Chances for an international student please !

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello, I am from Morocco and i am willing to apply to 21 universities, because I don't know yet what my sat score is ( neither what my SAT II or TOEFL score is ) and I can't afford waiting because of the upcoming deadlines and the time that it taks to send my application data from Morocco.</p>

<p>Academics : Pretty good, "well rounded" I guess</p>

<p>I am in a very selective french school (so most Ivies are familiar with the notation system)
Average mark over these las four years : 15/20 ( about 4,0 unweighted )
I got some okay marks but also some good one that give me this average
Ranking : Top 10% of my school I guess ( but i go to a 3700 students high school)
Subjects : Scientific branch, wich envolves
Advanced maths 6hrs
Advanced physicis and chemistery 7,5hrs
advanced Biology/Ecology 4hrs
Philosophy ; English </p>

<p>Optional ( equivalent to APs I guess )
Latin 3hrs,
Advanced Arabic Literature 6hrs
Spanish 3hrs
Bilingual Geography and History 4hrs</p>

<p>My marks on the first session of the exam were good ( I guess it would count as a 5,0 )</p>

<p>[As you can see I have a pretty heavy schedule so I guess this is a plus]</p>

<p>Extracurriculars
Sports : Many ( won junior nationals in gymnastics, done climbing, karate and sailing for 5years, Classical Dancing for 2years, blablabla )
Achievements : Won an international contest for presenting a company's management etc, got chosen to participate for many other national ( france ) selective contests.
Clubs : Ecologic club, Radio club ( leader I guess ) Philosophy club, Creative writing etc
I also have some other ECs concerning charity and work </p>

<p>Essay : I did'nt wrote it yet but i am intending to do a good one ( hoping for the best )
Reps : Fine I guess, or eventually good ( i don't know yet )</p>

<p>SAT II : I am going to pass Biology E and Maths 2 </p>

<p>Prospective major : environnemental science (This is a very uncomong major so I guess it gives me more chances ? )</p>

<p>I chose universities in three categories : </p>

<p>-----Dream university :
Yale
------Dream-bis universities :
University of chicago, Harvard, WUSTL, MIT, Stanford
-------Very good universities :
Williams, Brown, Dartmouth, Rice, Upenn, Amherst, Carnegie Mellon, JHU, Northeastern
--------"Safeties" :
USC, Emory, Wellesley, Universitiy of Richmond, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Universitiy of Florida</p>

<p>Please tell me what do you think my chances might be, I know it is very hard to tell so without my sat score but I just passed it this morning, I will chance back if you ask so, I am also aplying for financial aid for every university.</p>

2

<p>Yake: Reach
U Chicago: Reach
Harvard: Reach
WUSTL: Reach
MIT: Reach
Harvard: Reach
Williams: Reach
Brown: Reach
Dartmouth: Reach
Amherst: Reach
CMU: Reach (engineering/CS)/Aim for 2200+ (other disciplines)
NEU: Aim for 2100+
USC: Aim for 2150+
Emory: Aim for 2100+
Wellesley: Aim for 2150+
U Richmond: Aim for 2100+
UNC-CH: Reach (you may as well be applying at Duke)
UF: Aim for 1950+</p>

<p>When I say “Aim for X+” it should really say “Cross your fingers and hope you scored X+”</p>

3

<p>Are you a senior?..</p>

<p>

You SHOULD have written one by now. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Don’t be surprised if you score significantly less than what you’ve
expected to score. You should have taken one at least by now.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>They are not your “safeties” when you are applying for a financial aid.</p>

4

<p>Thank you for your responses, </p>

<p>Yes I am a senior and I am “crossing my fingers” but all I can do is fill my application and write a good essay. I am not expecting a high SAT score but my school is very selective and I know a girl from it that got accepted in Vanderbilt with 1970 SAT and another one who got accepted in Columbia with 2080 SAT; both had less interesting ECs than me, so i’m still optimistic towards that.</p>

<p>I tought about applying to Duke as well so I guess it’s now 22 colleges ! Didn’t expect UNC-CH to be a reach though ! </p>

<p>Anyone got other advices ? Other universities that could be ‘safeties’ because I feel like I am applying to too many selectives ones.</p>

5

<p>UNC-CH is a reach simply because it can only have 18% of its incoming class from out-of-state, including internationals. Yet more than half the applications come from out-of-state…</p>

