Because I'm a dirty hypocrite.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I hate to do this considering how many times I've spoken out against the Chances forum in the past (I still think it's the worst feature of this site), but I'm curious about what you'll say, so here goes nothing.</p>

<p>I'm a white female "international" (Swedish citizen living in the US) nonathlete nonlegacy in need of financial aid.</p>

<p>Academic
IB Chemistry HL
IB English A1 HL
IB French A1 HL
IB Biology SL
IB Mathematics SL
IB History SL
Theory of Knowledge
Journalism</p>

<p>Numerical
GPA: 6.3 out of 7 where 6=A- and 7=A+ (treat it like you would a low A)
PSAT: 232
SAT I: 2270 (800CR, 760M, 710W)
SAT IIs: 800 (French), 750 (Literature), 700 (Math II), 680 (Biology-M, retaking), 650 (Chemistry, retaking), Spanish (?)</p>

<p>Extracurricular
*School newspaper (9-12): News & Features Editor, Photography Editor, copyeditor, reporter; the newspaper has received the Columbia Scholastic Press Association gold medal every year during this time
*Photography (10-12): Taking courses at a local darkroom 3.5 hours/week, featured in a local exhibition of student photographers two years in a row, lots of independent work, sending a portfolio
*Equestrian (1-12): 10+ years but not competitively (horse shows are expensive!), worked 40 hours/week as an instructor at riding camp for a month this summer
*Amnesty International (9-12): Not-very-active member in grades 9-11; campaign coordinator in grade 12 (basically, I organize events and letter-writing/awareness campaigns... I'm by far the most involved senior (and possibly member) aside from the president.)
*Volunteering at a local hospital (12): 15 hours/week for a month this summer (while I was working), 4 hours/week during the year
*Chemathon team (12)
*Model UN (12)
*Chemistry tutor (paid) (11-12)
*Yearbook staff (9-10)
*Self-studying Spanish
*random art, writing, knitting, cooking, and impractical things that you can't put on a resumé</p>

<p>Miscellaneous
*Fluent in Swedish, French, and English (chronological order); self-studying Spanish
*Lived in Stockholm (1989-1990, 1998-2001), Moscow (1990-1994), and Brussels (1994-1998) before moving to DC in 2001
*Academic interests include but are not limited to biology, chemistry, economics, English, environmental science, French, languages in general, international relations, neuroscience, and sociology, in alphabetical order because I am still undecided.
*I'm very uncertain about career goals, but when I think about what would be my ideal job right now, I picture myself at an international organization working with issues like education, public health, or the environment. That would tie together my international background and language skills, issues that I'm passionate about, and my ever-so-idealistic wish to Help People and Make A Difference. Neuroscience/molecular bio research is another option, except that I don't really want to go into academia.
*The teachers writing my recommendations are my English teacher (grades 9, 11, 12) and my Chemistry teacher (grades 8, 10, 11, 12). I may submit a supplementary rec from my TOK teacher and newspaper advisor.
*I'm supposedly a good writer when I try, so hopefully my essays will be decent.
*I'm submitting a photography portfolio.</p>

<p>My first choice is Princeton, unlikely as it is that I'll get in; other schools I'm applying to are Amherst, Bryn Mawr, University of Chicago, Dartmouth, Macalester, Middlebury, Swarthmore, Wellesley, and Williams. My last-resort safety is a school in Sweden you've probably never heard of.</p>

<p>Go ahead—be brutal. The one thing I don't want to hear is how competitive it is to get in as an international; I'm well aware of this fact and have lamented it privately and publicly on multiple occasions. All I'm asking for is the usual amateurish, unscientific, only-supported-by-anecdotal-evidence-and-personal-assumptions, I-don't-actually-have-any-experience-in-admissions-but-I-enjoy-judging-people-anyway type of evaluation. It's all in good fun.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance! :)</p>

2

<p>Bryn Mawr has an awesome record of graduates going on for PhD's.</p>

<p>I think that you'll get into about half of your schools. To get merit based financial aide, of course, one must be in the top few percent of applicants. I would guess that most International aid is sort of awarded on a merit basis.</p>

<p>There are an awful lot of great universities in this country. Many of which are near best in the world in some areas. E.g., U of Pitt in Philosophy. U of Wis in history, chem E, ...</p>

<p>What a great background!</p>

3

<p>I'm not looking to expand my list at this point (believe me, I've done research), but thanks, and thanks for the compliment. :)</p>

<p>Princeton, Williams, and Middlebury are need-blind for international students; Macalester is supposed to be generous; the rest are need-aware, which I suppose means that they look at my need in the context of my credentials to determine if I'm worth it. I don't want this to turn into a discussion about finances, though, so keep the evaluations coming.</p>

4

<p>Your chances are just as good as anyone elses. The schools you are trying to get into are highly competitive. However you are a super applicant, and I cant see anyone coming close to vastly outdoing you when it comes to your credentials. "6 subject tests?! *** is going on here?" The only reason you would be turned down by any of the schools you listed would be bad luck. </p>

<p>With that being said... good luck!</p>

5

<p>Amherst is strongly considering becoming need-blind for internationals as well.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the encouragement, guys. :)</p>

<p>The essay I'm working on right now is about how all my summer plans (summer programs, neuroscience research at Georgetown) fell through at the last minute, and I had to come up with something else to occupy myself... and what I actually ended up doing—volunteering and getting a job teaching riding lessons—changed my life (so cheesy, but it's true). I've started another one about how I came to love science after thinking I was a hardcore humanities person for years, because I'm one of those late bloomer types who can't make a decision about what she wants to do in life. I can't tell yet if either of them is any good, but I'll probably post them here when the time comes.</p>

7

<p>dirty hypocrite is a little strong. filthy immigrant stealing all of our jobs and slots in colleges is more appropo haha. this is only okay to say because i know you. </p>

<p>why are you taking spanish? you already have enough 2s for all your schools are theyre all really high. i personally think youre competitive at all these schools. do not fret. my only concern is that pamela will give you bad advice on essays because shes done that to others. ill show you my amherst responses since you asked for them. </p>

<p>heck, ill just list em and my thoughts:
Amherst - Reach/High Match
Bryn Mawr - Safety/Match
U of Chicago - Match
Dartmouth - Reach
Macalester - Safety
Middlebury - Match
Princeton - Reach
Swarthmore - High Match/Low Reach
Wellesley - Match
Williams - Reach/High Match</p>

<p>buena suerte. </p>

<p>i got you a birthday gift. i hope you like it. youre going to be so old.</p>

8

<p>are you a US permanent resident or are you here on some other type of visa (ie student or parents' work)? That will matter w/financial aid</p>

<p>I think you could get into all the schools on your list except Princeton, but don't feel bad. Only prodigies, big-time exceptional overachievers, and those with connections get in these days anyway.</p>

9

<p>that's kinda dumb ...dartmouth reach while middlebury match....reverse that and it will be the answer.....middlebury is as selective as dartmouth..if not more</p>

10

<p>No it isn't...though Dartmouth, Swarthmore, Williams, and Amherst are all relatively equal in terms of selectivity...and Williams and Middlebury will probably be much easier for an international in need of financial aid. Calling UChicago a match and Macalester a safety is silly, though. Schools can be very fickle. Chances posts are so silly, all people can say is "you're in the range". I'd say your best bet at very good schools would be ones who are need blind to intels...but Williams is notoriously weak at languages (Middlebury is very strong)...as they seem to be an interest for you, it may be good to think about that. Swarthmore is certainly not a "high match/low reach" and that poster underestimates the selectivity of Amherst and Williams.</p>

11

<p>Dammit, Eric, you caught me in the act... see, this is why I'm not getting my essays done (or my math portfolio, for that matter). Thanks for the advice, and yeah, I'm looking forward to the two weeks of the year when I can actually gloat about being older than someone. :D</p>

<p>Other things:
I'm not a permanent resident; I have a G-4 visa (dependent of an employee of an international organization).
Dartmouth is definitely more selective than Middlebury.</p>

12

<p>Oh, and I don't honestly expect to get into Princeton, but a girl can dream.</p>

13

<p>Sorry I keep responding to my own post, but basically, I wanted to take the Spanish SAT II because I'm trying to self-study (picking up where my middle school class left off) and since I have no official record of ever having taken a Spanish class I figured they might want some concrete measurement of where I am, and that if I took the test and realized it was way over my head I could just cancel the score. As for bad essay advice, I suspected that she might (she sent me a link to "example essays" that were truly awful, and I've heard she's told other people to write about their oh-so-international background), so I wanted to ask Mr. H to read them through first... not sure how that'll work out now, though (I already feel guilty about making him write my rec considering everything).</p>

<p>Again, thanks for the comments!</p>

14

<p>Part of my reasoning with these predictions draws also from our school's history at these schools. We have a very good record at Macalester, Middlebury, Bryn Mawr, Wellesley and Swarthmore while only one person has ever been accepted at both Dartmouth and Williams. Admittedly there is no way to predict admissions to top colleges but all things considered, also in part to my knowledge of cameliasinensis as a person, I came to the above conclusions.</p>

15

<p>Hey! FELLOW IBer!!! Are there only three higher levels offered in your school? Because if there are more, it would make you seem a very motivated student if you took them...however, you are already a very competitive student. stats now:
Amherst - Match
Bryn Mawr - Low Match
U of Chicago - Reach/High Match
Dartmouth - Reach
Princeton - Reach
Swarthmore - Match</p>

<p>Those are the only schools that I know well enough....I'm applying to Princeton too....Princeton and Dartmouth are reaches for everyone...unless you're legacy or won the Nobel prize...lol</p>

<p>Just a bit of advice...retaking SAT II's doesn't look that good to colleges...at least that's what my counselor told me....</p>

16

<p>Hello other IBer! :) </p>

<p>My school "strongly discourages" people from taking more than three HLs, to the point where I didn't realize it was even allowed until it was too late to change, but otherwise I would've. As for SAT IIs, I'm retaking bio and chem because when I took them the first time we hadn't covered some of the topics (like genetics in bio and thermodynamics in chem), and now that I've learned much more of the material I know I'm going to get a better score.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice!</p>

17

<p>My advice: Pay no attention to people's admissions predictions, they know nothing about the college admissions process! Amherst and Swarthmore are not "matches", especially for an international needing aid, but you're certainly in the range for all those schools, so give them a shot.</p>