Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (720 EBRW, 800 Math)
SAT II: 790 Math Level 2, 790 Phys
IB score- 43/45 (Physics HL (7), Chemistry HL (7), Biology HL (7), Math SL (7), English SL (7), Hindi SL (6))
Rank: 3/127
Subjective:
Activities list:
Co-founder of a start-up
National President of a non-profit organization
Co-founder of a non-profit organization
Developed an app for current high school students
(NOT MENTIONING NAMES AND AIMS OF START-UP, NGOs, AND APP DUE TO PRIVACY REASONS)
Working on a research paper (almost complete)
Freelance Tutoring (Elementary School to grade 12)
Shadowed a physician and surgeon to gain an insight into the daily life as a doctor (career-oriented)
Captain of the School Cricket team; played at state-level (equal to varsity I think) (leadership)
President and co-founder of STEM Club (leadership)
Part of Student Government (School Captain) (leadership)
Head volunteer at Blood Donation camp
Common App essay: 9.5 /10 (according to my counsellor)
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Chemistry and chemical biology
Country: India
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <$20,000 (raised by a single mother)
The poster asked about all 3 schools and evidently is very interested in certain aspects that he finds appealing. They may be similar or otherwise, and I assume whatever it is means he has narrowed down a larger set of school possibilities to reach this stage.
Do you care to clarify what you are interested in asking about Colgate? Maybe the poster will respond and/or you can evaluate Colgate more closely at colgate.edu.
I’m looking to major in biochemistry and/or applied math after recieving a broad liberal arts education. Cornell is perfect for that and colgate is pretty good too. But if I apply to JHU I want to apply for the BME program.
LOL, relax @Markham- not dissing your college. 2 research universities + an LAC for an international student is atypical, esp when that LAC is perhaps not the very best known LAC globally.
OP, while statistically Colgate has the highest admission rate of the three places you list (25% v 12% at JHU* and 10% at Cornell), all of those odds are pretty small and international students get a small share of them. Figure about 10% of the places at Colgate and Cornell, and 14% at JHU, so a small % of a small %.
All three pledge to meet the (demonstrated) full financial need of international students, but they are also need-aware, so they take into account how much need you have compared to other international applicants. So now you are looking at a small % of a small % of a small %. I don’t know how to meaningfully calculate those odds!
I would guess that you are aware of the TaTa scholarships, but just in case you aren’t: in addition to the general international financial aid pool, Cornell has 20 scholarships funded by Tata for low-income students from India. From your post, you look like a strong candidate.
*Note that the admit rate for BME at JHU is substantially lower than the general admit rate.
@collegemom3717 yes I know about the Tata scholarships but I don’t know if I’m good enough for it. How would you suggest applying ed to cornell and if rejected, ed2 to colgate?
The Tata students that I have met weren’t sure they were good enough when they applied either
Of course, the competition is stiff. It’s a big ask: in this thread you are asking about the chances of three highly competitive colleges paying for your undergraduate degree: Your stats put you in the pool of applicants who can credibly ask the question- but there are thousands of applicants in that pool, and nowhere near enough places to go around.
So, you have to figure out for you what the priority is: a big name school? or, undergraduate in the US no matter what? On the one hand there are places who are likely to welcome your IB 43 prediction with open arms, and give you the scholarship funds you are looking for- but most of them are universities you have never heard of in places you haven’t heard of. On the other hand you can try your luck with the bigger names, which come with more competition.
And that’s a call you have to make - nobody on CC can do more than point out the options and elucidate some of the variables. I know: it is very, very hard. But for you to have achieved what you have so far suggests that you can do hard things. Good luck- and check back in with your progress
