<p>1/2 Iraqi & 1/2 Afghan, certain Valedictorian at the best high school in my country (West-European country), minimum wage income and single mother on top of that (but me and my mother have saved up a very nice amount of money). My grades shatter Oxford's and Cambridge's requirements for students from my country, so I presume they are up to
par for MIT and Caltech. I scored a 2300 SAT (790M, 770R, 740W). I have few ECs (mainly because of my financial situation) other than winning the National Astronomy Olympiad. Assuming my essays will be good, do I even have the slighest chance? Our school is extremely competitive (only gifted children are enrolled) but barely sends students to the US/UK, let alone to MIT or Caltech, because of the fact that we have cheap and decent uni's. Post links if you want me to return the favour!</p>
<ul>
<li>I also tutored a child living in a very poor neighborhood for one year (free of cost), but that was just 40 hours. I am also retaking the SAT for a 800M score, I didn’t prep well enough and I am sure I cab easily get it up to 2350+.</li>
</ul>
<p>Bump!!!</p>
<p>Still nobody?</p>
<p>Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumpmuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuub</p>
<p>Since I applied to both schools last year, I’ll give you my 2 cents on what I remember.</p>
<p>The raw stats that you provided indicate that you are a good candidate for both. The academic rigor of your school and your standing as valedictorian suggest that keeping up with the coursework at either school should be no problem. Might I ask which EC’s you do? They don’t have to be extraordinary; admissions committees take a holistic approach to your evaluation so they will consider how well you capitalized on your opportunities. </p>
<p>Given that you won the National Astronomy Olympiad, I believe you will be pursuing a field related to astronomy or astrophysics? Keep in mind that this field is very strong and quite popular at both MIT and Caltech. When you apply to these schools, it helps (at least for me) that you have a clear direction in math/science and, more importantly, that this is something you will WANT to do for the next 4 years (I submitted a research paper on cancer genetics to Caltech and an abstract to MIT). The fact that neither school is a strong proponent for using affirmative action in its admissions policies will, of course, boost your chances a bit. However, given your economic status I think you’ll most likely be requesting some sort of financial aid. If I recall correctly, MIT is need-blind for both US and international applicants while Caltech is need-blind only for US residents. In this respect, MIT might be a more favorable and affordable choice for you if you get in.</p>
<p>While both MIT and Caltech are STEM-based universities, there are notable differences to each such as the size and diversity of the student body (MIT’s undergraduate class is almost three times the size of Caltech’s), specific programs offered at each (Caltech’s Medical Scholars program and access to NASA JPL vs. MIT’s cross-registration programs with Harvard College and Medical School), and location (Southern California sun vs. New England winters). As you consider your application to both schools, keep these differences in mind.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Hard to tell with international students. Your stats however are very good. I think you’re in for MIT and caltech too but apply to some safety schools just in case. There are a lot of good schools that are math/science focused that aren’t MIT and caltech remember that 
What are your extracurriculars?</p>
<p>In another post, you claim to have qualified for the International Physics Olympiad although no Iraqui or Afghani has ever attended.</p>
<p>Suddenly, it has been downgraded to the National Astronomy Olympiad. Does that even exist? What Western European country are you living in to claim to be essentially the best high school student in the entire country?</p>
<p>Some of your claims are either inconsistent or hard to believe. Please note that colleges will check out any claims of major awards. </p>
<p>Frankly, with international admission rates in the low single digits at MIT and Caltech, you are probably better off waiting applying for grad school where your chances would be much greater, especially if you need financial aid.</p>
<p>I participated in IPhO, I qualified as a 2nd place in my country, but I didn’t win a medal (wasn’t in the top 36% or sth like that) and I heard on this forum that it is meaningless to caltech and mit, so I decided to leave it out… Also, I represented a west-european country, not iraq or afghanistan, I thought anyone on CC would be smart enough to understand, I mentioned these countries because I thought people might consider it either a hook or a disadvantage (wars in iraq and afghanistan). I did win the national astronomy olympiad however I thought that was unimpressive, because it had <1000 participants. The only thing I won is a certificate, an iPad and a trip to a big telescope on the canarian islands. And my high school has won awards from the biggest school ranking program in my country for being excellent decades in a row and it has ranked #1 in multiple rankings, this is not america, where everyone can attend high schools, it is a selective high school above that my class is the smartest in years (we have at least 20 people in contention for cum laude, to give an idea: 20 people who have the GRADES (only the grades mind you) to attend Cambridge and Oxford… I hope this clears it up…</p>
<p>Oh and I won a national award for my high school thesis (the prize was a $2000,- scholarship to study in my own country… so useless lol)</p>
<p>You seem to have become infatuated with attending college in the US. Unless you have a rich uncle it most likely won’t happen! </p>
