Chances? Inflated self opinion or possible?

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>Hey guys, I'm from India and I've just begun to look into the colleges I want to apply to. Could you please chance me on some colleges I'm considering and suggest some colleges ranked as safety/ match/ reach? I've just started Grade 12 and I plan on doing a lot more this year.</p>

<p>ACADEMIC RECORD:</p>

<p>I have taken the most demanding course my school offers. After combining percentages (from grade 9 to 11) I have an 89%. I don't clearly know how to convert this to GPA but it amounts to 4.00 according to this site GPA</a> Conversion Part 2 | Admission Sync</p>

<p>I think I rank in the top 5 out of the 130 students who have comparable courses.</p>

<p>Sat Reasoning
Got a 2310 on my first attempt this June (CR-760, M-800, W-750)</p>

<p>I'll be giving my Sat subjects (Math, Physics, Chem) in October and November this year.</p>

<p>SCHOLASTIC ACHIEVEMENTS:</p>

<p>Grade 9
Excellence in Academics
National Cyber Olympiad- All India Rank 57, Rank in state-6, Rank in school-1
Won a scholarship by Army Welfare education Society
Won an Interschool Quiz competition</p>

<p>Grade 10
Excellence in Academics
Proficiency Award in Science and Technology
Manavsthali Mathematics Talent Search- Silver Medal</p>

<p>Grade11
Excellence in Academics
Proficiency Award in Chemistry</p>

<p>Grade 12
Selected for Pre-medical internship by Apollo Hospitals</p>

<p>EXTRA CURRICULARS:</p>

<p>Clubs
Interact (Community service) - Grade 11
Bizzonomy (Business Studies and Economics)- Grade 11
Greenleaves (Environment)- Grade 12, Co-founder and Coordinator
InQuizitive (Quizzing)- Grade 11 and 12 (Prospective president )</p>

<p>Environmental Volunteering
Selected as Student Delegate for the 4th International Conference on Environmental Education (Also gave a presentation, Grade 11)
Gave a presentation in the Delhi Secretariat on Earth Day (Grade 12)
Participant, Delhi youth Summit on Climate (Grade 12)
Member of Indian Youth Climate Network and International Panel for Sustainable Development, ECI
Starting a Climate Campaign that will work with different schools of the city</p>

<p>Sports
On the Girls soccer team of the school (Grade 11 and 12)
Won an interschool soccer tournament (Grade 11)</p>

<p>Art
Won a district level poster designing competition (Grade 9)
Won a bookmark designing competition (Grade 11)</p>

<p>I'm on the editorial board for the School Magazine and Yearbook as the Art editor. On the Student council too</p>

<p>Interests
Learning Jazz dance form
Learning how to play the guitar</p>

<p>I have quite a bit of volunteer work and a summer of work experience.</p>

<p>I really haven't given much thought to colleges other than the Ivies. Can you guys please chance me on the Ivies, MIT (that's my dream school), Duke, UCs, Caltech, UT Austin, Purdue, Swarthmore, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Carnegie Mellon, Harvey Mudd and suggest some other colleges? Also, do I need any more/ any other ECs for a well rounded record? I'm not looking for ego inflation, just an honest opinion. Maybe I'm just paranoid, or ill-informed, or both. Thanks a lot! </p>

<p>P.S. I have an almost identical thread on the Chances forum, I just posted this here because I need more 'international' opinion :D And most probably I'll be double majoring in engineering and architecture, but That's not otally decided yet, so I'm looking at places that might not offer both too.</p>

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<p>"And most probably I'll be double majoring in engineering and architecture"</p>

<p>do you realise that a double major in these subjects is not possible at some of the universities which you have indicated? maybe you want to doublecheck your college selection...</p>

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<p>Yeah i know that, and that's why i did mention that i'm not totally sure so i'm looking at colleges without this option too</p>

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<p>A double major in engineering and architecture is probably impossible in 4 years without a ton of extra courses, and even if it is possible I would highly discourage it because those majors are intense enough as a single major.</p>

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<p>Errr do you need financial aid? That's the most important factor for international students (except for a handful of schools)</p>

<p>Also why do you want to be chanced for "the Ivies"? Are you just applying to them because they're members of the Ivy League?
You should really check all the schools on your list and ask yourself why you want to go there. And I don't see how an architecture student could possibly pursue a double major...</p>

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<p>ur good but plz apply to other schools than the ivies, some non-ivy schools are comparable or even better than some ivy school's . Im talking about Duke, georgetown,Northwestern, Stanford & MIT , a few others not in my mind right now.</p>

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<p>Have you considered schools of the Five Colleges consortium? They do have an architectural studies program; plus, you can pursue a dual degree program to earn a BA and a BEng in 5 years. Anyway, like others have said, architecture (or engineering) is already a lot of work as a single major, so pls carefully rethink your choice.</p>