6

<p>If you expect 1900 or less on your SAT and need financial aid, your list is entirely composed of reaches. Overall, even with 2100 your odds are pretty low simply because you need financial aid.
First, you need to look for schools in the South and the Midwest where that 1900 places you around the 75% mark. Then you need to look for schools where 1750 places you around the 75% mark.
Second, you should be writing that essay. A good essay often requires 5, 6 or 7 rewrites with plenty of time left for the essay to sit untouched, plus the time you need to give people who’ll correct and comment. Have you emailed your recommenders and have they already uploaded their recommendation? Are you finished with the commonapp (outside of the essay) and with the supplements for each school?
Note that UF and UNC-CH do not have financial aid for internationals (there may be some agreements between UF and your country but these are typically used for specific majors and rarely for freshmen).
Explore LACs ranked 25-55 for matches and 56-80 for more likely schools. Look at regional universities and check to see if they offer academic scholarships.
If your parents can afford to pay full price each year then the situation is different.</p>

7

<p>French international? I heard you guys have the “BAC” or something like that</p>

<p>Anyways, you have some pretty outstanding ECs. The international award in your company presentation will help a lot.
I don’t really understand French grading though so I can’t comment on that very well, but I’m pretty sure a 15/20 is not a 4.0/4.0 especially if you know you’re not in the top 2% of your class.</p>

<p>Now, I think your SAT will be a BIG factor in where you will be likely to go. Yale, you probably want around a 2250-2400, same with Harvard and the big ivies. For the secondary ivies, aim for 2200-2400. </p>

<p>Overall, you have a strong resume. I hope you do super well on your tests!!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1587456-im-bit-confuzzle-my-chance-into-college-stats.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1587456-im-bit-confuzzle-my-chance-into-college-stats.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>.</p>

8

<p>Actually, in French patterned schools, a 14 means top achievement at the regional level and 15 means that OP is in the top 5% nationally.
I agree it doesn’t match with not being top 2% in her school though unless the school is a selective magnet, a pilot school, or something like that.</p>

<p>OP: NEVER EVER say something like 15/20 because on the US scale it means you’re barely above getting kicked out of school. You say " a score of 15", “a 15 mark”.</p>

9

<p>Thank you all for replying ! I am going to review my college list and imeadiately write my essay and leave it to settle a little bit while I write the supplements; this processss madness, especially because I also have to prepare for the Baccalaur</p>

10

<p>Your counselor will have to explain how selective your school is (can anyone get in? is there a selection process? what percentage students have learning disabilities/IEPs, are on free lunch…) + what percentage students in your school get 3 or less, 5 or less, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, an 14 or more, and how that correlates to national exam results, ie, a 6 at your school typically results in a 6 for the bac, a 6 at your school typically results in a 9 at the bac, a 6 at your school typically results in a 3 for the bac, or an 11 at your your school results in an 11, a 13, an 8? </p>

<p>A way for French students to figure out their weighted GPA is to divide by 3.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t say a 14 is an A - it’s MUCH harder to get a 14 than an A, except at the very tippy top schools in the US (like blue ribbon schools) and even there an A would likely be a 13 or so. </p>

<p>Look at US News World Record and look at LACs ranked 30 and up and regional schools ranked 1-10. Schools should be seen as part of a grouping, assuming that 30-55 are of roughly similar quality, 55-85, etc. (The exact rank DOES NOT matter, it’s artificial and often varies depending on the criteria used.)
Find a Fiske Guide, Insider’s Guide to the colleges, or Princeton review’s best colleges, and start reading. Think about vibe, atmosphere: would you rather attend a school where intramurals are big and you’d participate, or would you rather attend a school with big Division1 sports? Would you like to go to school with a tie and button down shirt (and expect others to do so) or would you be fine going to class in shorts and flip flops? etc…</p>

11

<p>Thank you so much for this response it is very helpful ! I am trying my best to get over all this application process.</p>

12

<p>I am thinking to switch Carnegie Mellon with Bucknell university, since I can only choose 20 universities. What do you guys think of it ? what would be my chances there?</p>

13

<p>Bucknell: Aim for 2150+</p>

14

<p>What about wheaton ? do you guys know any university that could be a match or a safety wathever my sat score is ?</p>

15

<p>American U…</p>