Hello guys.
I’m an international student (needing financial aid) applying to Cornell,
My stats:
- SAT Math- 800
SAT Physics-800
- ACT- 35
- Class rank- 1 out of 70 students. ( My hs is not huge).
- Took 6 APs with 5s in each.
- Member of the Junior Academy (run by the new york academy of sciences)
- Have 2 nationally registered patents.
- Made it to the 3rd round of the Google code jam.
- Winner of a national science award. (not a very major award, but still significant)
- Member of the boy scouts, won some awards for extraordinary work.
- Played the guitar.
- Did internship at google.
12.Was the vice president of the maths club for 2 years.
- Can I also list the no. of project Euler problems I have solved ( 220)
- My video made it to the top 1 percent of the khan academy breakthrough junior challenge.
- Took EdX courses by Caltech.
- GPA- 3.9
- I have done some volunteer work too at a local animal shelter.
- Have made 5 apps.
I know there is nothing very remarkable about my ecs, but I still want to know what are my chances at Cornell? And for instance if I do not make it, what other schools will you guys suggest based on my stats?
“what other schools will you guys suggest based on my stats”
What is your intended major?
What can you afford?
What do you want in a university or college?
What country are you from?
Physics
Can’t afford anything more than 6000 dollars an year.
I want a pure science research based environment with one on one interaction within the student teacher body, where we can learn to evolve and grow as future scientists.
India for the last one.
I hope this answers your queries. What are my chances thoough?
Your stats give you as good a chance of getting in as anyone else (which isn’t great considering how selective Cornell is). As far as finances go, the good news is that Cornell does give financial aid to foreign students. The bad news is Cornell is “need aware” when it comes to international applicants That means that your need for a large amount of financial aid will probably count against you when Cornell is considering your application. As far as other schools go, very few schools (Harvard, Yale, maybe a few others) are need blind and meet 100% of demonstrated financial need when it comes to internationals. The way I see it, you are going to have to parlay your high stats into financial aid money and/or merit scholarships, and that means looking at less selective schools than Cornell.
Considering my stats aren’t that great, what kind of stats are generally accepted at cornell? I forgot to mention that my uncle’s friend is a prof at Cornell, so what if he writes a letter of rec in my favor? Will my chances go up? Also, which less selective schools will you particulary suggest?
I think that your stats are great. One problem is that there are many international applicants with great stats for every slot that Cornell has for an international student. The other problem is that you are going to need something close to a full ride for financial aid.
I think that it is worth applying. However, you are more likely to be turned down than accepted.
There probably are no universities which provide full need for international student where your chances of acceptance is greater than 50%. As such, I think that looking for universities that meet full need for international students is more important than looking for schools that are need blind.
Thanks for taking your time to reply.
Apart from financial aid, is it worth taking a loan? Do my chances go up if i do not need aid? Should I go on and try for third party scholarships? And Are there any other sources of funding I do not know of? Sorry for pestering, but I just gotta know.
I know Oxford does not offer financial aid, but atleast the admission is merit based, so should I try for Oxford too? I think I can get through the interview as I saw some sample questions and they looked doable.
Any other suggestions/remarks? Thanks for the help in advance.