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<p>Lol you wanna apply to all the Ivies? prestige whore much? You DO know that they're all made to cater to different types of students, right? I suggest you research colleges using their websites and CC, not the US News rankings. Anyway, you can consider Purdue and UIUC as sure safeties, and I'm assuming you don't need aid since you're applying to such schools.</p>

<p>Do you want to go to a big (30,000+) or small (<10,000) enrollment school?</p>

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<p>yea its stupid applying just to the ivies out of prestige. Sure apply to top schools, but to those that appeal to you, not to what ur neighbour will think is kool or not lol.</p>

<p>Neighbour: "Kaunse college ja rahe ho?"
Student: "Swarthmore college"
Neighbour: " acha magar maine to iska nam hi nahin soona"
Student: "....."</p>

<p>lol u get what i mean?</p>

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<p>Do you need aid? That really might tell the tale for you...</p>

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<p>Hey! I'm guessing you're from Delhi (don't need to be a detective to get that, right? hehe...!) You seem to be the regular Indian kid, good grades (I was from Delhi too, till 10th grade) And as far as I know, the Cyber Olympiad ain't really big, as in, I got a 20-something without studying a friggin' alphabet! Interschool Quiz... hmm... well, Delhi has tons of them! If it was something like the Columban or the Delhi State, kinda insignificant! And are the excellence awards from school or an external organisation? Quite a lot of clubs for a Delhi kid (we don't really have too many clubs in Delhi schools, do we now? Am guessing you're a dipsite... just a guess!! hehe!) A bit scattered, but still nice (I know delhiites with FAR lesser ECs getting into fantabulous univs!!!)
My evaluation for awards and ECs... scattered, unrelated but still great for a delhi kid! just try to link it up, like the environment with the community service thingy and show your passion for quizzing in your app! also, if you're a math freakazoid, go check out regional olympiads and stuff... and yeah, you can cut out the dunno-what-bookmark competition and minor school awards; rather insignificant imo!
your marks... an 89 including 11th grade is decent, kinda good actually... try getting uber-high predicted marks for 12th boards... predicted grades/ marks MAKE A LOT OF DIFFERENCE!!!
PS: Nice SATs! :)</p>

<p>overall, you look like a decent candidate. a few math olympiads and major quizzes could bolster your chances up another notch...
Ivies: A High Reach for everyone...!
Cornell (seems easier than most ivies!): Reach/ Low Reach
MIT: Reject/ Very High Reach
Duke: High Reach
UC Berkeley: High Reach
UCLA: Reach
Caltech: High Reach
UT Austin: No Idea
Purdue: Match (Not Sure...)
Swarthmore: Low Reach/ Match
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign: In!
Carnegie Mellon: Low Reach
Harvey Mudd: No Idea</p>

<p>Yup! that's for your chances... chance me back! :)
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/507610-foreign-student-i-m-hypms-right.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/507610-foreign-student-i-m-hypms-right.html&lt;/a>
List of univs on page 2!
Just curious... which school are you from? nice to hear from delhiites on CC! and if you want, you could add me on gtalk, msn or wtv... nice to be in touch with delhi 2013ers! :) :)</p>

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<p>wow! that was long!! hehe! and yeah... totally agree with tetrisfan!
som1: LMAO!! am totally laughing... hehe... and yup... that IS precisely what happens... they make you feel like you're going to some ghetto-neighborhood school even though it might be like a top 50 college! nice way to put it... haha!
tetrisfan: mann! you OWN half the posts on CC! lol! keep rocking!</p>

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<p>ohh and fyi... i was from don bosco, moved on to dpsrkp before finally docking off at singapore! :)</p>

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<p>The architecture and engineering double major is only an idea atm, I guess I'll end up doing one of the two. i'll not give it up withought a try though! ;)</p>

<p>I DEFINITELY need financial aid. Loads of it!</p>

<p>@ccnovice
Thanks! i'll look into them.</p>

<p>@S33D
Go easy on the sarcasm man! It's not just about the prestige. It's not as if I'm not open to schools that aren't the Ivies but if the places I can get in really aren't somewhere around the top, I might as well try for the best in India. And I'm looking into half the Ivies cuz of the total need blind policy. Just in case you think my college options are contradictory, I've just put some names without much research.</p>

<p>@100%Tuna
Yeah, Delhi, I'm from Sanskriti. Well yeah, mostly I have pretty low key stuff in my ECs. Btw, the quiz wasn't in Delhi. I was in J&K then, and that quiz was like...half the state. It's insignificant anyway. And yeah, I've never taken olympiads seriously, and the Cyber Olympiad is just as you described, you can easily clear it. I guess it just appears scattered cuz I have varied interests and I don't really have many different awards and stuff. Environment stuff is something I'm really passionate about so I'm gonna continue working on it throughout the year. As far as the other stuff's concerned, I just put everything up :D I really don't have much stuff, but then, doesn't school level stuff count too? The competition is tough dude, even for the excellence prizes and stuff.
Are the teachers supposed to give you predicted marks? i don't know too clearly about that. Yes, lets go ahead and add each other. And then you can go ahead and make me feel more insecure than CC already does. lol!</p>

