Chances for a little atypical student

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>This is my first time posting but I hope this is the right place to ask. I am sorry, this post will be a little long.</p>

<p>Long story short, I was born in Paraguay (South America), lived there for 13 years and moved here at the end of 8th grade. My parents, however, are Asian (Korean, specifically), and thus, I am fluent in all Spanish, English, and Korean.</p>

<p>Not long ago, I was told by my parents that I was an undocumented student. Although we were supposed to get some kind of visa, something turned out badly, which led to my current situation. I realized that I have less chances of getting accepted into some colleges, and so, I am posting this to get some help.</p>

<p>As for my grades/EC, I go to a very competitive school in New Jersey (12th grade).
GPA: 4.2306/4.0 weighted (this is how my school does) and although my school does not have rankings, I am in the top 10%.
8 AP classes during my high school year: AP Spanish 5, AP Language 5, AP Chemistry 4, AP European History 3, AP Physics B ?, AP Literature ?, AP Calculus BC ?, and AP Statistics ?</p>

<p>SAT/SAT II: 800 Math, 710 Writing, and 670 Reading (2180). 760 Chemistry, 800 Spanish, and Math2c 670 (I got 800 in at least 3 practice tests, skipped 5 in the real test, and I got this score. Maybe I skipped in the wrong number and the answers I bubbled went down or up), 700s in Math 1c (took on December, so waiting for score).</p>

<p>EC: 4 years of Varsity soccer, 500+ hours in community service, 4 years of volunteering service (helping children with mental disabilities), tutor for 4 years (Spanish, Math, Science, etc.), 4 years of volunteering service as a piano player at a rehabilitation center, and much more.</p>

<p>Honors/Awards: The President's Volunteer Service Award (gold), National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, Gold and Silver medals for National Spanish Exam in the Bilingual section and 2nd place in New Jersey I believe, and AP Scholar with Honor Award.</p>

<p>The dilemma I am facing is that I am undocumented, and I lost all hope of going into college or even attending school because of that. However, if I have a glimmer of chance of being able to attend some good schools, I would appreciate any response.</p>

<p>Sorry for the long post.</p>

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<p>What schools do you have in mind?</p>

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<p>I applied early to Villanova University, Drexel University, and Northeastern.
I plan to apply to Cornell, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, University of Michigan, Northwestern, and Lehigh University. I am thinking of applying to the IVY’s because they are more lenient toward undocumented students.</p>

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<p>You have a very interesting background story. it will probably help. Write about it in your essays for sure.</p>

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<p>You will have a better chance at private universities where they basically don’t ask you what your status might be. Public universities might be more difficult. I know that we have a significant number of undocumented students at my university, Illinois Institute of Technology, and they have no problem getting a degree. After college may be a different story.</p>

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<p>whitepeach18: yes, I wrote about that in my supplement and am planning to write about it on my regular supplements too.</p>

<p>xraymancs: then I suppose I will mainly apply to private universities. Will Illinois Institute of Technology be a match or a reach for me based on my grades?</p>

<p>Thank you for all your comments; I truly appreciate them</p>

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<p>Your test scores, GPA and curriculum would place you in the upper 75% of the IIT entering class. I think you would be accepted at most of the private schools you listed in your original post as well. My guess is that you have an excellent chance at Lehigh, Drexel, Northeastern, and Villanova. Carnegie Mellon is a bit more selective but you are very competitive. The other three have a lot of applicants and it is always a roll of the dice to get in.</p>

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<p>What are your interests, your possible majors?</p>

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<p>You do have a chance at Cornell. Write good essays, because that will set you apart.</p>

<p>Predictions?<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1587931-can-anyone-play-game-predictions-my-list-test-your-prediction-skills.html#post16670942[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1587931-can-anyone-play-game-predictions-my-list-test-your-prediction-skills.html#post16670942&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Vonlost: I am planning on majoring on engineering, specifically chemical engineering.</p>

<p>Bbff1234: yes, it seems that the essay will be one of the very few factors that will differentiate me form others.</p>

<p>Thank you for your comments</p>