Chance me: Rising senior who wants to major in astrophysics/physics [Asian male] [international, 3.85 GPA, 31 ACT]

Chance Me / Match Me!
,
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International Student - Canada

Intended Major: astrophysics, physics
Public school with around 900 students
Asian male
first generation to college

3.85/4 unweighted GPA
3.86 for UC GPA
Not sure of my weighted GPA

School doesnt do class rank
ACT: 31 (willing to take again in July and September, hopefully 33+)

APs:
AP Psychology (5)
AP Chemistry (probably 5)
AP Physics 1 (probably 5)
Ap Calculus BC (probably 5)
Ap Statistics (hopefully 4)
AP Physics 2 (next yr)
AP Microeconomics (next yr)
AP Calculus AB (next yr)

I took some of these outside of school. Our school only provides like 7 AP courses

Awards:
-A Canadian Math competition honor roll (got an award for receiving highest score in the school but its not that famous)
-UBC Physics Olympics 4th place (team competition)
-small essay competition finalist
-small youth STEAM competition 4th place and received $300

Extracurriculars
-made my own astronomy website(google sites, trying to say without bias but it is honestly pretty good)
-Science club(member)
-STEM Club (general cabinet for 2 years)
-Volunteering Club(general cabinet for a year)
-Astronomy Club(president for one year and quit cause sponsor teacher was so bad)
-Engineering Club(95% chance of being president neat year)
-NASA GBE club(member)
-recycling in local community center(1 year)
-volunteering for local church(2 years, quit last summer)
-Math challenger club (member)
-school orchestra for 4 years
-Boston Leadership Institute-Big Data(summer camp)
-UBC summer volunteering program
-Autodesk CAD/Fusion 360 certificates
-ISSYP summer camp(this summer)
-UBC aerospace engineering program
-gold medal for congressional award

Essays/LORs/Other
-Physics teacher: 9/10
-Math teacher: 9.5/10

Schools:
60%+ chance
-more research needed
30-60% chance
-Drexel
-Arizona State
-UMass Amherst
-Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
-Worcester Polytechnic Institute
-University of Florida
10-30% chance
-Purdue
-University of Washington, Seattle
-UIUC
-NYU
-Case Western
-Northeastern
-UCD
-UCI
-UCSD
-UCSB
0-10%
-University of Chicago
-UCB
-UCLA
-Boston University
-USC
-Cornell

ED for Cornell
ED 2 for UChicago
EA for USC, Case Western, UIUC, Northeastern, Georgia Tech

Does this list sound right?
Honestly feel like I am hoping for too much

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Are you a Canadian citizen or permanent resident?

What is your budget? What is your budget without taking on any debt?

How does your unweighted GPA compare to other students in your high school?

Why do you want to come to study in the US rather than studying at one of the excellent universities in Canada? What would you get from any of the universities on your list that you could not also get at UBC or Toronto (or other universities in Canada)?

Do you think that studying in the US will help you stay in the US after graduation? International students in the US are typically required to return to their home country after graduation. In fact, when applying for your student visa to attend university in the US, if you tell US immigration that you intend to stay in the US after graduation, your student visa is likely to be refused.

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Cost constraints?

Why not a university in Canada, if you are a domestic student in Canada?

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If you meet the requirements specified at https://admission.asu.edu/apply/first-year/admission and can afford the cost (about $60k USD, according to https://tuition.asu.edu/cost ), you can put this in the 100% category. The physics major does not require higher admission standards than general admission, according to https://degrees.apps.asu.edu/bachelors/major/ASU00/LAPHYBS/physics and https://degrees.apps.asu.edu/bachelors/major/ASU00/LAPHYBA/physics .

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I am a Canadian citizen.

Ummm I am honestly not sure of the contrainsts, but I know that I am just about the average.

my school doesn’t calculate students GPA and I have to calculate them by myself. So even if I ask my friends, they don’t know their GPA, cause they are too lazy. but I do know that I am in top 1-8%.

I just dont like Canada. So slow and calming.

Well
I hope they let me stay in US. My father works in the US so it will probably work out.

