<p>Hi!
First of all, I would like to thank you that you are viewing my thread : )</p>
<h2>I am applying to Caltech, UPenn, Stanford, Harvard, Dartmouth, CMU, Columbia and other top universities.</h2>
<p>My SAT scores:
SAT: CR 640; M 800; W 660 (super score from 570;800;660 and 640;780;660)
Math Level 2: 800
Physics: 790</p>
<h2>German: 620 (I know it's bad)</h2>
<p>GPA: 3.53 (unweighted)</p>
<h2>We do not have AP courses in Bulgaria.</h2>
<p>Extracurriculars:
- owner of an online shop for 3 years (helped my family and friends, I was able to earn pocket money and invest in my education)
- experience with marketing, advertisement, SEO
- worked on different projects for clients as a freelancer - websites, desktop programs and so on
- worked in a software company for 2 months during school term (I was not happy and decided to quit)
- volunteer in Radio Varna for 2 weeks (took interviews; became a little more social; wrote news and so on)
- participated in 4 conferences (one international) with 3 different research projects
- developed 4 research projects in the areas of artificial intelligence and graph theory
- have been participating in a course in Informatics since 2011 - really helped me realize what I want and perhaps made me a better human being out of me
- programming since 2010
- joined two summer camps - one in Mathematics and one in Physics. Helped me improve and continue to work on one of my research projects. There was also one particular lecture which helped me realize why I should help the society.
- one of the translators of the most bought book on the Bulgarian market for programming into English
- owner of a blog and other websites
- translator of a popular Ecommerce system into Bulgarian; Developed some web design templates for other cms systems
- participated in Euroscola 2012 - we went to the European Parliament; worked on a project about "sustainable future - green energy". Won an award in the Euroscola Game.
- participation in Olympiads in Informatics since 2011
- won a 1st place in a web design competition
- gave lectures on Physics and Computer Science at school</p>
<h2>- won a scholarship from a Bulgarian foundation which helps gifted students</h2>
<h2>I think I will have good recommendations from my counselor, math teacher and my supervisor on projects</h2>
<h2>I am an International applicant.</h2>
<p>So, that's all, I guess. I would be really thankful if you tell me what you think.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Your ECs are great, but your SAT is low for those top schools. Don’t worry about your German score, (assuming you aren’t a native speaker) the test is heavily skewed, and you don’t have to send it if you don’t want to. Overall though, I’d have to say all of those schools are low to mid reaches because of your SAT and GPA. However, if your essays are amazing, memorable, and insightful (and true to who you are), you have a good shot. Make sure you apply to some safety schools too just in case. Chance me back?</p>
<p>A participation in IOI might save you since it’s your biggest EC (Or you’re not an IOI competitor?). And you went very far into Euroscola so I guess it’s going to help.</p>
<p>Stanford: Reach
Harvard: Reach
Caltech: Reach
UPenn: Reach
Dartmouth: Reach
CMU: High match
Columbia: Reach</p>
<p>No, I have never been to IOI and for sure will never be. I am considering some other good universities which might be easier to get in. Thank you!</p>
<p>I think you stand a really good chance! Your test scores and grades aren’t the best, but you are still a very unique applicant that will stand out a lot.</p>
<p>The main thing to focus on then is your writing. Have a lot of other people read your essays and try to get help from them. Focus on your online business and informatics. If you show a lot of passion and creativity, I’d say you could get in! To the selective schools right now I’d say you’ve got like a 1/3 chance, so you should definitely get in somewhere good! Good luck!</p>
<p>Lol, thanks! You really cheered me up! The problem is that nobody (even my parents) believes I can enter a top school. This is perhaps the reason to start this thread. Thank you, guys!</p>