Chances please.....Really Confused

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I am an International student, currently studying 12th Grade in a school which follows Indian curriculum CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education).</p>

<p>I just wanted to know what my chances are in getting admission for Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering (which one do i have more chance in applying to).</p>

<p>I don’t have GPA grading in my school. The grading is purely based on marks obtained:
9th - 85% (maths-A, science-A, social studies-A, English-B, Hindi-B)
10th - 90% (maths-A, science-A, social studies-A, English-A, Hindi-B)
11th – 72%(maths-C, physics-A, chemistry-B, computer science-A, English-A)</p>

<p>I had also received a scholarship in grade 11 due to my academic excellence in grade 10. It is only offered to students who have passed out of grade 10 with really high grades in the Central Board of Secondary Examination. Approximately every year around 10 students receive such a scholarship.</p>

<p>ACTIVITIES :
1) Attended the Global Young Leaders’ Conference (GYLC) in Washington/New York this year.
2) Swimming
3) Singing
4) Made Robot for science exhibition which uses sensors to travel through a maze and then using LED’s to show the intensity of the light in its path.
5) Made a presentation on Periodic Table for the Science Exhibition in Grade 9 and a presentation on Tessellation for the Maths exhibition.
6) Helped the team in coming 3rd in an inter-school robot competition
7) Information Head in the school Anti-Smoking Committee in which a presentation is going to be made to the Grade 9 and 10 students on the Harmful effects of smoking, why we smoke, how to stop smoking and the harmful chemicals present in cigarettes and cigars.
8) Participant in the Duke of Edinburgh Scholarship Program
9) Certificate of distinction in the Green Olympiad which is an Olympiad based on knowledge of the environment.
10) I have been learning Indian Carnatic Music vocal for over 10 years and have given a 2 and half hour concert. Apart from this i have also received the First Class Distinction in the Carnatic Music Vocal Junior Exam (which is pretty tough to get).
11) I have also been learning Carnatic Music violin for over 4 years and have recently won 3rd place in the Inter-House Talent contest held in my school.
12) Recently participated in the Computer Olympiad.</p>

<p>SAT SCORES:
MATH - 730
CR – 600 :(
W - 640</p>

<p>Gave the give SAT II's in November. Will get 700+ in Physics, Chem and Maths and hopefully if all goes well 750+.</p>

<p>Can't say much about the essays because i feel they are good but it depends on the adcoms view point.</p>

<p>The teacher recommendations and the guidance counselor recommendations are excellent. Read all of them.</p>

<p>If it makes much of a difference i am not asking for financial aid.</p>

2

<p>You're not to get financial aid anyway because you're an international student (it wouldn't factor in to the admission even if you weren't though). You're still eligible for merit scholarships if you apply by the scholarship deadline in december and applying for the scholarships won't affect your chances.</p>

<p>I don't particularly think that applying for one engineering over another makes any difference because once you're accepted to an engineering major, you can change to any other engineering major whenever you want.</p>

3

<p>but what are my chances for engineering??</p>

4

<p>and does university of southern california need SAT II's coz i screwed up my Maths SAT II - 650, while my physics and chemistry were 710 and 710 respectively.</p>

5

<p>b u m p .</p>

6

<p>I think your SAT's and 11th year scores are far to low for both Viterbi and SC in general. Since you are an international student, your pool is far more competitive at SC and you're held to a far higher standard against the appplicants to the university since only so many spots can be given to internationals.</p>

<p>Also, you lack a solid, recurrent activity which shows dedication (a sport, newspaper, drama, etc)</p>

<p>I would say...your chances fall in the 30%.</p>

7

<p>my grade 11 scores might be less but in comparison with the students in my class i am in the top 10% of my class........i agree to the fact that my SAT's are low..........just wanted to point that even though i got only a 72% in my grade 11 the score is really good</p>

8

<p>
[quote]

The teacher recommendations and the guidance counselor recommendations are excellent. Read all of them.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You read all of them? What, did your teachers give them to you? Seems odd, rec letters are usually kept confidential...</p>

9

<p>in my school the counselor's write the recommendations and give them back to the student coz only around 5 students at max apply to US universities so they are not really that strict on the rules...............and whatever recommendations i receive i am supposed to type it out into the pdf using Adobe Acrobat Professional and give it back to them with the original. They guidance counselor checks all the forms to make sure everything is the same and nothing has been changed to my advantage and then sends it to the respective teachers who sign it and give it back to me......so even if i wanted to change anything i could not as the counselor would get to know it.</p>

10

<p>i think people are kind of confused because they don't know the rigor of the curriculum in Indian schools. i moved here in 4th grade...but i know how hard it is in india...especially compared to here. and thats why you have 70% in 11th grade, etc. it actually is quite an achievement...like you said top 10%
its really cool that you sing and play violin.....because i've also been singing carnatic music for about 12 years, and i have given concerts as well. i also play the veena and dance bharatanatyam !
but anyways, i don't know much about the university of southern california...but where else are you applying? maybe i could help you out. =)</p>

11

<p>as tough as indian school systems are....</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Some US schools are extremely tough as well, maybe even tougher.</p></li>
<li><p>You are competing against other internationals who MAY have higher scores.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I'm just saying...the international pool at SC is a difficult one to swim.</p>