Columbia, Dartmouth, Stanford realistic?!

<p>Hi all, I am an international student aiming for schools that are generous when it comes to fin aid so that is why I am considering those 3 and some others similar to them-Ivies. (regarding fin aid).</p>

<p>Gpa: 5.95 (out of 6.00)
Sat I: 2250
Sat II: math 2 800, physics 750
Toefl: >100</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
- Interact International 3 years, 1 year VP
- Youth parliament, 2 years, founder and president (did some good job raising a lot of money for charity; organized other activities)
- Student council at my school, co-founder in 11th grade, VP
- 2 summer internships (bank and insurance company)
- will be doing one more internship
- hospital volunteering 100h
- bodybuilding 4 years (no competitions though, can write a great essay on it)
- Class board member 1 year, class president 1 year
- master of various events
- have been doing some stocks trading (doesn't know if it counts)
- volleyball club at my school 2 years (nothing impressive, sport in schools here is not developed at all)</p>

<ul>
<li>no major awards unfortunately; never been passionate about academic competitions</li>
</ul>

<p>Hooks: minority student? no exams prep of any kind, non-native speaker?</p>

<p>So, what do you think? I know those schools are reaches for everyone but I would appreciate your help giving me a realistic opinion. Also, what other schools can I apply to that are not so ''popular'' but also give, say, 70 % aid to internationals? </p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>Your stats are good for those schools. What is your intended major, economics? You should write very good essays and show you are passionate about your ECs. MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Amherst, as well as Dartmouth, are need-blind for international students and would give you financial aid in case you get accepted, but they are all extremely selective. If you have very strong essays and recommendations, you should get into a couple of these schools.
A list of schools that provide an important percentage of financial aid for international students can be found here: [Top</a> 25 Financial Aid Colleges in US for International Students (Need-aware) - Desperate Guide: Undergraduate College Financial Aid, Scholarship](<a href=“http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware]Top”>http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware)</p>

<p>^That’s a really helpful link. </p>

<p>If I can jump in, I think you’re absolutely qualified for those schools, as long as you reach their required/recommended TOEFL score.</p>

<p>@flvd1996 thanks for your input and valuable link! Yes, my intended major is economics. I really hope I manage to get into a good school with fin aid.</p>

<p>@Thebeatlestoday thanks for sharing your opinion!</p>

<p>bump, anyone else share his/her opinion?</p>

<p>You’re a great candidate. Make sure you apply Early Decision to your top choice. You should also consider applying to Brown, I’ve heard they’re very generous with finaid, and it’s an ivy.
If you apply ED to Dartmouth, I’d say you’re in, with finaid. Stanford, on the other hand, is much more difficult to get in. And Columbia isn’t really all that generous with finaid, I don’t think it meets full need for intl’s</p>

<p>Thank you mrodriguez, I appreciate your advice! I like Dartmouth a lot for various reasons and I will be more than happy to get in. As for Brown, I like it but it is not among my most desired choices.</p>

<p>Anyone else??</p>