<p>Hi I'm a Canadian going to enter his senior year in September, my SAT is 2320 my SAT II are Physics 800 Chem 800 and World History 800. Here's the thing my GPA for the past few years are pretty low they were 85% for every year. I took all AP in grade 11 and I was crushed I didn't know how to study the sciences(bio, chem, physics) cause I found the science classes I had in grade 10 and 9 not very helpful for preparing us for the workload. You see at my school we have this "enriched" program and I took it every since grade 9 for all my classes. It's hard to get high grades at my school compared to other schools, the highest grade in my school is probably a 95 and only 1 person has that in my grade while at other schools the highest is like 99 and 98. I go to a tough and good public high school and by 2nd semester I started to get a hang of my science and AP classes. I decided to take my SATs in May and my subjects in June to the end of the year when I just started to pull my marks up. I started my junior year with a 77 avg but I pulled it up to an 86. Seeing my SAT scores I know I can do alot better in my senior year. My extra curriculars are.pretty simple, I created a history club for people to enjoy the subject and share that passion with each other. Originally I started with 3 members but by the end of the year I had over 20 members that would come on a consistent weekly basis. I didn't win any history awards but I do have this passion for history and I share/express it through the club I have at school. I also found out this year that physics was also a subject I enjoyed(during the previous years I thought science was just a class where we'd just memorize and regurgitate facts I never took the class seriously) as I result I spent my summer(this summer) working in a university applied physics lab studying how to implement ultra sound into spot welding(depending on the scans and nature of the metals we can use this information to tell whether the weld is good or bad) and how to use computer programs to detect a good or a bad weld. I also joined a bunch of clubs in grade 11 and I was an executive for the world affairs club for my junior year where we'd do fundraisers and talk about world issues and discuss what we could do to help solve some of out world's problems(e.g. we talked about helping give kids in Africa clean water through our own actions like donations and such: we had a baked sale for a week and we raised a few hundred dollars to build a well in a village in Africa). I didn't win any superb awards but I just did things that I enjoyed.</p>
<p>I'm asking do I have a chance to be accepted by these schools for Physics and History:
Dartmouth, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, UPenn, Cornell, Brown, Duke, UChicago, Columbia, UCBerkeley, UMichigan, Georgetown, MIT, Stanford
Thanks 10 points to anyone who gives the best answer</p>
<p>I forgot to add that I also was in the debate club for the last 3 years and I enjoy debating because it allows me to construct arguments and train my own ability to explain, express and prove my ideas through the use of words. Before I joined debate I was a right brained person, I always thought about things from a mathematical standpoint (I always thought that life was like a math problem: there was only a right or a wrong answer. I always thought that there was only one answer and one solution to a problem; I had never conceived that there could be multiple answers and multiple methods of proving and verifying your answer. Debating also helped me learn how to express my ideas and my thoughts more convincingly and clearly). I was also a "senior" in the debate club who helped organize lessons and meetings.</p>
<p>I’ll punt. For Dartmouth, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Penn, Cornell, Brown, Columbia, Stanford and MIT…your chances of acceptance are like everyone elses…90% of applicants on average do NOT get accepted. You might be in the 10% that get accepted and you might not be. Your GPA is an issue…these schools are not only looking for great SAT scores…they are looking for high achievers. In the 90% of applicants who are NOT accepted are some very well qualified applicants.</p>
<p>For Duke, UChicago, UCBerkeley, UMichigan, Georgetown…you get a maybe from me…again…it’s your GPA that is of concern. These schools look for high achievers too…not just good test scores. I have heard that U of Chicago takes a more “holistic” view of applications so for that school…your essays and letters of recommendation could help you. And I would strongly suggest a VERY strong first semester grade report.</p>
<p>I think you need to add some schools that are a bit less competitive to your list of schools. These are all very competitive schools for admissions.</p>
<p>Okay thanks but I was wondring are there any schools out there that give decent financial aid for international students other than the Ivies that are good schools for physics and history</p>
<p>Many, if not most, schools are need aware for admissions for international students. Your financial need will be considered when you apply for admissions. Many, if not mose, schools do not meet full need for accepted international students. Many schools do not give aid to international students at all.</p>
<p>NOW…having said all of that…now is your question this</p>
<p>“What colleges with programs for physics/history provide guaranteed significant aid for international students?” </p>
<p>That was not your OP question…but is that what you want to know?</p>
<p>What is “decent” financial aid? What amount do you need?</p>
<p>Well my original question was if I could get acceptance to those schools but a friend said I should also ask about financial aid because he said I should have some back up schools. I told him its hard to find some back up schools for me cause of the lack of financial aid for international students at many schools. A decent financial aid would be from 20-30,000 a year. And yes thumper1 that is what I want to know.</p>
<p>Dartmouth, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, UPenn, Cornell, Brown, Columbia, Georgetown, MIT, Stanford offer need based aid ONLY…their aid is not based on your stats but rather on your financial need. I believe most of these schools are need aware for international students meaning your financial need would be considered when you apply. Also, your application for admission would be considered with the other international applicants. Again…I think your chances of admittance are not guaranteed at these schools.</p>
<p>Duke, UChicago do offer both need based and limited merit aid to accepted students.</p>
<p>UMichigan has VERY limited financial aid for international students…mostly loans.</p>
<p>UCBerkeley…the following is from their website…I thought they had some limited aid for international students but if this quote is true…they don’t.</p>
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<p>Now…for need based aid…your aid would be determined based largely on your parents’ incomes and assets in U.S. dollars (for schools that give need based aid to international students).</p>
<p>You might want to post your financial aid query on the financial aid section of this forum. There are some folks there who are knowledgable about international student aid.</p>
<p>I did screw up in my previous years but if I’m able to push for an average over 93(3.8 GPA) would that and my SAT scores make up for my previous years of poor academic performance? FYI my school does rankings but it does it at the end of grade 11 like many schools I think. So my ranking will be low as well…any suggestions/opinions?</p>