Chances after Gap year - Stanford, MIT, Harvard

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello guys,</p>

<p>I am planning to take a gap year and I would like to know what my chances are at Stanford EA and Harvard and MIT RD.</p>

<p>I would like you to not answer with the typical high reach, reach, match, but rather saying whether I have a fair shot or not. Please fell free to express your suggestions as these are just predictions of my stats awhile of my application in November. Thank you!</p>

<p>Course: Computer and Cognitive Science double major (Symbolic Systems at Stanford)
Int.l student with need for financial assistance</p>

<p>GPA 19,1/20
SAT 800 Math, 750 Writing, 720 Reading
SAT II 800 Math 2, 800 Physics, 750 Chemistry
TOEFL iBT 107
No APs, IBs, whatsoever (doesn't exist in Portugal)</p>

<p>Grade 8 Music conservatory - Guitar (9-12)
- concerts at national distinguished auditoriums, master classes with prestigious guitarists. will send arts supplement</p>

<p>President/founder of cultural association (12)
- organized a renowned music festival to 5000 people and a cultural week with heaps of events among 5 schools</p>

<p>Editor-in-chief/founder of cultural magazine (12)
- circulation of 20,000, prows to say we redefined the youth culture of a region</p>

<p>Freelancer webdesigner (11-PG)
- will send portfolio</p>

<p>Tennis (9-12)</p>

<p>Volunteering (400 hours)</p>

<p>President/founder of Gavel Club (12)</p>

<p>Enrolled with university level internships of physics - Quark - and maths - Delfos (11-12)</p>

<p>EYP internationally acclaimed delegate, chairperson, organizer and editor (10-PG)
- several regional, national and international sessions</p>

<p>Internship at IBM during 1st term of Gap year</p>

<p>Going to India to volunteer (didn't count these hours before), and on a quest for higher education about its culture and philosophy during another 3 months of the gap year</p>

<p>Organized crowdfunding campaign that gathered 20,000 usd to support costs of 3 people going to India on gap year</p>

<p>National finalist of mathematical (twice) and chemistry Olympiad</p>

<p>World Intellectual Property Organization certificate of design</p>

<p>Coded an app (write Java, Python, Ruby, C)</p>

<p>And also, excellent teacher recommendations as well as essays</p>

2

<p>At the level of college you are applying to , it really is a crap shoot. There is no way of guessing, so,I’m glad you’re not doing the standard reach, match, etc. thing. Your EC’s look really good as well as your academics, and I don’t see any holes in your application. I think you are competitive among all of them, with MIT being your best chance, the Stanford, then Harvard.</p>

<p>Chance back?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1632523-chances-for-uva-cornell-carnegie-mellon-others-will-chance-back.html?new=1”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1632523-chances-for-uva-cornell-carnegie-mellon-others-will-chance-back.html?new=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Thank you. Do you really mean that I have more chances of entering Stanford with fin aid (even though through SCEA), than entering need-blind Harvard?</p>

4

<p>upup</p>

5

<p>Unless you are accepted to HYP and couple other truly need-blind colleges, international students do not qualify for federal and institutional aids (unless you are eligible for merit/scholarships). </p>

6

<p>The school does not need to be need-blind in order to offer financial aid to its international students. Some do, some do not, but the truth is, if the school offers but is need-aware, the chances for an international student to be admitted with scholarship is very reduced. Either way, there’s always a chance.</p>

7

<p>@Sampaio96. You are correct. Stanford may be need-aware for internationals…but they accept who they want whether they are wealthy or poor…if they accept you and you need financial aid…they will provide it. Our K2’s room-mate is from a South Asian country receiving full financial aid. The hard thing is getting in. Good luck.</p>

8

<p>And wow…you have really done your homework…you already know about Symbolic Systems at Stanford…looking at your profile your “best chance” of getting into Stanford will be REA…as you have discussed…</p>

<p>…because no one knows how low the acceptance rates will be next year.</p>

9

<p>You indicated in your other post your were denied this year. The stats above are assuming new scores that have not happened yet? </p>

10

<p>If you have already been denied once, it is even more unlikely that a retry would result in admission*, since the schools that denied you have already indicated that you are not competitive enough.</p>

<p>*Unless you have something that is a major improvement to your credentials the second time around.</p>

11

<p>Yes, yes. I have lived in Portugal for my entire life and I’ve never studied English at any institute. At the same time I’ve only studied for the SAT during 3-4 months (and only 1 dilligently). Furthermore I was totally exhausted when I took the exam.
My current score is 720 Writing and 600 Reading. I believe that living 2 to 3 months in the USA, as well as studying and practicing a lot more as I’m taking a gap year, will provide me the opportunity to increase my scores to something around 750 Writing and 720 Reading.</p>

<p>Answering to ucbalumnus, I believe a gap year is a major improvement.</p>

12

<p>I’m not sure how a gap year counts as a major improvement. Are you Deferring Wesleyan then planning on trying to re apply to others? Finally how will you be living in US without bring a student? </p>

13

<p>I am still deliberating whether I should defer Wesleyan or not.</p>

14

<p>

</p>

<p>Merely taking a gap year is not by itself a major improvement.</p>

15

<p>If you increase your SAT by 150 points, intern at a big company related to your field of study, raise funds for a journey to India, go to India on a quest for higher education (philosophy and culture) and volunteering, participate in prestigious EYP sessions, develop your design portfolio, play at renowned music festivals (I forgot to mention it), and code an app, then your gap year can be a major improvement.</p>

16

<p>Did you do all that? That’s not so much of a major improvement. You increased your SAT by 150 points, which is good but not worth taking one whole year off. Interning at a company is good as well, but something which can be juggled with a school year too. All you did was good, but I do not think it was worth taking a whole year off. </p>

17

<p>I am talking about a paid internship for two to three months, not the typical high school summer internship.</p>

<p>And just for the journey to India, I do believe the gap year is worth for me. Having more time to compose and playing at concerts and festivals would also be a plus. Basically all the program is something I’ve been wishing to do for some time, and truth is, I can’t see how isn’t it valuable for universities.</p>

18

<p>@Sampaio96, shouldn’t you be including some “match” schools as well? If you can get into Wesleyan on a need-aware scholarship, you can probably get into a host of other colleges just below the HYP level. Do yourself a favor and apply to Case-Western, Rochester Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech, Carnegie-Mellon and a few more places like that.</p>

19

<p>@circuitrider
Good point, but Carnegie Mellon is not a “match” school for him.</p>

20

<p>Yes I know, if I defer Wes and take the gap year, I will certainly apply to USC, UMichigan and UNC.</p>