sugar coat it–with your SAT scores, Amherst, Pomona, Middlebury, and Princeton are very unlikely. </p>

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<p>Vassar and Wesleyan might be more attainable, and both emphasize your LGBT interests.</p>

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<p>You should only apply to schools you like. So, you should cross off U of Oklahoma. That’s a very conservative state, I don’t think any campuses there would be very LGBT friendly. Check into more urban/city-like schools, such as NYU and Columbia (both in New York City). Those campuses are most likely more LGBT friendly. Yea, your SAT score is low, I’m not sure if they factor in being an international student (since I’m assuming English is your first language).</p>

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<p>If you like lacs, consider SAT optional schools such as Conn, Bates, and Bowdoin. </p>

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It’s always interesting to see these lists. Everyone’s unique, I get that, but I’ve never seen a list with those schools also include the University of Oklahoma. That’s a first for me.

Also, why Conn. College or Bates, and then not, say, Bowdoin or Wes? The latter are more highly regarded and are test optional. Even Florida. I get the explanations, but I have a hard time believing that a kid who would be happy at Bates would be happy at an SEC school like Florida.

Anyway, best of luck. IB is a great, great prep. for college. Daughter 2 is on her way out of high school and is quite poised for college work. Youngest is in the pre-IB program as a sophomore and will benefit from it too. The IB kids from our school crush it in college. They are very well prepared.

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Thank you everyone for the reply.

I really hope to get into Middlebury+ colleges, I go to a very respected school when it comes to colleges and English is my SECOND language… I also speak French and a bit of Japanese, so I am pretty into languages, and I have my native tongue Serbian.

I didn’t apply to Wes nor Bowdoin because they are not in the list of universities that are covered by a particular scholarship linked to my school.

I think that most of you are right when it comes to Oklahoma, it’s a pretty conservative place, and I am asking myself whether it’s good that I applied there, but you can’t change the past :neutral_face:

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well of course it doesn’t matter that you applied there. just don’t go if you get in (if you think you shouldn’t, that is). the point I was making is that you don’t often see Middlebury on the same college app. list as Oklahoma. it’s unusual, not bad.

good luck.

11

I’m a little late, but let me just say that CC is an unreliable source for judging international applicants (or applicants that go to an international school in the US).

CCers, including me, have quite a restrained point of view. CCers are like a camera.

We’re only used to looking through one camera–the camera of the standard American applicant. On this camera we attach different lenses; the different colleges a student applies to. We adjust to look at these colleges’ data sets and atmospheres and whatnot. Finally, we add filters to these lenses. The standard filters of “hooks”, the race of an applicant, recruited athlete, etc…

So when it comes to evaluating applicants that don’t fit into this traditional mould, we generally don’t go too far.

I think your SATs won’t hurt you. As an American applicant coming from a bilingual school in the US that follows the educational program of a European country (can’t say which one. basically, just think of me as a semi-international but applying as a US citizen), I have seen many people with sub-2000 SATs get into top schools like Wesleyan, Cornell, Haverford, etc, while the people with SATs over 21/2200 have a good chance at top Ivies.

Seeing as you’re from an international school, I think the bar for admissions is lower for you, especially given the results of your classmates and the type of school you’re applying to.

Small LACs of course value the SAT, but they also really love factors like extracurriculars, diversity, passion engagement, activism, your personality, athletics, etc, moreso than larger colleges. I think LACs like Amherst are really places where your being LGBT and your ECs will be valued not only by the admissions officers, but also in the actual college by teachers and students alike.

For your list: Amherst, Pomona, Middlebury, Bates, Connecticut are all pro-LGBT. Most colleges, and definitely all LACs in the Northeast (and Pomona) are very socially liberal. Princeton, while a little more conservative than the rest of the Ivies, is still definitely pro-LGBT. So is Florida.

The only problem I see is that while UOklahoma is not anti-LGBT in any way, only the college campus is liberal. Oklahoma as a state is very conservative, so you risk being trapped in a “bubble” inside the campus, which is a big issue, especially when you’re in a relatively big college town like Norman. A big part of the college experience is being able to roam off-campus or in the city (if its an urban campus), and not feeling comfortable doing that would hurt you.

I think Princeton is a reach for everyone, and since you’ve been deferred ED, I’ll be honest and say I don’t think you can get in.

I think you have as good a chance as any other international at the LACs you’re aiming for, and I think you’ll get into one at least, although they are hard to get in even for American applicants.

Good luck!

12

Thank you very much for the reply, I have been accepted to 6/9 colleges and universities I applied to, and have decided to attend Middlebury :dizzy_face: I hope that it will be a great place, although I am still thinking between Colby and Midd, although Midd has always been one of my favourites… If you have any ideas about it please tell me I would be more than thankful for your reply(s) :slight_smile: