<p>Hi guys, </p>
<p>I'm an international student (from India) and I got a rather low 2190 in the SAT...
CR: 730 M: 760 W: 700(9)....Very unhappy with writing score :(
(I've always wondered how you guys in the US manage to get full in CR, especially as my English is not any worse than yours, and i'm not dumb either.......)</p>
<p>I'm gonna be applying for financial aid(need-based).</p>
<p>I will be taking the SAT 2 in October, so no time for giving the SAT again. I'll be taking Maths-II, Chemistry and Biology.
I'm confident I'll score 750+, probably 800 in all of them.</p>
<p>GPA:9.8 out of 10(in grade 11th, the only public standard exam)
Other academic performance is also excellent, top 5% in school, outstanding academic performance awards in almost all my years etc.</p>
<p>EC's are good.
The thing is, I tend to do stuff which interests me (like building robots, folding@home, other stuff) which generally don't get me any awards....</p>
<p>Please give me your opinion as to what my CHANCES are of getting in to Yale, and even the other Ivies and Duke/Rice/CalTech.
BTW, Will applying for ED help in any way?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Come on guys…Help me out!!</p>
<p>The SAT is pretty good, but being an international student, you might want to get it a bit higher…
750+ should be good for your SATIIs :)</p>
<p>Also, concerning your GPA: what kind of classes did you take? If you took very difficult classes and also achieved that very high GPA, that would like very, very good on your application.</p>
<p>If you are also very passionate about your ECs, even if you didn’t win any awards, maybe you can somehow craft your essay around them, to bring out your passion in your ECs, even if you weren’t nationally recognized for them.</p>
<p>"The SAT is pretty good, but being an international student, you might want to get it a bit higher… "
As I said, I don’t have time to take it again…
Will it be enough is what I was asking…
As for what classes i took, I took the same classes as everyone else in my school…including French, Maths, Social Sciences, Eng, Science,etc.
I do have some EC awards in quizzing, some art competitions, sports…
I play on my school soccer team
The thing about the GPA is that 9.8 GPA means i got 90+% in 4 subjects out of 5, and one between 80-89%.
Otherwise, as such I scored a 92.8%, which is also very high.</p>
<p>It may be somewhat difficult.</p>
<p>^
Agreed, especially with those other outstanding applicants from India.</p>
<p>Is SAT not offered in India any other time? bc you can send Nov scores to Yale even if you apply SCEA…
that aside to answer your question on CR, well, we have to read / study english more I’m ghuessing, plus we hear it everywhere so it’s not the same as a really well learned second language,<br>
anyway, this isn’t your main point so…
it’s a long shot for anyone and Indian applicants are usually stacked but, Rice you have the best shot at realistically,
Are you looking at Math Sci or humanities/ Soc Sci? that will also determine where you’ll get in, it’s not that common to see someone look at Yale and Caltech equally…
more info would help</p>
<p>@xrCalico23 and Goldencoast, getting into the Ivies is tough anyway, just wanted to know if I stand a chance, as in, will I even be considered…
@ECazndb8r, English is my first language, seriously… Everyone in my family speaks English at home, albeit they’re better than me. Even, at school, we speak English and Hindi only, btw, I suck at Hindi for an Indian.
Also, My brother who probably reads like much more than most Americans (no offense) and whose vocab is nearly perfect got only a 710 in his GRE English section.
I guess it’s more like you guys are suited to the SAT; for us, the SAT is completely different from our education.
You say I have a chance at Rice? Thanks a lot. Any info. on Duke/CalTech?
Can you suggest any good univ.s where i stand a GOOD chance?
I’m looking for Computer science or Biotechnology programs.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The SAT is different from our education as well. </p>
<p>I do think you have a chance of being admitted to Rice as well as many other good schools in the US. With that said, there are numerous schools here that can offer top notch education but are less well known internationally – it’s important to not get too caught up on the “name”. If you’re serious about studying in the U.S., apply to several schools of a wide range of selectivity that offer the major of your interest. </p>
<p>Definitely apply to Yale if you love the school. I said before that it may be difficult to be accepted at Yale to warn you of the potential difficulties in college admissions, but I feel as though you’re using our advice, the words of random anonymous posters on the internet, to decide where you’re going to apply… not a good idea since I’m only a college freshman and GoldenCoast’s a high school senior (I think). We’re not admission officers :P.</p>
<p>well, you’re an international and from India so admissions is a little trickier…
Caltech is insanely difficult to get into bc they accepot so few people and all of them are incredibly hardcore, it’s possible but highly unlikely(don’t take this the wrong way, I’d say this to anyone applying to Caltech) that said, You have a good chance at Rice and a reasonalbe on at Duke, Yale is a high reach for everyone, I’d suggest you consider Harvey Mudd, it’s in CA and has a phenomenal tech school, if less well known. Look up good comp sci schools on google and you’ll get a comprehensive list, or even go on US News and have them rank the schools with Comp Sci as the major, you’ll get some idea there</p>
<p>as for the CR thing, just saying, most americans DON’t get 800 on CR, and by read/study it more, I mean we are taught from Elementary school on to ANALYZE the writing, ie look for intent and tone, etc, the kinds of questions that can’t be answered just based on vocab and is difficult anyway, I think this accounts for the difference but honestly, you got a 730, don’t worry about it</p>
<p>I think you have high chances academically, but have you done any volunteering or were you involved in any service organizations?
Having studied in India and the U.S., I understand that the SAT is a bit different than the test question formats in India, but I think you should be able to handle it by applying your knowledge the best you can. And your score shows that you have - it is a pretty good score for an international student. 
I think you would have a good chance at UT austin’s Cockrell school of engineering (9th best engineering college in the nation this year).
I agree that CalTech would be high reach - for anyone, really…</p>
<p>@xrCalico23, I’m not too caught up in the name, but I really do not have much idea about other schools in the US. Can you give me some names of colleges that offer FA to international students, and where I stand a chance of getting through?
This is only for a preliminary lest of univ.s I’m making, I’ll be choosing colleges to apply to later with the help of USIEF counselors.
Thanks anyway :).
@ECazndb8r, Thanks for the advice on CalTech. I will definitely consider Harvey Mudd.
“as for the CR thing, just saying, most americans DON’t get 800 on CR, and by read/study it more, I mean we are taught from Elementary school on to ANALYZE the writing, ie look for intent and tone, etc, the kinds of questions that can’t be answered just based on vocab and is difficult anyway, I think this accounts for the difference but honestly, you got a 730, don’t worry about it”
I agree…
@tropicbreeze, I have done some social service, if that’s what you mean, last year and this year at school…
My score is not so good, I would’ve been happy with 2250…</p>
<p>BTW guys, does anyone know about FA at GaTech? I really wanna go there if they do give FA…</p>