<p>SAT - 1820 (Will Retake in October. This test was bad for me, I can score 2000+ atleast)
CR - 540
WR - 590
M - 690</p>
<p>SAT Physics - 680
SAT Math - 670
(Took both in the wrong time when I was too busy. Will retake both in November and can score above 730+)</p>
<p>ExtraCurriculars - </p>
<p>Sports -
Tae Kwon Do Black Belt 1st Degree.
Basketball School, District Level, and Private Club Player and Captain for 3 Years.
State Level Swimmer.
School Level Cricket Player for 1 year.</p>
<p>Music -
Tabla (Indian Drums) player since 4th grade (7+ years). Won numerous competitions and also I hold a degree in Tabla offered at a prestigious music school in India. (ABGMV Mandal)
Avid Guitar Player.</p>
<p>Other -
75+ Hours of Community Service.
Apart from above, volunteered at local library during 2 summers. (4 Hours a week for About 10 weeks).
Did volunteering at IISc in Physics Lab for exposure and experience. Helped out at the lab.</p>
<p>Majors and Colleges -
1) Physics
2) If Possible, Double Major or Minor in Astronomy (Not a main Priority, but will be happy if I can)</p>
<p>Drexel
TAMU
Penn State
NCU
Rutgers
GA Tech
UT Austin
UIUC
Syracuse
CMU
Duke
Dartmouth
Brown
Yale
Stanford
(Last 5-6 are High Reach, I think. :P)</p>
<p>[ul]
[<em>]Are you asking for financial aid? If so, how much?
[</em>]Is your 9th grade GPA weighted or UW? Is it on the 4.0 scale?
[li]Since when were you in America before coming to India in 10th grade?[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>I think you’re strong points/USPs are:
[<em>]Upward trend in academics
[</em>]TKD
[<em>]Basketball
[</em>]Swimming
You might want to sell yourself in the application along the lines of these things. Also, you might want to talk to the coaches at different universities to be recruited as a swimmer, because I think state level is pretty awesome.</p>
<p>I’d say you have good chances at Drexel, TAMU, Penn State, Rutgers and Syracuse. If you do a good job with your essays, then I’d say you’ve a chance at GTech and UIUC as well. If you improve your SAT scores by a bit and do something stellar with the supplement, I’d say Brown would be achievable as well. As for CMU, Duke, Dartmouth, Yale and Stanford … your ability to pay full might make a difference and who knows, the ball may roll to either side but for the most part, and this is blunt, I’d say no.</p>
<p>1) I will be asking for aid. At this point, I haven’t considered it a whole lot, but I will be getting Need-Blind, right? Please correct me if I am wrong. I will complete the FAFSA. I might be able to pay somewhat around 15-20K dollars a year (that includes Boarding and all, so I need atleast 50-60% Scholarship).</p>
<p>2)Unweighted - On a 4.0 Scale.</p>
<p>3)I studied from Nursery til Grade 9 in the US. Grade 10, I studied in India.</p>
<p>I would like to use those to my advantage, but then I might be pressured into playing a college sport, which is not what I intend to do. I want to focus on my studies, but maybe play just inter department or something like that, not in like Varsity or something. </p>
<p>I can improve my SAT. I studied for only about 3 weeks, and that too while studying for 11th finals. I think I’ll be able to get 2000+ because I can get 750+ in math and 720+ in Writing. Thats a 1470, and then all I need is atleast a 600 in CR. My PR and BB practice tests scores were all 2050+, highest being 2210. </p>
<p>I have one question to ask. If you are going for a Masters or PhD Potentially, do Grad Colleges/Companies care about which Undergrad College you attended? In other words, I am wondering if I need to aim for a tier 1 college with high competition, if it doesn’t effect my MS or PhD and finding a job.</p>
As you are an American citizen, you will have a plethora of funding available from the US Government. Namely the Pell and Federal Grant. That should take out about 10000 Dollars for your college costs. You will get a Federal Work-Study Grant, you will need to work for about 30 hours a week to get that.( I am not really sure about this one).
And, many more colleges are need blind for Domestic applicants, you can see the list [url=<a href=“Need-blind admission - Wikipedia”>Need-blind admission - Wikipedia]here[/url</a>]
You are free to do whatever you want to, that will not be a disadvantage. Personally, What I would suggest is that you should build your app around your swimming. State level is no small feat.
The upward trend in academics should help you, and the low scores can be explained as the transition period, for your academics per se.
