<p>Hey guys. My numbers are nowhere near at where I would like them to be, but there is not too much left to do. Right now I live in Chicago, IL, but I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. I am a citizen.</p>
<p>My main question is, how can I tell colleges that I was born in Russia and lived half of my life there? Would writing an essay and mentioning it be the best way?
Also how big of an impact can this have on my applications?</p>
<p>Misc.
Weighted 4.8/5.0 gpa
UW 4.3/5.0 gpa (>.< always took the hardest possible courses I could, but did not necessarily get straight As in them)</p>
<p>I have some very good ECs under my belt, have placed in math competitions, and expect flawless letters of rec.
So far, I have taken one standardized test. I plan to take 3 more and maybe a couple after summer break; I got a
2010 on SAT, and I am very confident that I will score at least 2100 SAT or ACT equivalent on my next tests </p>
<p>Could I get into U of I engineering? Rose-Hulman? What are some colleges that come to mind with the above credentials? Thank you all in advance.</p>
<p>MAke sure you throughly understand what is available in your own state and city. It is normal to look to far horizons at age 17/18 but you may be surprised at what is in your own backyard. </p>
<p>Don’t be a bumper sticker snob. Really look at the colleges nearby – and that will also give you information to gauge the schools that are farther away. Use college board to compare your stats to those enrolled at the schools that sound interesting.</p>
<p>Being Russian will not get you any URM type boost or anything, but you can mention it in extra info if you want to. A better idea would be to talk about how moving to America from Russia impacted you and how life in Russia influenced your perspectives and how you’ve grown. This will give direct insight into who you are and will be a nice essay.</p>
<p>I don’t know about those schools so I don’t want to mislead you but I think you have a terrific change at U of I since it’s a state school. I am aware, however, of their top-tier engineering program, so I’m not sure of my comment. </p>
<p>I think you have the stats to get into pretty much any school below the top tier schools. U Mich - Ann Arbor has a great engineering program that’s definitely worth checking out. So is Purdue University. You seem like a swell kid - good luck!</p>
<p>Before you come up with a list of schools, you need to take finances into consideration.</p>
<p>Will your parents pay $50k+ per year for the school of your choice? If not, then you need to choose schools that are affordable. Schools like UMich would not be affordable because it’s expensive and doesn’t give much aid to OOS students.</p>
<p>If you need $, then you need to carefully choose the right schools that will meet your determined financial need and/or give you lots of merit $$ for your stats (which hopefully will go up).</p>