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I just dont like thc country

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Got it

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You might want to check the price for international students at some of the schools in the US, and show the results to your parents. For the various Universities of California, you will be full pay as an out of state student. There is very little financial aid for out of state students at the Universities of California.

You should definitely make sure that you can afford to attend before you apply ED anywhere. Cornell or Chicago for example might cost you over $80,000 per year in US dollars, which is of course well over C$100,000 per year in Canadian dollars. I think that they both meet full need for international students, but you should check this and that is need as they define it. Whether this agrees with your family’s perception of need is hard to predict.

I was born and grew up in Canada, and have lived in the US for quite a long time. Both daughters were born in the US, and were born with dual citizenship. One daughter went to university in Canada. The education was excellent, she found very good research opportunities, and the cost was a fraction of the cost in the US. It was less expensive than our in-state public university (even with merit aid in-state), and way less compared to out of state or private universities in the US. After graduating she returned to the US, and got three job offers down here in 5 weeks. However, as a US citizen she of course does have the right to work down here, and she was asked about this during job interviews.

One option is to get a bachelor’s degree in Canada and a master’s degree in the US. This might cost you less than just getting a bachelor’s degree in the US.

Canada is a big country. If you do not like where you live, there are a lot of other places to consider. Montreal is for example quite a bit different from Vancouver (I have lived in both). I think that you should make sure to apply to some Canadian universities unless you are certain that you can afford university in the US without taking on any debt.

If you do decide to attend university in the US, do not tell immigration that you are studying in the US because you do not like Canada and you are hoping to stay in the US. You could end up with no student visa too late to apply to universities in Canada and end up taking a forced gap year.

“Slow and calming” doesn’t sound that bad to me, particularly when it comes with affordable universities and legal beer (once you are either 18 or 19 depending upon the province).

And I do wonder whether “bluishpink” is what happens to your toes if you are not wearing sufficiently warm boots during a Canadian winter.

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Ouch.

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Well, they don’t give permanent US residencies to people who “just don’t like” their countries. You are one of millions of international people who want to make the US their home. Immigration is tough.
You shouldn’t plan on coming to the US to live permanently because once you graduate from a US university, you are expected to return to your home country.

If you want to study, then that’s one thing. But If your plan is just to leave Canada, for good, after high school, then you need a straight reality check. Your student Visa does expire. If you try to get extra time, like an OPT, I don’t think there is a US demand or rush, to find astrophysicists for US think tanks.
It’s not an educational visa thing, it’s a federal visa thing. Some people wait for decades to try to get permanent residency. A company has to be willing to sponsor you. The government requires that companies seek US citizens first, for any open positions. It costs a company money, time and paperwork to sponsor a non-citizen and if there are US citizens with degrees in the same field, you will have difficulty being sponsored, let alone employed.

Find out what your parents are willing to pay for your studies in a US university, then research schools that may offer your major. You can ask If they are willing to fund you.

You have several issues.
*You’ve made a list of a number of public universities which are supported by their states’ taxpayers. Their funding priority goes to student residents. Those states have very limited funding so you will be paying full OOS fees. The UC’s wont give you a penny and you don’t qualify for US federal loans or grants. Your very expensive tuition, room and board, and health insurance, and daily living expenses will have to be covered by the Bank of Mom and Dad. Living in the US is very expensive.
*Your EC’s wont make up for grades and test scores. You need to be one of the best students in your region, and even with perfect grades and scores, you are still not guaranteed a seat at any US university.
*If you self-study AP’s, a number of universities wont consider those scores. They want to see how you perform in a classroom with peers and instructors.

Do some research on the US schools and ask your parents about your budget for college.

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Thank you for your advice, but I feel like it is too late to turn back now. I studied hard since I was grade 9, hoping to get into a top US university school. Also great amount of money and time spent to study ACT and SAT(swtiched to ACT when I was grade 10)

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Thank you for your comment. I never actually considered those money and law issues(taxes, federal fees
).

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Excellent points by the posters above.

I’ll address a few more things


AFAIK, this hook only applies to domestic applicants. All international applicants are in the same pool regardless of their demographics, FGLI status, etc.

