Hey guys , I’m an international student from rural India. Chance me for MIT, Yale, Amherst, Colby, Colgate, Franklin and Marshall, Kenyon, Skidmore and Union with lots of financial aid.
SAT : 1420 ( 790 Math, 630 reading )
TOEFL : 108
SAT math level 2 : 780 , SAT Physics : 750
9th grade : 95.2%
10th grade : 100% ( more on that later )
11th grade : 94.92%
Rank 1 in all grades.
I attended Marathi Medium high school until 10th grade and then transfered to English medium in 11th grade. I’m the only one from my town to apply abroad .
Extracurricular activities:
1 Varsity Cricket team captain. Represented at State level tournament, which is kind of a big deal in India because of the population taking part in district and division level tournament. Those who represent and perform at state level are awarded extra 3% ( upto 3% ) from the examination board. That made my score 100% ( yes it is like that on the official transcript ). I was also one of the 193 students out of 16 lakh who took part in the 10th grade exams to do so.
2 Attended Inspire internship camp at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, this camp has selectivity of less than 7% in which students get a chance to interact with some of the best scientists of India and get to do experiments with them.
3 Founder and President of Astronomy Club
4 President of Physics and Math club
5 Taking few online courses on Edx, MIT OCW and YouTube. ( Related to astrophysics and cosmology )
6 Tabla ( Indian musical instrument ) for 2 years
No major awards except few school and state level recognitions.
My common app essay is centred around Cricket. ( the central theme is complicated , there’s no one liner, you’ll need to read full essay) .
I know my chances are really low for Ivy’s and all LACs, but I’m less stressed as Ive got few admits and full tuition awards from state universities. As I’m not from a English Medium school, will universities consider that while looking at my Reading scores ?
Thanks for your time!
P.S. My Major is Physics and Astronomy ( Astrophysics if available )
No way to know your chances because they’ll be hugely impacted by how many other Indian applicants the college receives and how you compare to those unknown applicants.
One caution - I’m an American married to a Brit, so am familiar with Cricket. Unfortunately there is some American cultural bias you should be aware of and consider when writing your essay. The sad reality is that Americans find Cricket incredibly boring; countless jokes are made of how long, pointless and inscrutable the game is to Americans. If you mention Cricket at all (and honestly, I would strongly recommend you choose another subject), be very aware it’s not something most Americans will react to in a positive manner. If you go into details about Cricket - play by play, description of play - you are taking a big risk of boring and turning off the AO who reads your app, which is the absolute last thing you want to do. Your essays should make the AO want to meet you and share a meal with you. Unfortunately for most Americans, hearing that an applicant wants to discuss Cricket in depth creates the exact opposite inclination, instead provoking dread and making them want to avoid that person.
Don’t hide the fact that you play Cricket and if the most impactful growth moments in your life occurred during Cricket, it may warrant a mention but be very careful about choosing Cricket itself as a topic or going into any details about play.
Thanks for your suggestions. Can you look into my essay and check whether it is boring or not? I don’t have any american friend, nor someone who’s lived in America. Can you please help me?
Though I’m taking help of Education USA ( Known as USIEF in India ) and my counselor ( born in India , studied in California ) said that the story is amazing.
I would be happy to help by reading your essay, but I’m not a college AO or counselor and think you’d get the best essay advice by asking one of the volunteers here who have that experience. There is a “College Essay” subboard here where you can post to ask for help - many of the regulars over there have experience and give good essay tips. On that subboard there is also a list of people with essay experience.
Thanks for your help milee30 , BTW does your partner like cricket ? 
He does. But he’s an electrical engineer, so I believe he is genetically predisposed to have a high tolerance for boredom. Over the years, I have at least convinced him not to discuss it with strangers.
I should clarify and give a little more background. My family is filled with geeks (said with love). From my dad with his Masters in Engineering from Stanford to my DH with his EE to my son who’s a math major at UChicago… all nerds; in my family my finance background, business consulting experience and CPA are considered perhaps a bit on the lighter side, almost frivolous Hippie pursuits.
Although with the success of the high tech companies and pop culture references from top shows like The Big Bang Theory it’s recently become socially acceptable - even desirable - to be nerdy, colleges and employers are still wary of people that are so tech/minutia focused that they struggle to interact and function with others. For example, it would be a very bad idea to write your college essay about an obsession with trains because that’s a cultural reference that implies you’re so focused on things 99% of people find excruciatingly dull that you will be incapable of interacting in a normal manner. Colleges want students who will interact, participate, add to the college experience.
I’m not sure if Cricket would have quite the same negative connotation as a train obsession would have, but based on my observations of conversations between DH and poor, unsuspecting American strangers over the years I suspect it might. When the stakes are so high a single shade of flub could cost a huge opportunity, I just feel it’s worth considering even minor things like this.
Oh wow, didn’t know Americans hate cricket this much. But almost all colleges in my list have cricket club and take part in American College Cricket league ( except LACs I guess ). And Americans do participate in such leagues , to a great extent nowadays. On the Facebook page of Yale Cricket club , there’s an interview of the captain, a sophomore , and he mentioned that cricket was one of his solid extracurriculars.
No one said Americans “hate” cricket. So why suggest it?
The point was that the over-emphasis in essays of anything unfamiliar might in effect be counter-productive to your goal. You might want to direct your enthusiasm across a range of topics that relate to the essay topic, you, your personal interests and the future.
Go ‘gate!
Oh yes, that’s exactly what my essay is! Actually its about how I started to connect physics with cricket while I was injured and came back strong to make in state team. The last paragraph is about how the lessons I learned during the process helped me to achieve what I am , for example , it taught me to be persistent . When I transferred to an English medium high school in 11th grade, I had a problem to cope up with English, but I persisted and worked on my English.
“didn’t know Americans hate cricket this much”
No, not hate. They’re generally bored by it. Bored is different than hate. If you keep the essay focused on you and your achievements and leave out any lengthy Cricket descriptions, you should be fine.
Your essay shouldn’t be “centered around Cricket” was my point. It should be centered around you.
Oh okay , thanks for your advice.
I think writing about cricket might make for an interesting essay. BUT, as milee30 suggests, keep it light, informative, and write it in a way that someone who has never been to a cricket match – or even wanted to – can understand. Don’t make it a central theme of your essay (writing about sports is a bit of a tired cliche anyway) but as one aspect of your unique personality.
When it comes to cricket, you really have to be able to connect why it is so important for you and how it shapes your personality and thinking