Chance Me Please [YAISA: Yet Another International Seeking Aid]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hi. I am a high school senior, attending arguably the most competitive high school in Pakistan, applying to US universities for the class of 2012. Please evaluate my chances for the top colleges in the US[eg some im applying to are UPenn, Wesleyan and Stanford, and Mcgill(Can)]. Thanks, a simple version of my stats posted below.</p>

<p>Academic:</p>

<p>--> Cambridge O Level: 9 A’s (out of 9, at an average of 96% overall)</p>

<p>--> Cambridge A Level: 5 A’s (out of 5, one subject more than anyone at school, average 97% overall)</p>

<p>-->School Grades(XII and XIII): Mostly A's, an odd B here and there.</p>

<p>--> Class XI: AAAAAA</p>

<p>--> Class X: 1st Rank</p>

<p>--> Class IX: 1st Rank</p>

<p>--> SAT1: 2130/2400, reappear Dec 1(Expected 2200+ hopefully)</p>

<p>--> SAT2: Nov 3 (Physics, Chemistry, Math)- Expected 750+ in all.</p>

<p>--> Awards: </p>

<p>-> 17 highest achiever merit certificates.(Top achiever in any one subject in school exams)
-> 3 yearly Performance Awards(Classes XI, X, IX), top 3 students of each year.
-> 6 O Level Achievement Medals, to person receiving the highest percentile in any O Level subject at school.</p>

<p>Non-Academic: (Freaked out by the amount of extracurriculars US students manage)</p>

<p>--> School Prefect.</p>

<p>--> Internship at Citibank- 5 weeks.</p>

<p>--> Social/Volunteer Work of Approximately 130 hours, Slum Development Program, Library and Educational Programs etc.</p>

<p>--> Council Member: Cybernetics(Computer) Society at school.(Organized gaming competitions, magazine etc)</p>

<p>--> Council Member: Math Society(Maker/Organizer of Quizzes, contributor to the magazine etc.)</p>

<p>Essays: </p>

<p>Likely to be good, with one about my struggle with speech problems(good idea?), that i thought would be unique.</p>

<p>Thats about it. Please Chance Me, and you are invited to be as harsh(yet realistic) as possible.</p>

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<p>Sorry, an addition:</p>

<p>Giving the ACT also, expected score 33+.</p>

<p><em>eagerly anticipates answers</em></p>

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<p>What do you plan on majoring in? What schools exactly are you applying to besides Stanford, Penn and Wesleyan?</p>

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<p>You are academically very strong so I dont think you should have a problem getting into McGill, their criteria is based mostly on academic performance. Wesleyan seems likely, but it's a small school with limited space, so don't be surprised if you dont get in there.
Stanford and Penn, as you know, will be very difficult even with your grades and scores. Your extracurricular activities are average, and that's the main problem you'll face with Stanford/Penn. I know a lot of kids who did the A-Levels and had slightly better extracurricular activities than you, and the same grades and got flat out rejected at both those schools. Make sure your essays and recommendations are extremely strong.</p>

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<p>Thanks a lot, snooker1. Appreciated.</p>

<p>Some others im applying to are MIT(worth a shot :P), University Of Chicago, and Grinnell College. Deciding on the rest, maybe University of Toronto(Can) as a safety. Thinking of a double major for now, but unsure.</p>

<p><em>Waiting for more replies</em></p>

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<p>I take it you are applying for Engineering at all those schools:</p>

<p>Stanford: highly unlikely
MIT: highly unlikely
Penn: unlikely--they're easier on their Engineering applicants than the two above and esp. on internationals applying for engineering, but your EC's still make this unlikely.
University of Chicago: toss-up
Grinell College: very likely</p>

<p>University of Toronto, McGill: you're in</p>

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<p>^ highly unlikely sounds harsh...try high reach :) for engineering i'd also like to recommend harvey mudd, rice, cooper union, cmu, uiuc and olin.</p>

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<p>Wait a sec. Dont you just apply generally to colleges in the US and select a major in the second year? :S I am actually undecided about the major thing, although the double major might be Pure Physics and Economics :) No, I hate engg, thankyou.</p>

<p><em>waiting for more replies, slightly disheartened</em></p>

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<p>that's true for lacs but not for professional schools. say if you're applying to wharton, you have to specify your intended major while you don't have to if you're applying to cas (upenn's college of arts and sciences). anyway if you're interested in physics and economics i'd strongly recommend looking at carleton and swarthmore.</p>

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<p>What school is arguably the best school in your country, where the highest number of As in 5?</p>