Chance an international aiming (too) high

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi, I’m a dude from Sweden who thinks very highly of himself so getting a ton of rejections late march will probably be rather humbling. However, this is no time for my own grim prognostications; rather, I will let the divine voices of CC predict my chances. Apparently people like it when you chance them back, so I think I’ll attempt at doing that.

Objective:

SAT: 2180 (680M 730 CR 770W) - will take again in January, math will DEFINITELY be 750+, CR also a little higher
SAT II: 700 Math II, 710 WH (terrible I know. I self-studied for both, if that makes any difference)
GPA: 19.99/20
Class rank: 1/500
Course load: pre-determined by le government, but take the most rigorous program offered by the school

Subjective:

ECs (pretty uninteresting so I’ll spare you the details):

  • Soccer - have played on a high level for a thousand years (approximately) and won tournaments both nationally and internationally. According to me I should be able to play Div 1, though not something I’m actively pursuing
  • CEO of a company that donates profits to charities, 3 employees, including me
  • Founder and elected (yes, deal with it) president of my own economics society
  • Rubik’s Cube fanatic - ranked 15# at national school championships, also arranged a regional tournament, PB: 13.62
  • Math Tutor
  • Active on Stock market for a long ass (ofc referring to donkeys) time, multiplied initial capital
  • Internship at a derivatives brokerage firm

Essays: Pretty stupid to even attempt at grading your own essays, I thought they were good
Interview: None (so far dun dun dun duuuun)
Recommendations: Haven’t read them but should be good. I know my GC told me I was the most impressive ever and stuff like that

Lastly, and most important of all - Financial Aid: NO

Thinking “go big or go home”, here’s the list of colleges I’m applying to (definitely not inspired by US news top 20 ranking):

  • All ivy’s (ivies?)
  • Stanford
  • Duke
  • Northwestern
  • University of Chicago
  • Babson
  • USC
  • Berkeley
  • Maybe Washington and Lee

Let the slaughter commence!

2

All ivy’s + Stanford +Duke + University of Chicago - Reach; they’re reach for anyone
Northwestern - Low Reach/Reach
Babson - High Match
USC - High Match
Berkeley - High Match/Low Reach

Chance back: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1728527-chance-an-international-student.html#latest

3

Good scores and pretty good EC’s, you are probably a match/low reach for cornell, brown, northwestern. Match for Berkeley, Duke (?). Low reach for Chicago.
Stanford and all the other Ivies are reaches for everyone, as you probably read many many times

You will be in all the others without problems

4

I can also be a pretty fun guy to be around. I wrote about my ardent passion for soft shorts in my Stanford Roomate essay. Shameless bump post impeccably disguised

5

I will only list those who aren’t reaches…

  • Babson: Low match/Match
  • USC: Match
  • Berkeley: Match/High match
  • Washington and Lee: High match

Which one is your safety, Lund, Uppsala or Stockholm?

6

The fact that you’ve said: “I’m a dude from Sweden who thinks very highly of himself” and “According to me I should be able to play Div 1” AND "Founder and elected (yes, deal with it) " makes you seem very arrogant. It’s more than likely that this came across in your application and essays, so the question is, would the ivies really want someone arrogant and self-loving at their university? Probably not. They’ll find any reason to get rid of you. It doesn’t matter if your grades are good, a lot of the application gives them an indication of your personality, and if they don’t like it, you’ll get rejected.

7

Thanks very much for everyone’s input, I greatly appreciate it

@Catria‌ Applications to Swedish schools are sent out after decisions from American schools are in, so I have no clear-cut safety yet. However, If I were to get rejected everywhere I’ll probably go to Stockholm School of Economics or Lund. Fortunately you apply with your GPA alone here (no essays, no standardized tests, no recommendations, virtually no accelerated courses, no ECs etc) so I can with certainty say that they are safeties.

@Dominicoben‌ That was my (perhaps failed) attempt at being a little facetious with my post amongst all angst and gravity here on CC. I worked particularly hard on exuding a positive and humble vibe in my essays, so I believe I’m in the green there. I can assure you I’m not this arrogant in real life.

8

I think you sound hilarious. Even though your SATs aren’t stratospheric, other things on your list (your class rank, your entrepreneurial involvement, and the soccer skill) lead me to believe you’ll appeal to Stanford, Duke, and Dartmouth in addition to others. Good luck.

9

I took the January SAT and am approximately two million percent sure I got an 800 on math. So now my SAT superscored is at least a 2300 (800M 730CR 770W). Does that change anything?

10

@aalewis‌ Oh wow really? Then you should be able to get into Harvard easily. You rock!

11

Chill out bro!! :slight_smile: Most likely, you will get into one of the ivy league schools, UCB, USK and all the others (Uchicago not sure though, It is a reach). Academically you are a good fit for all these schools. However, I think that your ECs are ordinary (just like mine :stuck_out_tongue: )

Want to chance back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1736352-chance-me-please-updated-will-chance-back-if-you-want.html

12

All Ivy leagues, Stanford, UChicago: reaches. These are “lottery” schools.
Duke-reach

  • Northwestern-low reach
  • Babson
  • USC-match/high match
  • Berkeley-low reach/high match
  • Maybe Washington and Lee:low reach/high match

None of these are safeties, but since you have one in Sweden, it really shouldn’t matter.

I think you are a very good candidate for every one of these schools and I am VERY glad that you can pay the full cost.

13

*UPDATE

First I’d like to thank everyone who applied and wished me luck during this period of suspense and uncertainty. I’ve received all my decisions, and they are as follows:

ACCEPTED: UPenn (Wharton), Brown, Cornell, Northwestern, Amherst (soccer recruit), Babson, USC

WAITLISTED: Stanford, Columbia, University of Chicago

REJECTED: HYP, Dartmouth, Duke, Berkeley

Why was I accepted/waitlisted/rejected? Of course I’m not 100% sure - the admissions process at American elite institutions isn’t exactly known for its transparency. However, aside from the objective credentials listed above, there were two basic patterns in particular that I noticed.

First, essays probably mattered more than I initially thought. I wrote my best supplementary essays to Wharton, Brown, Cornell, and Stanford. My worst essays (they were written too hastily, were too cringey, and rife with generic writing) were to Berkeley, Harvard, Yale, and Duke. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s definitely a stretch to say that my supplementary essay to Harvard was the only thing that made them reject me, but it undoutedly worsened my chances.

Second, financial Aid. I applied to 5 out of a possible 6 schools that are need-blind for internationals. I was accepted by one, and rejected by four. I wouldn’t say I was at an “unfair” advantage at the schools that were need-aware (given the already infinitesimal acceptance rates for internationals), but my family’s financial situation did definitely help.

All of that being said, I’ll most likely go to Wharton, but I will accept the waitlist offer at Stanford.