I’m a 16 year old female in junior year at a IB high school in India (not a US citizen).
I have a 4.0 GPA, but I’m not completely sure because I did the IGCSE program (I calculated my GPA based on another post I saw here).
I haven’t given my SAT yet due to the virus, but multiple (around 10 tests) diagnostics resulted in scores between 1450-1500.
For IB, I’m expecting something around 37-42 points and my HL subjects are Biology, Math AA and Economics.
For extracurricular, I am the associate editor at my school magazine, and the editor-in-chief of another school publication. I am a classical dancer, and I have done multiple stage performances across the country for 14 years. I also play the piano.
I’ve attended and chaired a few MUN’s, and I’m a member of the MUN club at school, hoping to get a leadership position next year.
I want to major in either Neuroscience or Molecular Biology, and while I know my stats aren’t the best, I really want to know my chances at Universities such as Boston University, Barnard University, UIUC, NYU, Northeastern, UCSD, USC, UNC, University of Washington and UT Austin. I think UCLA and UC Berkeley are long reach, but these are my dream universities (my weighted and capped UC GPA is around 4.14, but not a 100% sure) .
As for my essays, I like to consider myself a good writer, and I think I will be able to write essays that are above average.
I would really appreciate any sort of advice on how I can improve my profile, and my chances at getting into these universities!
Hi!
I think your stats are incredible! You’re obviously very hardworking and capable of exceeding in top universities. I don’t know much about all the schools you listed, but here are my thoughts on a few of them:
I think you have a really good shot at University of Washington; I think the average SAT is around 1440 and GPA is 3.75-3.92 so you meet those averages. The biggest thing is that your major is highly competitive at all schools, so the averages for your major might be higher.
You also have a really good shot at UT Austin. Their stats are a little higher and its a more competitive school, but a strong essay could really help you! Again, your major is super competitive, UT has a lot of people trying for those majors.
NYU is highly selective. your stats seem pretty good still, but the people you’re competing with have scores that are just as good as yours. I think your EC’s will help you stand out, along with strong essays. NYU also values its global community so being an international student might help you. You would be applying to CAS which is one of the bigger schools. Try looking into their website.
Have you considered doing any extracurriculars related to your major? I noticed that a lot of your activities were writing and performative arts.
I think you should apply to as many reach schools as possible, you have really strong stats and it helps that you’re a good writer!
What’s your budget? Most of these schools are public universities, which don’t have the means to fund non-residents and would require that you be full pay.
If you got in but couldn’t pay, you wouldn’t be able to attend. Did you ask your parents about your budget???
Thank you so much for the reply! This year I had the opportunity to volunteer at the local hospital but unfortunately I was unable to due to the virus.
I will definitely look into UT Austin and Washington!
I have spoken to my parents about the cost factor. University in the US is much more expensive compared to university here, but the quality of education is higher.
The UC’s will be $65K per year, minimum-this doesn’t include other incidentals needed to live in the state. Since these are public universities, funded by the state’s taxpayers, there is no funding for non-residents. Tell your parents to plan on paying $260K for 4 years if you plan to attend a UC.
The University of Washington (public university) does not provide funding for non-residents so assume $220K for 4 years. You can look up the costs for BU and the other schools you’ve listed.
So, your parents are okay with these costs? You wont be able to get a Visa if you can’t show your funding for 4 years.
FYI: American medical schools typically don’t accept international students. There are exceptions for Canadians at some med schools.
For the public universities in this list...assume you will get zero $ in aid as an international student. Definitely you will get zero from the California publics. They don’t give a dime of need based aid to out of state students, and merit aid is more than highly competitive and won’t be very large. The other public universities also don’t fund international students at a very high rate.
SO…are your parents willing to pay $60,000 a year or more for your college education?
Many colleges are need aware for admissions. If you need need based aid, your level of need will be considered when you apply for admission. For international students at most colleges, you must apply for this aid as an incoming freshman or you can’t in future years.
SO…do you expect to get need based aid?
How much will your parents pay annually for you to attend college in the U.S. you need that number because that is your budget.
SO…find out the exact number.
Don’t forget that a lot of colleges expect a student contribution that can be several thousand dollars, and add in your travel costs from India.
Are you hoping to apply to and get accepted at medical school here too? What is your career goal?
For many of the colleges on your list, the acceptance rate for international students is 10% or less. Your application will be reviewed alongside of all of the other highly qualified applicants from your region. A lot of students from your area apply to colleges in the U.S. and many are as well qualified as you...or more so.
There are tons of students in India who attend college in India.
I am posting this over here cause I don’t know how to post a new thread
Hey guys I am a high school student from India (cbse)
Stats-
9th std - 80%
10th std - 90 %
11th std -60% ( its because I was doing some other course and was in different school but I changed the school and I joined the school after mid terms so it was difficult for me to cope up with the syllabus so I ended up with only 60 %)
12th std ( mid terms ) - 90 % and predicted are also 90 %
My essays and lors are good and my teachers have explained why I got bad grades in 11th std
Ecs -
I started my own game developing company and publish around 10 games online
I am a national level tennis player and have many achievements at national level I also played for the school in states and district level
I did an internship at IT company (5 months)
I was in my school cricket team for 2 years
I was in my school band ( keyboard ) for 2 years participated in many events and shows
I am a tech team head at a non profit organisation which was started by my friends
I volunteered in an animal ngo
I did online courses of c++ java programming and c # from codeacademy and coursera
I have many olympiads at my school like IMO nso and my school ranks was always in top 8
participated in many speech and debate competitions like MUNs etc
What are my chances of getting in
Uiuc, uic , Purdue ,msu, gmu, Virginia tech ,ucsd, uc Irvine, UC Davis, Texas a and m, u mass Amherst, Penn state, BU
I am really scared because of bad grades in 11th std but I hope that they see my improvement in 12th std and consider the problem I faced in 11th std
Affordability, as other posters mentioned, is the big issue. Many of the schools you’re listing won’t give you a single dime of financial aid.
If you can afford a quarter million dollars, by all means apply. Several of those universities would welcome you as a full pay student.
If you are in need of just a little aid, there are many private and liberal arts colleges that would be willing to subsidize you a bit. “Token scholarships” are common. In exchange for a couple thousand dollars, your parents get to brag that you are studying “on scholarship”, and they can leave out the fact they’re still paying $50,000+ a year.
If you need a lot of financial aid, your options - and your odds - dwindle significantly. Look up “need blind” vs “meets full need”.
No, you don’t: by law, 90% of admitted students have to be Texas residents ( @idkhelpme02 , as a Texas resident you should know that). There are about 300 non-resident aliens in a class of about 8000 students.
UNC also has a hard cap (15%) on out of state students, and thus also more of a challenge.
Most US colleges and universities have 8-15% international students (NYU has about 20%). You will be competing for places with students from your area / state / country / region. You are smart to look beyond the usual suspects, but realistically you could be shut out from your entire list, even if your parents can and will pay full-price.
To be sure that you get an admission offer you need to figure out whether it’s worth broadening your list within the US - or looking further afield. Your IB predictions put you in good shape for the UK and Canada, for example, and if you can afford the US you can afford them.
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@Syashd, you need to start your own thread not hijack this one. If you can’t find the ‘Ask your Question here’ button at the top of the page I wonder how ready you are to fend for yourself in a new country. That sounds super-snarky- but it is not meant to be. Seriously: being able to figure out how unfamiliar things work is a huge part of going to college in a system and a country you know- and is even harder in a system and a country you don’t know.