Now, back to your chances then. You have great ECs, and the upward trend will help you. So, I think that you have great chances at Drexel, TAMU, Penn State, Rutgers , GA Tech, UT Austin, Syracuse. I think you should be OK at UIUC as well, but I don’t really know about it much. The last 5 or so should be a bit hard to get into, but with higher SAT scores and good essays, you might well make it !! :)</p>
<p>PS. anvesh, you are welcome to join us at TiT 21. :D</p>
<p>I was referring to state level in India. I was part of my school team, and at a swim meet, the districts coach saw me and a few other guys and asked us to compete in India. I swam for a year, in 11th grade. Mostly tournaments around Karnataka, but sometimes other states. </p>
<p>Secondly, Isn’t 30 hours a week too much? Thats like 4 hours a day, and when I have studying and all to do…? I don’t know exactly about a day schedule at college, so I’m not sure how long we’ll actually be in classes. </p>
<p>Thanks for the chancing, Mrinal. I was also hoping you might be able to suggest me some colleges that are around the same level for me, because I’m stumped. :P</p>
Higher studies that eventually lead to a research position (if you choose) will care about where you went to college. However, if you go to a well known state school (such that you have mentioned) and do well, you should stand as good of a chance as anyone. Why? They are big power houses for research and the more you do during your years the better your chances.</p>
<p>Thanks, that helps alot. Also, does the program matter much? I mean, do I need to go to a college with a reputed Physics Program, or a college which is a good one all around, if I want to go for a PhD later on? I am referring to undergrad.</p>
It’s unclear what you mean by reputed but if your program is ranked in 100 list for the subject of interest you’re in a good zone. Top 50? Great. Top 20? Super. You should keep in mind that when you go into undergrad you have the power to not only do research in your major but also related fields. Your major will help you and all but you can make considerable connections with people in other math/science areas.
Either way, prestigious or good all around will work for you.</p>
Indeed and you will most likely find none that give ranking for undergrad. US news bases its ranking reports on funding, which is why it makes sense to compare grad schools. Now, if a professional organization were to hold a ranking for undergrad, it would be based on teaching. Let me tell you that the teaching for those ranked quite high on the US news will have some of the hardest professors you have encountered and they will not care for your self esteem because they have their research to worry them more about. For this reason, I doubt the highest ranked grad school will appear on the top of the list when you look at it in the undergrad eye. I feel that state schools (not within top 30 uni; regardless of private/public) that are within the top 100 list, will be in between in terms of teaching. They may suit your undergrad expectations moreso than some of the professors you’ll meet in top tier institutes. This is so because after looking at your stats, I find that if you choose a university harboring an understanding faculty, you’ll grow to be much smarter than you could have expected had you gotten into a top school and enrolled in it. Undergrad is a time for great growth, you just have to get so much out of it and not be afraid of the environment. If you learn that daring aspect that you are capable of anything, you should be fit to match anyone from the ivies after undergrad and you won’t be as burned with the many weed out intro classes top schools have. For these reasons and many, I would NEVER, and I repeat NEVER base my college decision solely on the US news rankings…cause they don’t mean 2 cents to me. You can get a 3.98 gpa at state school and still end up at those grad school programs if you are given the opportunity at your uni to do enough research.
Since you’re a US citizen, I would recommend that you find a proper state school that will give you as many scholarships as you can possibly garner. In the long run, you’ll realize how freaking smart you were to accept those grants in the first place. Once you’re in college, you need something to make yourself stand out. If you go to a top school and have no scholarship or something special, you’ll just be another kid walking down the park. You’ll have to begin from scratch, and I don’t know how comfortable you are with that.</p>
<p>Anyways, I’m not aiming for Ivies. I know that I won’t be able to do my best and excel if I go to a school where everyone excels. I don’t mind about the “reputation” of the school. I just want to go to a Tier 2 or 3 School where I - </p>
<p>1) Can Get a Good Amount of Scholarship
2) Can Learn Properly Without Hassled
3) Have Opportunities to Research
4) Experience a Good Undergraduate Life</p>
<p>By the way, by state school, do you mean public universities? I’m not sure I understand that term.</p>
<p>In my opinion, and what I’m looking at now, is to just attend a college which meets my above requirements, so that I will be able to get good grades and then be able to go to a Tier 1 level College for Graduate School.</p>
My questions:</p>
You have great ECs, and the upward trend will help you. So, I think that you have great chances at Drexel, TAMU, Penn State, Rutgers , GA Tech, UT Austin, Syracuse. I think you should be OK at UIUC as well, but I don’t really know about it much. The last 5 or so should be a bit hard to get into, but with higher SAT scores and good essays, you might well make it !! :)</p>