Could you tell me my chances, Please!!!

<p>High School , I ranked 11 out of 91. ( In the best school of the country).
Subjects studied - Physics, Chemistry and Economics As, Maths - B and General Paper - c. Thinking Skills (independently studied) scored an a.</p>

<p>SAT I - yet to take. in december.</p>

<p>SAT II - 760, 740, and 690. (Had taken last yr, got screwed up, will retake in January)..</p>

<p>ECAs - </p>

<p>President of SFON Kathmandu Chapter and Budhanilkantha Chapter.
House Captain class 10
Deputy House Captain, Class A2.
Projects - Computer donation projects in remote areas of Nepal, Fund raising for the Janaandolan #2 and stuff.
National Quiz Champion of Nepal . (The biggest event on quiz held in Nepal which saw the participation of over 2500 schools from the country).
Participations in essay writing, and speaking and other many contests and bagged many prizes.
Conferred the titles All Rounder of the Year, and Master Summit by the School.
Worked as a counselor in an A Levels School, and a teacher.
Rover Scout.
Helped in the organization of the 3rd SAF Scout Camp held in Nepal.</p>

<p>etc. etc. etc.</p>

<p>Could you tell if I am good for Duke???</p>

<p>maybe. as long as your subject test combination wasnt math, physics and chem. you're grades will be on the low side; i dont think sat2s count as much as people reckon they do, but i could be wrong. Participation wont really matter all that much unless you won something, you might want to elaborate on the 'bagged many prizes' bit. i have no idea what a master summit is, but all rounder of the year sounds very nice. you were counsellor at an a levels school? thats unusual, which means its a nice topic to center an essay around. but i cant really say anything concrete when it comes to chances withouth your sat scores</p>

<p>do you know if will Duke see your sat ii's if you take them during january?</p>

<p>Are you sure that you didn't get your SAT I scores and SAT II scores mixed up. You really should specify the subject</p>

<p>what is the best school in the country?</p>

<p>well i am from nepal... the best school of the country from any angle that you can view is Budhanilkantha School. no bluedevil my sat i and sat ii scores arent mixed up.. and ammarsfound i didnt elaborate on the prizes coz there are too many of those kind of minor prizes that i won.</p>

<p>my scores are physics - 760, chemistry - 740, and maths level ii - 690 ( took this sat ii test almost at the beginning of a levels course, so got screwed up)</p>

<p>well thanks people for your replies.</p>

<p>Wow nepal... interesting.... I think being foreign hurts your chances, no?</p>

<p>i disagree...don't they want to increase diversity by accepting more international students?</p>

<p>they have a quota for international students. int'ls cant apply for aid without disadvantaging themselves. the main reason for this is that theres only a limited amount of aid available for international students, making the admissions process a whole lot more competitive</p>

<p>well there happens to be a strong connection between duke and the school i am currently studying now...everyyear at least one of them is accepted there! and with full financial aid... however most of the times its just one acceptance no matter how good the candidates are, they select just one..</p>

<p>Yah so being #11, I'd have to say you may not be that one.</p>

<p>yah maybe... coz they take high school seniors and i have already graduated ... and the ppl who got accepted had ranks of around #8, but one of them's sat scores was around 1800 and sat ii scores around 2200. ,,, my next friend who got into harvard was rank #10. so you see, ranks do not count that much. (at least thats what i feel now, if the rank is not low)</p>

<p>yeah and thinking skills doesnt count much anywhere except cambridge.</p>

<p>i am not bragging abt thinking skills, so what? let none of the a levels subject count. still there are sats. and other things.</p>

<p>'still there are sats. and other things'</p>

<p>you just said you hadn't taken the sats yet..? if youre talking about sat2s then:</p>

<p>1) subjects tests dont really count for much
2) a LOT of people score 800s in them.</p>

<p>house captain wont count for much at all, nor will the fact that youre a rover scout. and anyway extracurriculars are useless unless you have something which really REALLY stands out like say getting a novel published or winning a medal in the international olympiads. There isnt anything in your stats which stands out, while, on the contrary, theres evidence of a lot of stuff which could seriously hurt your app.</p>

<p>what can hurt my app ?? would you be kind enough to point them out.</p>

<p>and one thing.. what i speak, i speak from my "narrow, and limited perspective".... maybe its due to the fact that i have not had opportunities like you ppl do, or that i was indolent or unable to grasp those moments.. whatever the reason.. what i have seen in my high school is ... ppl that went to harvard, duke, stanford, grinnell, upenn, yale or even princeton and other ivies or other good colleges did not win a medal in international olympiads, nor did they get a novel published... </p>

<p>i meant sats....sat i counts ... but then its never sure what gets you in... my friend got into duke scoring 1860 in sat i, 2190 in sat ii, and not taking part in any ecs,, not to mention of those international olympiads that you are talking about. maybe these facts apply to the school or the place that you are applying from... this has not been the case here back in nepal... if this happens this time, it will be a change. but nevertheless, i believe this kind of situation would persist back here, at least for my sake.</p>

<p>and again getting back to sats.... i am hoping to do well in sat i...as for most ppl getting 800s in subjects tests.. thats why ill be retaking them..</p>

<p>well, u must be living in a different highly competitive country,,where the only way to show ur talents is to compete in sth international or write a novel....from my place no ones ever done that... besides in our hostel school, we didnt get that sort of opportunity...thats why we are from the third world, and we wont have ecs like yours...and yet without having those kinda ecs that u mentioned ppl have continuously been going to stanford, harvard, pton, williams, upenn, dartmouth, etc....we utilize the oppurtunities we have to the fullest and colleges appreciate that..</p>

<p>well, i myself have scored 800 in sat ii subject tests, and a perfect score of 800 according to what i know isnt required,,it doesn't matter much...not even SAT Is... to the extent we believe</p>

<p>as far as i know, it is better to have a good impression overall and have something stand out...and ammarsfound u have totally forgotten essays...which gives a real picture of the person rather than the stats...
so, davinci write a great essay and everything will be fine..</p>

<p>ur ECs are great as far as a Nepalese is concerned...u have gone to remote areas to do social work...and worked and become quiz champion...what more can u say that u did without lying?</p>

<p>PS. btw, how many novels and medals in international olympiads have you won? ammarsfound</p>

<p>oisdjdfsdjf i never said I won a medal or published a novel. but stuff like that is what MAY make up for a combination of mediocre test scores/grades/recommendations/essays. Anything less than that ALONE won't get you in.</p>

<p>okay you're a very frustrating person you realize that? and i hate this argument every international seems to have regarding opportunities. i live in PAKISTAN , yes that same pakistan which is potrayed to be a desert, a nation plagued by war, bombs and terrorists, famine and poverty. Just not having opportunities isn't a good enough excuse, its just something complacent idiots start saying. you search for them; if you dont have opportunities, you take an initiative and come up with them. If you dont have science club in your school, you start one; if you have no talents, you build them up by practice. Theres ALWAYS opporunity, you just need to be proactive and find it. I have friends who've won medals, who've won commonwealth essay competitions, who've gotten world highest's in o levels, and who've started programs to teach and feed underprivelaged children. As a matter of fact, they've gone out of their way to make sure the same children are given the opportunity to make the most of their lives. They organize concerts, they act out plays, they give them time and teach them the ways of the world. THAT is being proactive, not coming onto a forum and trying to get people to say that yes you're perfect for duke.</p>

<p>and i cant judge the op based on an essay i havent read, genius</p>