Ok, I know the season is over but I just need to know what to expect from colleges where I applied. And it might be helpful for future students like me as I applied everywhere without any help from agencies and etc(for internationals it is a big deal, you know), neither of my parents studied in US ( actually, I don’t have any close relatives who ever did that). I will post all my decisions as they are released.
I am a international female applicant from a very underrepresented country, Azerbaijan, and we don’t have ECs at schools unless you go to private school or a very few specific Lyceums. My school was academically prestigious, but we still didn’t have any ECs(so, all of mine are outside of school). My majors : International affairs(studies, relations), Pol Sci or Art History, indicated all 3 where it was possible.
So, my stats
- 1470 sat (690 english). My IELTS test is quite high, above requirements to every school in my list.
- I took two subjects Math 2(720, not really high…) and Chemistry(600, I know it is a disaster but I don’t apply to science or engineering, I just took it because I love Chem but english terminology just killed me).
- Ok, GPA is complicated. I will note that I had highest GPA in my division(in public schools we can select between two languages which we want primary(both are not English). So, we have 9th grade diploma GPA which is 4.89/5.0( 19 subjects, 17 As and two Bs) and 11th grade diploma which is 4.94/5.0( 18 subjects, 17 As and one B), overall GPA for HS is 4.82/5.0. So, I graduated from my school, but I am currently at US HS(senior), I don’t know exactly how you do GPA here but I have all As in the first semester( one AP class (school offers only one) and one honors class).
- My recs should be good, both of teacher really love me.
- Essays. I think they were really good, I have quite interesting background. People who read them told me that they are really unique, very personal and showed my personal growth and changes. I have a few WHY essays and they are very specific( one of them is really weird, but it is my fav). I can dm you essays if you are really interested.
- So, my ECs are about art(have a few first place in my country, tutoring experience and did some paid work and art projects) and political stimulations( have national, international distinctions in different conferences, also held leadership positions). Also, I was in national dance team and then in flashmob team(during HS)( it is a huge thing in our country, one of my essays is about it). Other things: won a few language competitions (one of them is on national level), and I did a lot of volunteering, 400+ hours. And I am also FLEX finalist( scholarship to study in US high school, each year they select 10-12 students from my country for that scholarship) and I speak 5 languages, but it is common among internationals. It is not very detailed, just general overview. I will post more specific one after getting decisions.
I didn’t have any interviews yet, so any advice will be helpful( first one is in a week).
Oh, and of course, I am applying for aid, a lot of aid…
I know in past a few people from my country got into Ivies and etc , but all of them came from international private schools, so I have nothing to compare myself. (as far as I understood people from private and public schools are in different pools, I might be wrong).
So, here is my list, I had fee waiver from CA, so applied to 20 schools(visited a few, and I really tried to find colleges which I like and might be fit for them, not just picked up whatever I saw, but I considered only schools which offer good amount of fin aid). I know every college is a reach for me as i ask for full-aid, but still where do you think I have most chances?
Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth, Amherst, UChicago, Middlebury, Colby, Duke, JHU, WUSLT, Beloit, St. Lawrence University, Skidmore, Gettysburg, WUL, Grinnell, Lafayette, Bucknell, Earlham College.
