<p>Hi , 12 the class senior
My stats are as follows
SAT 2080 ( 760 M , 640 CR , 680 W) , retaken this December
SAT 2 - 2390
M1 -790
M2-800
P-800</p>
<p>School
Class 10 - cgpa 10
Class 11- 88 % ( didn't study due to jee prep )
Class 12- mid term 88 %
Class 9- cgpa 9.8</p>
<p>ECs
Represented India at the 7 International Earth Science Olympiad
Qualified twice for the earth science Olympiad training camp
Ntse scholar
Quizzer , won several national level and plenty of inter school quizzes
Chief editor of my school magazines
Competitive programming - know 5 computer language s , world rank 622@ hacker rank
Work as freelance acupressure therapist
Topped the bhaskar genius scholarship exam
Top 20 in India in several competitive exams
Won several awards of excellence in academics at national andand state level</p>
<p>Essay
On my experience with earth science</p>
<p>Parents annual income being just 5 k USD , looking for an almost full ride
I am applying to COrnell , Stanford , MIT , Princeton , Drexel , upenn , Yale , Harvard, Rice
Chance me please for them and suggest a few safeties</p>
<p>Hey there, jobuddy. EC’s are great and the International Earth Science Olympiad is a great hook. You could have had MIT with some great essays, but in my opinion, 2080 in a SAT might be a deal breaker for an Indian. Stanford is not need-blind, so again chances are low after that SAT score. Yale, Princeton and Harvard - nobody can be sure. I’d say you check schools that provide loads of financial aid to international students. </p>
<p>Check these : Occidental College, Pomona College, Wesleyan University, Trinity College, Emory University, Earlham College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Boston University, Williams College, Bard College, Colgate University, Hamilton College, Vassar College, Reed College, Gettysburg College, Washington and Lee University.</p>
<p>@denhigs thanks for the attention friend , btw i am seeking an engineering program , most of the colleges you suggested were liberal arts colleges. any engineering univ. in mind that offer good need based/merit based aid to internationals ?</p>
<p>Clarkson, Union College, and Renssalaer polytech will give good aid for International engineering students with top stats. For US engineers and possibly some international with merit and FA consider Lafayette and U Rochester.</p>
<p>Dude! Your GPA is amazing. Try to get 93% and above in Boards. Your SAT 1 and SAT 2 are amazing! So, I think you have accomplished a good part of your application. I think your EC’s are good. I am not sure about them. I think you stand a good chance at Cornell. Rest are tough. I am sure that you can get into them too. If the Essay is good, you can get a full ride or major part. </p>
<p>I would suggest you a few schools though:- Carnegie Mellon, Boston University etc. </p>
<p>Also keep in mind your long term goals while choosing schools, the schools that you’ve applied/are applying to are best for almost anything you want to pursue (Engineeering, Arts or Sciences!). However, I’d just like to point out (no offense intended)- forget Harvard - lot of Indians apply to Harvard, they’d rather admit a War Orphan from Syria than an Indian with SAT in 2300s. Indians and Chinese are just cursed, we just can’t compete with URMs. I’d also like to point out that Adcoms look a little too closely at applicants from India and China, due to the rampant fabrications in documents. Also, don’t forget to get a rec from your English teacher, other subject teachers are not as proficient in English and don’t know how to write recs, or worse, may write you ‘blah’ recs that would just spoil your image.</p>
<p>One more thing, I read that you want to pursue Engineering, I’d suggest apply to a selective LACs with 3-2 programs (they are excellent, BTW). You can study whatever fancies your whim and have the best of both worlds. Statistics also show that LACs engineers tend to do well than their peers. Seriously look at the following: Williams (if you don’t mind rural), Bowdoin, Hamilton, Bates and Washington & Lee (i know for sure it offers full ride). Don’t even consider Carnegie (they don’t have any sort of aid for intls) and Boston (it is need aware, it’d just reject your application when it sees the 5K income). Also Please seriously consider retaking the SAT, I can suggest books (even mail you PDFs), just PM me!! Best Wishes for your college search.</p>
<p>@jobuddy Didn’t you already submit the application? And if you are a RD applicant, Jan will be your last testing date which is this Saturday. 2220 is a pretty good score but remember that they will compare you to other Indians. Could you give your break up? Since, most Indians score well in the Math section, I strongly believe good scores in CR and Writing will set you apart.
Anyways, since Jan is the last testing date, you shouldn’t worry about retaking. Just cross your fingers.
Besides that, nice SATIIs and you do have many brilliant achievements!!</p>
<p>Job buddy, I know you’ve worked hard to get a 2220, and it’s a good score, but unfortunately, those HYPS guys have a habit of placing us on a pedestal, they really expect more of us, because most Indians have SATs in higher 2300s and SAT IIs in 780-800 ranges, I’ve seend too many Indians getting rejected with 2400 SAT and 800s in 3 SAT IIs, and my heart literally bleeds. Just know that competition is too severe. Also try to polish your application by writing good essays and mentioning 10 of your best ECs. (Common App has space for only 10). Ace the stan tests, present yourself well, get good recs (don’t mind being forward and asking beforehand whether the teacher will write you a glowing rec or not) and finally, hope for the best but at the same time don’t get your hopes too high (It hurts a lot, I’m saying this from personal experience).</p>
<p>Yeah good advice Conscience, I too, have noticed that most Indians score 750+ in maths, but CR is the worst (550-650 range especially for CBSE/state board students). And last but not the lest, you can always apply as a transfer to your dream school if you don’t get in now.</p>
<p>@Conscience13 @Duck007
my sat breakdown is - 800 maths , 700 cr , 720 w , 10 on essay.
btw , if i enter engineering this year in india , can i apply as freshman / transfer for fall 2015.
thanks for your advice guys ( assuming you are male )
my essays were quite good , had a creative surge on 31 dec.
my teachers told me that they have given me an excellent recommendation.</p>
<p>Yes you can, but remember that transfer admissions are a bit complicated, deadlines are generally Nov 1 (for spring) and March 1 (for fall), also deadlines vary from school to school and this can sometimes create problems, for e.g. you’d have received a response from choice 2 but still waiting for choice 1, in such a case you can’t wait for long as response times are not standardized (as in the case of freshmen admissions ~ May 1). Also know that you can only transfer if you’ve spend a year at other university and not after just a semester. Best bet would be to go to a famous university and study sciences or arts (not engg) if you want to transfer. Engg is only a two year course in USA and they expect to see breadth when they admit transfers and most often frown upon pre-professional students.</p>
<p>Also, remember that if you join a college in India and then plan to apply abroad, you will be considered as a transfer student. You cannot send a freshman application. However, if you take a gap year, then you can submit the freshman application. </p>
<p>Transfer admissions are tougher than freshman admissions, especially in the selective colleges. </p>
<p>And I came across colleges that do not provide aid to international transfer students. Example: Princeton. You might want to check that out.</p>
<p>Conscience, actually Princeton is need blind for all applicants (national, international, freshman, transfer … anyone), however, since 2009 Princeton has stopped accepting transfer applications due to lack of spaces, unlike other schools which over-stuff their dorms with transfers each year.</p>
<p>@Conscience13 @Duck007 Thanks a lot for your time friends. So should i expect selection in any ivy , or am I being too unrealistic and optimistic ? I have already applied to the colleges , so I cant change much now . Still , should I hope to get a selection letter before my jee mains ?</p>
)