With top schools I mean: Ivies + Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, Duke and NYU (because its a target for IB).
Nationality: Portuguese
GPA: 3,7/4
National exams:
Math 18,8/20
Portuguese: between 18/20 and 19/20 (waiting revision)
Biology and Geology: 18,8/20
Physics and Chemistry: 18,5/20
Haven’t taken the SAT or ACT, but assume 2300 and 32 respectively.
Won a regional entrepreneurship competition and a prize on the national science fair.
I’m currently participating in another two science competitions, one national and another one international, and started participating in a local Toastmasters club. In all those competitions I was always in leadership positions.
Note: I’m taking a gap year to improve my EC’s. I’m planning to volunteer abroad and maybe try to publish the project I submitted to those science competitions.
You’re right, I forgot that. Please assume a 1500 score then.
Also, if you’re wondering, I ask you to assume these scores because I need to know if taking the tests and the gap year is worth it. Otherwise I have guaranteed acceptance to all schools in my country.
Stats for this year’s exams have not come out yet, but considering last year’s results I would say I’m at least in the top 5% at Math, 1~2% at Physics and Chemistry and 0,5% at Biology and Geology. A 18/20 in Portuguese would put me in the top 1% in the subject.
There are no combined stats but considering this I believe my overall grades in the exams should put me in the 1% range at the very least.
My bad GPA is because of my 10th grade. My evolution looks something like this: 10th grade - 2,9; 11th - 3,6; 12th - 3,9. I also did all my extracurriculars in year 12. Don’t know if all of this can have any implications on how my application is viewed though.
I learned to play guitar (self taught), reaching (in my opinion) intermediate level. I never played in any real concerts tough. Besides that, I didn’t do much that could qualify for ec’s.
I could improve my playing and probably get to participate in some concerts, if that would make any difference.
I did commit to my EC’s in year 12 though. When the science competitions were nearing, I sometimes stayed in the lab till 8 pm.
So is my percentile in the national exams good enough for these schools?
Also, is the list of schools initially mentioned realistic? I don’t need safety schools (those are in my country), but would you recommend any other top institutions in the US for match? The ones I mentioned are probably reach, right?Preferably need blind schools.
As long as you score around 1500 on your SAT, you’re a match for NYU. As for the rest, work on your ECs during your gap year and see what happens. (HYPS are probably still high reaches)
You shouldn’t prefer need-blind schools; better would be meeting full need for internationals. Have a look at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission for “full need.” You probably don’t want a need-blind school that doesn’t meet full need.
First, don’t convert your GPA. Numbers yae a cultural value. A 17/20 is very good in Portugal, but very meh in the US, for instance.
Second, buy a Fisk Guide and start reading. There are lots of amazing college’s in the US not in the Ivy League, with many as excellent, prestigious, and hard to get into. 'do your homework ’ on those.
Third, our odds are likely 5% if you apply scea /rea. That’s pretty good (double or triple the average). Our issues of rejection are still overwhelming.
Thanks for the helpful advice. Do you happen to be portuguese or familiar with the educational system in Portugal?
I mentioned those schools because they are targets (Berkeley not so much for the east coast, obviously) for investment banking recruitment. Although the experience in itself is also important, that is my main reason for considering US schools: the ability to get into Wall Street. From what I’ve read, only the top schools offer me chances of landing a job at a major i bank.
That being said, I’m obviously under qualified for most of these schools. Considering my profile, can you name a few match schools, so that I can get an idea of what is possible? From the comments on this post, NYU seems to be one of them; nevertheless, it’s difficult for me to find this information due to my coming from a different educational system.
Just did my first SAT practice test some days ago and scored 1470 (although I exceeded the time limit on the first Math section). I’m planning on taking the test in October, so I think a 1500 is very possible then. I’m also considering taking at least two subject tests (in November/December); I’m confident I can get over 750 on Math II and probably Biology as well.
University is practically free in Portugal, and I have guaranteed admission to one of the best schools in econ/management in the country (28th in the FT European Business school rankings).
So if the US universities accessible to me are only marginally better, additional costs and losing an year to apply may not make up for it.
So I’ve got to choose between taking this year off to focus on my application to US/UK schools or enrolling at a national uni.
You have to look at the differences. If foebyou learning is listening to a lecture then there’s not much point in coming. If for you learning involves getting hands on experience, leadership skills, working on research, being part of a community, then it’s worth it and ou’ll find that at many different universities (honors colleges included.)
Obviously that is part of the learning experience I’m after. But there are other factors to consider. I want to go far in finance, and was looking specifically at investment banking after college.
Would you say I’m honors colleges are a match? I was considering Oxford/LSE in the UK and a mix of top 20 schools from the US, with some shots at low ivies. I think honors colleges are a bit too low, but maybe I’m just overrating my curriculum.
