<p>Hello everyone,</p>
<p>I am international student who is interested in applying to the States for the Fall 2013 in-take. I would be requiring a comprehensive financial aid package, so I think I'll be applying to mostly top tier colleges. </p>
<p>Could any of you please help me short-list colleges? I don't have any specifications regarding, for example, the location of the campus (not to urban, though) etc.?</p>
<p>What should I be mainly looking at while short-listing colleges?</p>
<p>If requested, I'll give a brief overview of my prospective Common App profile.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>We definitely need to see your GPA, ACT/SAT, race/ethnicity, and a brief outline of your ECs… Also, we need to know whether or not you’re seeking financial aid.</p>
<p>Country: Pakistan
Ethnicity: Asian</p>
<p>O’ Level Grades: 9A<em>s, 1A and a B
AS Level (First Year) Grades: 4As
A Level Predicted Grades: 5A</em>s - I think my exams went well; I put up a much more consistent performance in this session. Fingers crossed. The result comes out in August.</p>
<p>GPA: My school neither calculates the GPA nor ranks students. Although, I have been fairly consistent throughout the course of my high school, and I, most certainly, will be among my class’ top 7%.</p>
<p>SAT: I’ll be taking my SAT I in October. I am struggling a bit with Critical Reading, although I have managed to raise my score for high 500s to around mid 600s.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars: Not much, this is my main catch.</p>
<p>Possibilities Pakistan <a href=“Position:%20Student%20rep.”>Student run organization by Pakistani students studying in the US</a>, Hospital (Intern), The Citizens Foundation <a href=“Position:%20Volunteer”>NGO</a>, Debater (One-year experience), Novice MUN-ner, and I am currently working on a Project with a friend. I also intend to intern somewhere this summer.</p>
<p>Financial aid: A big yes to that. </p>
<p>So, how should I go about short-listing colleges?</p>
<p>Intended major(s): Physics and/or Economics</p>
<p>I feel terrible saying this, but with terrible SAT scores and no brilliant ECs, you aren’t going to get into any US schools that’ll give you aid as an international…:(</p>
<p>I haven’t taken my SATs os of yet. :|</p>
<p>Hey! It’s really great to meet a fellow Pakistani!
If you can get your SAT scores to 2000+ then you stand a chance at some of the more selective schools. Try Gettysburg, Grinnell, Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan… I’ve heard of Franklin & Marshall, Lewis & Clark and Union college as being generous with aid as well. I don’t suppose you’re a girl in which case I would recommend Mount Holyoke. Since you don’t have any EC’s, I would strongly recommend you pull a few together. Anything you do outside of school is an EC. Do you like you play sports? Read? Building houses out of cards? The best thing you can do now is to write killer essays. And get awesome recommendations. But your grades are really good so I think you have a shot.</p>
<p>SAT I isn’t that hard, except for the Critical Reading portion on the test. I am currently scoring in 650s, so that’s a bit of a problem. </p>
<p>What about the fact that I debate, and have worked for several organizations? Plus, a friend of mine and I are working on a Project, which is structured along the lines of Khan Academy. So, that would be worth it, too, no?</p>
<p>Yes, I would really need to come up with stellar essays and recommendations (students write their own rec’s at my school). :|</p>
<p>Did you apply anywhere for the fall 2012 intake?</p>
<p>No. I’m going to apply to colleges this year though. Debating is one EC -besides sports- that is recognized everywhere. It’ll look really good it you highlight that in your application. The Project think sounds great! You get a chance to write a short paragraph about any one of your EC’s on the application. You should use that portion wisely and try to make your activities sound really unique.
Which books are you using to practice? Barron’s? If you don’t have it already, try to get the official collegeboard SAT guide. If you can’t get the book and if you have a credit card then you can try the online SAT course offered by collegeboard. It’s around $70 though.
Take your practice test results with a grain of salt (especially if you aren’t using the Official one). My CR practice scores were in the 600’s but I pulled a 720 on the actual test. 
What school do you go to? Are you sure you couldn’t get your teachers to quickly whip up a recommendation for you? It’ll sound much more authentic if the recs are real.</p>
<p>Yes, I think I’ll end up writing the short paragraph on either my debating experience or the project that I am currently working on.</p>
<p>Princeton Review and The Official SAT Study Guide. Do you think that the Critical Reading questions are difficult in prep. books, such as the PR?</p>
<p>Beaconhouse. I have weird science teachers, so I think I’ll have to write the recommendations on their behalf and get them checked by them. I think I’ll make up for this lapse by getting a recommendation from my debate coach.</p>
<p>Getting a recommendation from your debate coach sounds like an excellent idea. It’s not as important to have a laundry list of EC’s as it is to have one or two EC’s which you’re really passionate about.