<p>Assuming you live in Spain (from your Canary Islands reference) why wouldn’t you attend a Spanish university and wait for grad school to go to the US. Spain has excellent universities and they are largely free. Alternatively, if you think you have the grades, you should apply to Oxford or Cambridge, which are among the top 10 best universities in the world on every ranking possible. At least tuition in the UK for EU residents is quite cheap and a bachelor’s degree in the UK takes only three years. </p>
<p>The biggest problem you have is that you want to go to college in the US AND expect the school to cover for your expenses. Most US colleges see internationals as source of full-pay students not a drain on their already strained financial aid budgets. As you probably know there is only a handful of universities that are fully need blind to internationals. Because of that, they admission criteria are extremely selective for internationals, often more so than for US residents. Even worse, the more selective the school, the more holistic the admission. Top grades will only put in the running but it won’t get you in. You need much more. MIT aggressively recruits IMO gold medalists and similar profiles from around the world. This is the type of competition you will face. You just don’t meet the profile. </p>
<p>Many less selective schools will probably admit you, but will expect you to pay for most of your tuition and living expenses. You can’t get loans in the US and you will need proof of financial resources for all four years, typically more than $200,000.</p>
<p>Well, this is a pretty nice answer, you honestly stated that I don’t stand a chance against the other international applicants (who’ve won IMO gold medals)… and by the way, I indeed have a millionair uncle living in Jordan, lol, that is pretty funny. What you’ve misunderstood is that I don’t expect the school to cover my expenses, I just mentioned it as a reason for my few (but good) ECs/awards (I have helped providing)… I have collected enough money and on top of that I have family living very close to Caltech (and also Stanford, eventhough I don’t have any intention of going there, you’d be surprised by the amount of Afghan people migrating to Cali. My aunt used to study at ETH Zurich, which I wanted to attend but she moved last year to Cali so I thought it might be nice to study in Cali, I have many relatives so housing is no problem…). But if I don’t stand a chance, not gonna bother trying… My #1 is Cambridge, but I wanted to see if I could go to MIT if I wanted.</p>
<p>Bumping :$!</p>
<p>just wanted to say you are doing great, and that with a great college essay anything is possible. But you have superb academics so you have nothing to worry about. Good Luck from a fellow middle eastern.
chance me?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1379285-chances-getting-into-uc-campus.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1379285-chances-getting-into-uc-campus.html</a></p>
<p>Thank you, chanced you back</p>
<p>I haven’t really gotten one clear and concise answer… Please help!</p>
<p>With international applications, you have to realize that tou are not just competing with the best students in just one country, in this case the US, but the best around the world so to speak. Therefore, there will naturally be a large pool of unbelievably qualified applicants considering that you personally know a few that are “better” than you. </p>
<p>That being said, however, your chances are as high as anyone elses, given your SAT score, GPA, and awards. It is always a toss up with these top schools + ivies and no one is ever an “in” definativley. You have amazing stats and have probably done everything you could possibly have done. Relax lol.</p>
<p>Chance back?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1380362-chances-rutgers-other-pharmacy-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1380362-chances-rutgers-other-pharmacy-programs.html</a></p>
<p>ZafarS, you wrote, “The only thing I won is a certificate, and iPad, and a trip to a big telescope on the canarian islands.” The kind of student Caltech would be looking for would say, “I won a trip to [fill in this blank with the name], the [fill in size] telescope in the Canary Islands!” </p>
<p>Have you gone yet? If so, the kind of student Caltech would be looking for would say, "While I was there, they were observing [fill in the blank here], looking for [fill in the blank]. It was tremendously exciting! I [got/did not get] to use the telescope myself. I asked the astronomers there about [x, y, and z]!</p>
<p>@ Dinomite Thank you for your answer. I’ll chance you back on the spot.
@ QuantMech Yes,I went and it was pretty awesome, I was however pretty bummed when I found out I couldn’t see the transit of Venus because I was there (not visible in Western Africa), but I can’t complain. America for undergrad probably won’t happen. I just wanted to know if I could get in if I wanted, because that’s my personality, I’d hate to know that universities like Caltech and MIT where my idols went wouldn’t admit me.</p>
<p>Post #19 sounds more like the kind of commentary that Caltech or MIT would be looking for. I can’t really guess your odds of admission. A couple of things to keep in mind: Admission is extraordinarily competitive for international students. Caltech is a bit more focused on academics, in its admissions policy, although evidence of creativity is very important to them. MIT looks at qualities beyond academics; and they don’t necessarily get an accurate read of the other qualities–as a result, the admissions at MIT outcomes there can look wildly unpredictable. You could look at the lowest 25% of admitted students, and see that you are much better qualified academically, and then think that it is only your international status that is keeping you out. This is not true, however. Try looking on the old MIT forums for hopelesslydevote and piccolojr, for example. MIT rejects or waitlists American students with 2400 scores on the SAT I, 2400 total on three SAT II’s, a large number of AP classes with scores of 5, top in the class at a relatively good high school + reasonably strong extra-curriculars. Actually, I don’t favor their admissions philosophy. But it is quite different from the more academically-focused admissions procedures in many other countries.</p>