I’m a senior from Morocco, and I’ve fallen head over heels in love with these schools. Tbh, here in Morocco everything is robotized, the curriculum is boring, everything is taught to the test, zero creativity and innovation and you struggle finding someone with a passion for learning and overcoming challenges, or even minor stuff like reading high fantasy books, but I digress.
Not even going to try and say why I like Yale; it should be pretty obvious. Meeting friends with the same passion of learning, labs and courses to sate my love of solving problems. It’s perfect! But I digress.
No problem with the TOEFL/English barrier (I think), since I’m a US citizen, went to elementary school in the States, and English is my native language.
My GPA is fairly good, with all my average GPAs since 7th grade being 16+/20 ("A"s, or 4.0; see reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_Morocco ) with the exception of junior year’s first semester (15).
I mean to take the SAT on Oct. 6, I just started practicing on Khan Academy and my first practice tests (so far) range between 1400/1450.
All good and well? No. We have 0 extracurricular activities in Morocco. The only passion I have that my school really sponsored was soccer (played varsity) but I really can’t just mention that, right? I like reading? Swimming in our small pool? I also help out in our farm (caring for livestock, horses, crops, etc…). Can that count too?
The only thing that could be worth mentioning is the challenge of switching between countries of very different cultures, languages, school programs, etc… but that can only really for on the CA essay, and I have tons of questions for the applications I need to fill out.
I just want some help, since I want to apply EA to maximize my chances. Any tips would be immensely appreciated. 
Helping out on the farm is a great EC. It can be impressive when you manage to juggle something that costs significant time in your day but still show that you’re able to stay interested in intellectual challenge…
ECs are a way the school can figure out who you are when you’re not at school and what you might participate in when you get to campus. So,if you have significant non-school commitments like a job then they know that you’ve got the drive and energy to do something when you get home from school besides sitting around playing video games.
You mention that you like to read high fantasy, do you also write? Writing is another wonderful EC. Polish and submit a few short stories to publications in the next month or so, you never know.
Nothing in your community you can do? Some local programs to be involved with, advocacy, volunteering for the needy? You need to show not only the energy, but the vision (which allows you to see opportunities and go for them.) Aligning yourself with an adult organization will help. Not just hobbies.
You have to familiarize yourself with what Yale looks for, what they say. The issue with an essay about the challenge of switching cultures is that the tippy top colleges expect you to them show how you became involved. “Show, not just tell.” Think about this point.
There are lots of good colleges where students share a passion for learning.
The educational situation is BAD. When I say we have 0 extracurriculars, I mean no events or anything non-school related at all. No school newspaper, no nothing. I read Sanderson and Rothfuss just for the fun of it.
Btw, ty for repyling I appreciate it, really.
Also, I also do some basic engineering at our farm (water pressure system, etc…) Will that help too?
You will be assess in context of your school and community. If you have limited school ECs, that is OK. Honestly I think you have the potential for a compelling essay doing engineering around your family farm.
That said, you need to be aiming much higher with your SATs. See the stats published from MIT: http://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/stats
There are plenty of great schools that have the same intellectual curiosity that you are describing at MIT. MIT is a long shot for all applicants so have plenty of match and safety schools on your list too.
standard response:
http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/no_chance
http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways
The three schools you appear to have fallen “head over heals in love with” – Stanford, MIT and Yale will all have the same answer. They are longshots for everyone – the schools all have acceptance rates well under 10%. It is fine to apply but I suggest you expand your horizons.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Additionally, since you have posted the exact same post in each school’s forum, and since repetitive posts are not allowed, I have merged your threads and moved to the What Are My Chances forum.
Oh sorry. Should I just delete the thread? I didn’t mean to spam :\
You can’t delete a thread anyway. It’s now fine where it is.
I think work with the farm could be a really interesting essay.
Additionally, I think it’d behoove you to discuss what living in Morocco has done to impact the way you look at the world and your place in it.
Did the Arab Spring or more recent boycotting of oligopolies impact your family or particularly move you?
Also, Marrakesh/Tangier/Morocco has historically served as a source of inspiration for many Western (“beatnik”) writers (Ginsberg, Kerouac, Bowles). I’d be interested in the contrast you’ve painted about the state of education in Morocco and what those writers experienced, and what that means to you personally–if that’s at all a salient theme to you.
soccer (played varsity) How good are you? That could be a big help.
Thanks guys! @hgrad2010 Morocco wasn’t at all affected by the Arab Spring, and I kind of revolved my essay about adapting to a new culture and lifestyle, and the struggle of juggling 3 languages (Arabic, French and English to do well at school).
@lostaccount I’m good enough that I played with semi-professional Latino players in the Bronx and showed them what real soccer is (all while being 5’4" 
)
You’ll have a really unique perspective when you apply, which should boost your chances. Add every single activity that you can think of (because you don’t have too many ECs that it will look like it’s too much) because I think you’re underestimating your own ECs. The farm work will look great and you can really use that to show commitment, along with the other ECs. Good luck!