Hi,My name is Omkar. I am an international student from India currently in final year of high school (Class 12 HSC).
Educational Qualifications:Class 9 - 58% Class 10 - 88%, Class 11- 55%,Appearing for SAT in Oct 16.
Extracurricular Activities : Badminton Player.Worked for Global Cancer Concern India (GCCI).
Hardship: Lost my Dad,Financial Problems,Taking care of my ill grandmother,Betrayed by my Father’s Business Partner and more
Explanation for my Grades: Class 9- My grandmother passed away during my final exams. Class 11- Due to injury on my Spine
Program: Computer Science and Business double major.
Strong Subjects: Physics, Maths, History.
Do you think that I can get into IVY LEAGUE.I am absolutely sure that I am going to get higher percentage in Class 12 and in the New SAT. I have a social service certificate from GCCI.
@osabnis what distinguishes you from the hundreds (?) of Indian applicants to Ivy League schools, and why do you want to study at those schools in particular?
The difficulties that I overcame and what they taught me. I want to study at any Ivy league because they provide scholarship to international students @MITer94
@osabnis There are quite a few good US universities that provide financial aid and scholarships to international students, not just within the Ivy League.
What is your projected SAT score? You’ll need to score very well to offset your percentages.
Also, you may want to consider applying to schools other than the tippy top ones, as it’s fairly likely you’d be rejected from all three unless you have something else that really stands out.
@osabnis I’m not saying you will, but it’s a possibility that you’d be rejected from HYP, simply due to how competitive they are, and your low marks. You can explain those on the application, but ultimately you need to prove to them that you have potential to succeed there.
I’d be surprised if *only * Ivies offered full assistance to int’l students. Search harder, maybe?
I can’t answer that because (a) I don’t know enough about Ivy League admissions for int’l students and (b) admission at those schools is fairly unpredictable for most applicants.
“ultimately you need to prove to them that you have potential to succeed there.” And that’s more than promising them you will succeed or telling them why you didn’t, in 9th and 11th.
When we call these colleges “most competitive,” it’s not only just to get admitted. It’s also that the high level of their academic classes needs students who are prepared at a most high level throughout their high school years. And that prep is shown by the actual grades, the rigor of the courses, and the SAT or ACT test scores. All three, your actual record.
First off, international students DO NOT have the same chance of acceptance as US students.
If you go to Harvard’s International Statistics website (http://www.hio.harvard.edu/statistics) and enter STUDENTS, HARVARD COLLEGE (the undergraduate school) and INDIA, you will see that there are currently 20 students from your country enrolled at the college. That means, on average, about 5 students are admitted every year from India.
Harvard doesn’t publish the number of applications from each country, but my guess would be close to 1000 students apply to Harvard each year from India. If I’m correct, that would mean the overall acceptance rate for students from india students would be about .05% (one half of one-percent). Those are terrible odds no matter how qualified you are, so by all means apply but realize and understand the tremendous odds you face.
Omkar: as you can imagine, the few US colleges that provide generous financial aid to international applicants receive MANY MANY applicants from across the globe. In reality, you need to be among the handful of top students in your COUNTRY to be viable. I don’t see how you can conclude this applies to you.
^I realize I should’ve been more blunt in my previous posts.
@osabnis So now I emphasize what I said in post 12. Basically, unless you have an achievement such as a gold at IMO or IOI, a gold at the Olympics, or published original research, Ivies and Stanford/MIT/Caltech and other top US schools are a crapshoot for pretty much everyone, not just Indian applicants.
Also you haven’t told us what you expect to score on the SAT. If your score is on the low side, then I suggest applying elsewhere and not the Ivies.
I think you should reset your goal on a different set of schools. There are so many great schools beside HYP and the other Ivies. I would never tell you not to apply to your dream schools but you need to be realistic. How about expanding your college list and then it may easier for people to give you an educated guess about your chances.
Just to add a little realism to post #16, for many applicants, admission to HYPS isn’t a crapshoot at all. Top students who also happen to be excellent athletes often have their choice of these colleges.
@sherpa this is true (depending on the definition of “many”), but you’d have to be among the best HS students. Judging from the OP’s stats and posts, I can’t conclude that is the case.