Chance a really confused delhiite!

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>Hey guys, I've read the guide to chancing, and I know this isn't the best of thread, but still as an International, the process of US admissions is pretty intimidating and every advice is really helpful. BTW I'm applying for NEXT YEAR or NEXT TO NEXT as in batch of 2015 or 16!</p>

<p>Nationality: Indian (I know... Asian.)
SAT 1: 2140 (730M 710CR 700W)
SAT 2: Math II: 760
Physics: 740
Chemistry:730
I am studying in a CBSE school, bot did my 9th from US (Minneapolis):
9th: 4.0 Rank 1 in a decently competitive public school.
10th: Got 94(M) 93(Science) 100(comp.) 80(English) 87(Social Studies) 85(Hindi).
11th: Percentage in CBSE school not so great, but took the AP exams independently(self studied) and got:
AP Physics B: 5
AP Chemistry: 4
AP Calc BC: 5
These were the only AP's I could take as AP's are not offered in my school.
12th: Hopefully will get good marks...!</p>

<p>Awards:
School topper in 9th grade! (School)
Subject topper in Comp SCi. (National)
Hindi(language) Merit Certificate (National)
Blue Blazer for academic merit for 3 consecutive years(School)
Merit Certificate, International Informatics Olympiad(International?)
Red Coat for extracurricular achievements(School)
... and some more I can't remember... </p>

<p>Extra Curricular:
10m Air Pistol Shooting: Rank 5 in Delhi State(the capitol of India) in under 18 category.
Silver medal in Uttrakhand (A state in India) States.
National rank 42 but will Improve a lot this year! (I hope)
Animation: I am into 3D animation and have designed animated short films for school and for Non-profits, related to stopping child labor and harms of smoking.
Writing: I have written my own novel, inspired by my experiences in the United States, and it is due for publication next April.
Share trading: Got really inspired to understand the stock market in the time of recession, and to know what the hell a bull and a bear market were, so I started trading in stocks and analysing the market, with $2000 to start with and it is going pretty well!!! (but just started out so...)
Still looking for a 5th Activity worth it... but if nothing comes up, I am infolved in MUN(Model United Nations)!</p>

<p>In Non-Scholastic awards, I haven't got much except shooting and some school awards
but I've still got time!
Volunteer Work: Have taught underprivileged children math in a poor neighborhood, but nothing major so far.
Recommendations: Physics teacher- Great
English- Amazing
and I think I'll send one in from my shooting coach Jaspal Rana, 2004 commonwealth games and Asian games gold medalist!</p>

<p>Essays: I think I can write pretty well, and I have some amazing experiences from the year I spent in Minneapolis!</p>

<p>Chances for:
MIT
Harvard
Princeton
UC Berkeley
UCLA
Stanford
Carnegie Mellon
Georgia Tech
U of Illinois </p>

<p>Thank you all for your time, and really sorry for such a long post!
Also can anyone tell me what more should I do??? and suggest me some safeties please....</p>

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<p>It all depends on aid.</p>

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<p>Well i’ll be applying for aid… though i don’t need full aid. any aid >50% will be good enough. Though I could try not applying for aid at a few universities.
ANY advice for safeties though??? (With aid)</p>

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<p>Hi there ssmonster - Just a few questions before we start…you are currently in India right? So you did 10th, 11th and 12th there?</p>

<p>I can see you have pretty good stats - your SATs are satisfactory. However, just to give insight to the admissions process here in the US (I moved to the US in 5th grade, and last friday, got accepted to my top-choice College), the competition is TOUGH. I don’t want to let your hopes down but your SATs might not be enough for Harvard, Princeton, UC B, MIT etc. Being an international student does help because schools want diversity, but I would try for a higher score–maybe higher than 2200 just to be safe. However, no one can be considered a “shoe-in” to any of the schools I just mentioned–these schools are incredibly selective. </p>

<p>That being said, are you dead-set on studying in the US? If so, then I would put some “safety schools” on your list. How about…Brandeis University (very good for the sciences) in Massachusetts, Boston University (very well known in the US), Northwestern U in Illinois, University of Michgan (very well known). </p>

<p>If you’re still in India, then I know it’s hard to visit these schools–but in the US, campus visiting is an integral part of the college selection process. I feel uneasy that you will be applying to these schools without ever having been there, since campuses and student attitudes are so different everywhere… But there’s no way around that. </p>

<p>All in all, your Extracurriculars are really good and SAT IIs are good too. Maybe try taking a few more Subject Tests to boost your chances?</p>

<p>And regarding financial aid, MIT, Harvard, Princeton are need blind for international students - meaning your admission to their school won’t depend on if you need aid.</p>

<p>Good luck!!!
I hope you get into your top-choice school (and can afford it in the end)!</p>