<p>Singapore? You a Raffles scholar or something?</p>

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<p>hahaha... relax... if it makes you feel any better... i know a dude who got a nineteen-hundred-something on his SAT and landed in UI! :)
it's <a href="mailto:kunaalw@gmail.com">kunaalw@gmail.com</a> or <a href="mailto:dipsite_kunaal@hotmail.com">dipsite_kunaal@hotmail.com</a>!
n i'm an SIA scholar... something like a raffles scholar, though... just that it's all-india and not school based!
n yeah... CC is TOTALLY intimidating... i thought i had an uber-good chance... till i came here...!!! LOL!</p>

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<p>and about putting random top colleges on your list (ivies, MIT all) haha... i guess that's how all of us indians, especially the delhi junta begin their college research... check out my list... and you'll know what i mean! ;)</p>

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<p>The architecture and engineering double major is only an idea atm, I guess I'll end up doing one of the two. i'll not give it up withought a try though! ;)</p>

<p>I DEFINITELY need financial aid. Loads of it!</p>

<p>@ccnovice
Thanks! i'll look into them.</p>

<p>@S33D
Go easy on the sarcasm man! It's not just about the prestige. It's not as if I'm not open to schools that aren't the Ivies but if the places I can get in really aren't somewhere around the top, I might as well try for the best in India. And I'm looking into half the Ivies cuz of the total need blind policy. Just in case you think my college options are contradictory, I've just put some names without much research.</p>

<p>@100%Tuna
Yeah, Delhi, I'm from Sanskriti. Well yeah, mostly I have pretty low key stuff in my ECs. Btw, the quiz wasn't in Delhi. I was in J&K then, and that quiz was like...half the state. It's insignificant anyway. And yeah, I've never taken alympiads seriously, and the Cyber Olympiad is just as you described, you can easily clear it. I guess it's just appears scattered cuz I have varied interests and I don't really have many different awards and stuff. Environment stuff is something I'm really passionate about so I'm gonna continue working on it throughout the year. As far as the other stuff's concerned, I just put everything up :D I really don't have much stuff, but then, doesn't school level stuff count too? The competition is tough dude, even for the excellence prizes and stuff.
Are the teachers supposed to give you predicated marks? i don't know too clearly about that. Yes, lets go ahead and add each other. And then you can go ahead and make me feel more insecure than CC already does. lol!</p>

<p>Singapore? You a Raffles scholar or something?</p>

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<p>@100%Tuna
Finally somebody who understands why I have all the top colleges on my list! Seriously guys, no intentional prestige huntin! lol. I was going to try for SIA, till I decided i'm not gonna do almost an entire year again just to study in Singapore. I'm below the average age, and proud of it! :D</p>

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<p>
[quote]

And I'm looking into half the Ivies cuz of the total need blind policy.

[/quote]

Getting into those isn't easier than getting into need-aware top schools.</p>

<p>
[quote]

Just in case you think my college options are contradictory, I've just put some names without much research.

[/quote]

How about you do your research first? And come back asking for your "chances" when you're done with your research??</p>

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<p>Please think about what you want out of a school, research properly, then come back here. I am pretty sure you just picked out schools by looking at the rankings, haha. Cross out Purdue, UIUC etc, they're for people who don't need aid.</p>

<p>If you need lots of aid look at LAC's, they're much more generous with aid. Don't misunderstand and think they're easy to get into though, competition is VERY stiff at top LAC's. I'm guessing you dunno what an LAC is. An LAC is basically a school that focuses on the undergraduate education, and has neglible to no graduate students, and hence you get more attention, no TA's, etc etc.</p>

<p>Also, they usually have a much smaller enrollment (~2000).</p>

<p>small enrollment + relatively large endowment = more $$$ if you get in</p>

<p>
[quote]
Just in case you think my college options are contradictory, I've just put some names without much research.

[/quote]
Added all the top colleges who's names you heard without knowing what they actually are, eh? :P</p>

<p>
[quote]
Finally somebody who understands why I have all the top colleges on my list! Seriously guys, no intentional prestige huntin!

[/quote]
</p>

<p>"i guess that's how all of us indians, especially the delhi junta begin their college research."</p>

<p>Are you kidding me? The only reason you added those colleges to your list is because those are the colleges that any random person in India would have heard of, and you want people to go "ooooooooh" when they hear where your going. </p>

<p>If that's not prestige hunting, .... (i'll let you complete this)</p>