Chances at Amherst?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi all. I'm an international student living in Thailand. I'm South Korean, but I was born in Thailand. I'm trilingual, and I go to a private Christian school run under the American system. Because Amherst is need-blind to international students as well, I'd like to give it a shot. I will apply for Financial Aid, and I'm going to need a whole lot to afford it.
Amherst is my top choice, and I will apply early decision. Below are my scores and extracurriculars.</p>

<p>GPA(weighted):3.97 I don't know my unweighted. I'm probably among the top 10 or 20 percent in my grade. My GPA does show improvement every year.
TOEFL: 114 out of 120
SAT(1st try): 2010 (Math:670, CR:650, Writing:690)
I'll be taking it again on Oct 9, and I'm pretty sure I can get at least a 2200.
SAT IIs: Physics:730, Chemistry:760
APs: Chemistry 5, Physics 5, Statistics 4</p>

<p>Academic Awards:
Algebra I
Thai 3
Honor Roll 5 Semesters
Honorable Mention 1 Semester</p>

<p>ECs:
Chess Club 3 years
Badminton Team 1 year (participated in Tournament)
Band 4 Years (Clarinet)
Co-founder of a literary club
Church Chapel Team member
School Yearbook member
School Newspaper member</p>

<p>Non-academic Awards:
CMAC Chess Tournament Open Section 1st Place, Ages 15+ Section 1st Place
CMAC Chess Tournament Advanced Section 1st Place<br>
IWICA Chess Tournament U18 Best Male Player
Bongcheon Chess Tournament three-way tie 1st Place
Bongcheon Chess League two-way tie 2nd Place
Prose Competition: 2nd Place
Poetry Competition: 1st Place</p>

<p>Volunteer Work:
Taught guitar to orphans at a local orphanage
Translated Thai, Korean, and English for a university research team during a engineering project
Tutored school work for two Korean students</p>

<p>I've written a good common app essay that's been approved by many people. I know of one teacher that I can get a pretty decent recommendation from. I wish to study psychology at Amherst. I know my chances are very weak, but this really is my top choice. I have one safety ready, which I will probably end up going to. Chance me and I may chance you back.^^</p>

<p>PS: Is there anything else I shoud've included?</p>

2

<p>Leadership positions would be nice. Any work experience or projects outside of school? Do your EC’s correspond to your interests at all? . As for now its a bit of a reach…try squeezing in some leadership/projects to increase your chances. Best of luck.</p>

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<p>Bump… Keep em coming^^</p>

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<p>Anyone there?</p>

5

<p>Weak grades + financial aid requirement will make Amherst very hard.</p>

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<p>Thank you for being honest. Could more people reply? I just want to have a very accurate picture so that I don’t get quite so depressed afterwards…:p</p>

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<p>I think there is a chance for you to go to Amherst. I would say apply anyway. There is no harm in trying to get into your dream school :)</p>

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<p>Update: Superscore now 2240 CR:780 M:730 W:730</p>

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<p>Are you rated chess player? If yes, then whats ur ratin</p>

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<p>1700 in the Korean chess institute at Bongcheon. I did beat numerous 1900+ FIDE in tournaments.</p>

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<p>That means you are not FIDE rated… right?</p>

<p>Your other parts look fine, but for Amherst I would say that its a reach/ low match for u.</p>

<p>BTW whats your safety?</p>

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<p>Yes I never had a chance to participate in a tournament that would grant me a FIDE rating because I always had to come back to Thailand for school when those tournaments were held in Korea.
My safety is a Christian college, called Gordon College. Also in MA.</p>

13

<p>OK. That’s cool. Best of luck!</p>

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<p>Getting a 2240, increased from a 2010, greatly increases your chances, but asking for a lot of financial aid as an international applicant will make it harder. Good luck!</p>

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<p>But isn’t Amherst need-blind for intls?</p>

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<p>Yes, as Amherst is needblind to intl, my ability to pay has no bearing whatsoever on the admissions decision. Partly why I chose this college.</p>

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<p>Amherst is perhaps the most competitive of the colleges. And yes you are right it is need-blind for internatonals. However, I don’t want to discourage you but i think that acceptance in such top schools especially when it comes to international students is even more competitive.
I have a green card, otherwise i wouldn’t apply in the US since my SAT1 isn’t incredible.
Your SATIIs are good but u need higher SAT1 or solid ECs, very good essays and high GPA.
Still, nothing is certain, so don’t lose faith :)</p>

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<p>^Just to make sure… I’ve heard that my SAT IIs are very low but that my SAT I of 2240 is decent. So I needed to break 2300?</p>

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<p>Awww, I am sorry, I didn’t read the update :). Yes, you do have chances and I don’t think your SAT II are “very low”.</p>

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<p>low-mid reach, i’d say. you should definitely be competitive. good luck!</p>