Your father working in the U.S. will have no relevance to your work visa application. You will need a sponsoring employer as mentioned above, and go through the legal process on your own merit.

Finally, you should be aware that you won’t be able to work at places like NASA until you gain U.S. citizenship - which will take many years (assuming you find a sponsoring employer elsewhere).

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Since you’re an international, there are 2 situations:

  • your parents make 300K+ and have decided they’d pay 80K (or 60K
) for you to attend a US university: you’re among the full pay international student pool
  • your parents don’t make that much or don’t have 60, 70, 80K to spend on each year of your education: you apply as an international who needs financial aid or merit aid.

These 2 categories imply vastly different scenarios. For instance, if you’re category 2, RPI, UCs and UIUC are off limits; UMass or Drexel may also be depending on how much your parents can afford.
Can you clear that up - what’s your parents" budget, per year and without debt?

Your father works in the US: does he live there most of the time?

Does your province have exchange agreements with any US border State (like Manitoba and Saskatchewan with Minnesota, I think; or isn’t there an agreement with Michigan?)

UC’s do not consider test scores or 9th grade grades. They also expect you to have 65K for each year of study.

What matters to you most: studying in the US (even if the college is not well-known in Canada or not highly ranked) or studying at a highly ranked college (even if it means staying in Canada)?
If you live in Quebec, you could also study in France and Belgium.

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Sending a shout-out to @NiVo:

Swimming Recruiting for Int’l Jr. Targeting Highly Selective Colleges - Athletic Recruits - College Confidential Forums

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Maybe
but maybe not. I’d check this for YOU before I assumed it will work out.

How much can your parents pay annually for your college education. Some of the schools on your list are in the $80,000 a year range.

Unless you can afford to pay the full cost of attendance, the public universities in CA probably need to come off your list
as they don’t give need based aid to folks who aren’t residents
and merit aid is small and highly competitive.

another thing. Many of the private colleges on your list are need aware for admissions for international students. So
your level of financial need might impact an admissions decision.

And you need to check to see IF these colleges on your list actually offer aid to international students. Northeastern, for example does not give need based aid, but does give merit scholarships. But these are highly competitive.

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30-60% odds aren’t enough. You need a safety.

And if you have one you need to afford it.

And you have Drexel and ASU - they are admission safeties.

ASU is solid in Astrophysics but U of Arizona is one of the tops in the country. It’s also a top feeder in the major for PHDs. I linked one of many ‘top school’ articles.

If affordable, add to your list.

For your major it’s frankly pretty much stronger than your entire list.

UCs are test blind and really really expensive and without aid.

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Why would you take AP Calculus AB after BC?

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The UC’s have their own GPA calculation and will consider 3 GPA’s: Unweighted, Capped weighted and Fully weighted. They use grades from the A-G course requirements (see below) from the summer after 10th to the summer prior to 12th. HS course rigor/GPA are very important along with your Personal Insight Essays (PIQ).

LOR’s are not accepted except for UC Berkeley which is by invitation only. As an International applicant, you will be expected to be full pay which is estimated at $72K/year for the 2023-2024 academic year.

The UC GPA calculator and only AP/IB courses get the extra weighting in the calculation: GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub

2022 UC admit rates by residency
2022 Freshman admit rates for International applicants

|Berkeley|5.5%|
|Davis|43%|
|Irvine|21%|
|Los Angeles|5.8%|
|Merced|81.7%|
|Riverside|68.%|
|San Diego |15.5%|
|Santa Barbara|19.7%|
|Santa Cruz|55.4%|

2022 Admit rates based on the Capped weighted UC GPA.

Campus 4.00+ 3.70-3.99 3.30-3.69 3.00-3.29
Berkeley 17% 3% 1% 0%
Davis 58% 20% 5% 2%
Irvine 35% 10% 3% 0%
Los Angeles 13% 2% 1% 0%
Merced 97% 97% 95% 85%
Riverside 95% 83% 42% 17%
San Diego 37% 8% 1% 0%
Santa Barbara 41% 8% 3% 0%
Santa Cruz 69% 45% 16% 4%

Best of luck but make sure these schools are affordable before applying.

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Just to note - $72K American
because in Canada it will be higher.