I’m not sure about PR because I’ve never tried it but I’ve heard its slightly harder. The questions from the Official SAT guide are at the same difficulty as the actual exam.
What branch of Beaconhouse are you in? Is it really large? Try to get a recommendation from an English teacher as well as a science teacher (a lot of schools recommend this). English teachers tend to have a better grasp of your personality (through the essays) and they can really make you look good on paper.
What sort of essays are you planning on writing? Have you decided on a list of schools you would like to apply to?</p>
<p>Exactly.</p>
<p>Beaconhouse Defence. Yes, it’s quite large. The A’ Level program has around 500 students. I didn’t take English in A’ Levels, and I highly doubt that they’ll accept a recommendation from an O Level English teacher. Plus, our English teacher got changed every year.</p>
<p>I have been told that my SAT scores will ultimately decide my college list. I am, however, in the process of short-listing colleges. Where are you applying to?</p>
<p>I’ve never heard anything about not accepting a recommendation from an O level teacher. As long as it is a good recommendation, I don’t think they would care too much. Get one from your science teacher (who has taught you up to A levels) and one from your O level English teacher. Keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be an English teacher. You can ask any non-science/math teacher for a recommendation.
Your SAT scores are important and it’s true that they will define your college list. What did you score on your most recent practice test? Maybe I can recommend a few colleges…</p>
<p>Check out Macalester and Earlham College. Both tend to offer good aid packages, and they both cater to international students (20%+ at both I believe). Great educations at both.</p>
<p>I read on websites of various universities that Letter of Recommendations must be from teachers who’ve taught you in grade 11 and 12, which is equivalent to the 2 years of A Level. Anyhow, I am planning on attaching recommendation from my physics teacher, math teacher and debate coach with the app.</p>
<p>Not good. 2010/2400, assuming that I score 8 on the essay. Math: 740; Writing: 660 (Five wrong in MC’s, which is good); CR: 610. Critical Reading is killing me at the moment. :|</p>
<p>Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Recommend!</p>
<p>As ECAdmStudent said, Macalaster and Earlham are definitely ones to put on your list. Although Macalaster might be a little difficult - it’s acceptance rate is about 35%. Earlham is a considerably safer bet - 74% acceptance rate. Plus, I hear it’s a good school. I don’t think you’re a girl but if you are, Mount Holyoke is a good bet (if you are a good writer). You could try the University of Alabama. If you apply to their engineering school with those scores, you’ll get a full tuition scholarship.
Most people on these forums are very accomplished individuals with incredibly high stats. A 610 is not that bad. You are doing better than the majority of Americans who take the test. It’s not spectacular, but it’s not deadly. You are going to have to take the TOEFL though. Colleges sometimes waive the TOEFL requirement if you have above a 690 CR but if you get something lower, you’ll probably have to submit a TOEFL score.
What are you planning to major in?</p>
<p>Another thing - I know the admissions department at my college takes into account the context of your application, not just the scores. 600+ CR is quite good for an international student. Sure, there are better scores out there, but it’s by no means a dealbreaker. Then again, Earlham tends to put less weight on scores and more weight on community involvement/interviews than most colleges do, so my perspective may be different than the admissions community as a whole (also I’m just a student worker, not professional staff).</p>
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</p>
<p>Ohio State ranked #2 in the nation in “Economics / Business” by Wall Street Journal. </p>
<p>Physical Sciences
Astronomy 9th
Chemistry 21st
Computer Science 23rd
Math 18th
Physics 14th
Statistics 10th</p>
<p>*New $60 million state-of-the-art Physics Research Building - Home to the Dept of Physics at Ohio State!!</p>
<p>[School</a> Rankings by College Major – Job Recruiter Top Picks - WSJ.com](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703376504575491704156387646.html?mod=WSJ_PathToProfessions_TopLEADNewsCollection]School”>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703376504575491704156387646.html?mod=WSJ_PathToProfessions_TopLEADNewsCollection)</p>
<p>International Undergraduate Scholarship</p>
<pre><code>Award amount
$5,000 ($20,000 four–year value)
Criteria
The Ohio State University is committed to enrolling a diverse and talented student population. The International Undergraduate Scholarship is offered on a competitive basis to qualified full-time, Columbus campus international freshmen (students who have not attended university since graduating from high school/secondary school) who are required to pay the nonresident tuition surcharge. Those considered have ACT composite scores of 28 or higher or combined SAT Critical Reading and Math scores of 1260 or higher, and are applying for autumn semester.
Notes:
This award is renewable annually for a maximum of eight semesters (or the equivalent) of full-time undergraduate enrollment, provided the recipient continues to pay the nonresident tuition surcharge, maintains a 2.5 or higher grade point average (earned by no later than the end of the second year), and makes satisfactory academic progress.
</code></pre>
<p>Best of Luck & Go Bucks!! :)</p>