current junior--please chance me!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey, I’m an international student (F-1 Visa) studying in the U.S.

School: small Christian school (200 students) in rural area–school is small but is regionally known for academic excellence / once ranked 3rd in state for average gpa + act scores
Gender: F
Race/ethnicity: asian
Intended major: biochemistry / chemical engineering
State: international (currently in MN)

GPA:
-4.00 UW

Rank: 1/50

ACT:
composite 33 (35/35/31/31)
waiting for the april act results to come out

SAT II:
-Math 2: 800
taking Biology M, chemistry, literature in may
taking Biology E in june

Current AP’s:
-Psychology

Senior AP’s:
-English Lit
-Comp Sci A
-Calc BC

taking a dual enrollment class in anatomy/physiology next year
my school doesn’t offer that many aps & I am one of the 2 juniors taking aps rn

Extracurriculars:
-student council; currently class rep, running for VP next year (11-
-math team; probs will be captain next year, highest scoring member on team for 2 years, 3rd in conference (10-
-knowledge bowl; participated at regional level (10-
-art club; led projects (10-
-church youth group (9-10)
-NHS (11-
-advanced translator for a NGO; over 150 hours (11-
-assist in teaching people with intellectual disabilities (11)
-varsity soccer (9), jv golf (10)

I am also working with a teacher to establish key club at my school

Summer activities:
-intern for a NGO that helps refugees
-volunteer at soup kitchen; 60 hours

Currently, I am thinking about…

University of MN (Twin Cities)
University of WI (Madison)
Carleton College
Sewanee (University of the South)
Amherst

I want to apply to at least 10 schools, so please help identify my reach, match, and safety! Feel free to recommend any other schools.

Thank you.

2

You’ve got very good shots at all of those schools. I’m a senior and just received my decisions. If you want to discuss the process with me and if you would like help making a list of colleges to apply to I would be happy to help, just message me :slight_smile:

3

Definitely apply to Sewanee, and be sure to visit campus. We thought their “Admissions 101” day in the summer was superb.

4

I just got my April ACT scores back. I got a 34 composite (34/35/31/36)

5

@MidwestDad3 Can you please tell me what you liked about Sewanee? I cannot afford to do a college visit at Sewanee, but would like to know all about it.

6

Your chances are good everywhere but Amherst. Am guessing you live somewhere in the Minneapolis / St Paul metropolitan area based on your choices. Do you have any idea what you are interested in studying in college? What, if any, financial limitations do you face? With your test scores and grades you have a lot of options. An impression one gets from reading your description of ECs is that you have had somewhat superficial involvement in a lot of different clubs. This summer and next year you might consider focusing in on a few areas of genuine interest

7

@Wje9164be I actually live more than 2 hours away from the MSP metropolitan area. I live in a rural town with 1300 people and the school is in a town with about 13000 people. I would like to study biochemistry or chemical engineering. My family’s income is about $80,000-90,000 and I do have an older brother in college, so yes I do have some financial limitation. I was worried about my not so strong ec as well. I transferred to my current school my sophomore year, so that kinda messed things up. I also had to stop golf because of the MN state law that international students can only play sports their first year in the state. Anyways, I would say my genuine interest is community service and math/science. I plan on volunteering at the same soup kitchen this summer and will continue with the translating work. By the time I apply for ED, I will probably have close to 500 hours of service. I am definitely going to continue with math team and knowledge bowl next year as well. Do you still think I have a chance at Amherst though? Thank you!

8

I think you have a chance at Amherst, no question. I just don’t think there are very many applicants who you can say categorically they are sure to get in. I think what you might find is that given your stats and family income you will find that private universities will be less expensive than out-of-state public universities. Some colleges for you to consider - Carnegie Mellon, Franklin W.Olin, Smith. U.Wisconsin Madison is very strong in the academic areas you are interested in. Does MN have reciprocal tuition agreement with WI? Since you live in the US and are here with an F1 VISA how will you be treated with regards to Financial Aid?

9

Great scores @irispapyrus0!

I’m guessing you are from MN or WI. If you are able to visit, Sewanee would be a match/safety for you. Without a visit it would be a match/reach. Admissions there puts a very high premium on visiting. Perhaps you could pool some resources with a friend or two and visit Vanderbilt (90 minutes from Sewanee), Sewanee, and Emory (2 hrs & 15 minutes from Sewanee). You could see three outstanding schools in two days.

My D (also Asian, BTW) is finishing up her first year at Sewanee. You have probably seen the “My Sewanee Story” videos on youtube. They are a great introduction. They follow half-a-dozen different students in various disciplines, arts and sciences. There is also a really cool field guide to “the mountain” that they will send you once you are on their mailing list.

D has really liked: her wonderful cohort of classmates; the exceptional quality of the faculty (at least the eight professors she has had so far); challenging academics, but small classes and accessible teachers; the emphasis the college places on thoughtful academic advising; the beautiful setting on a Tennessee mountain-top and the many outdoors activities that are available on, and just off, campus. She also likes some of the unique traditions, such as faculty teaching in academic gowns, shake day (she joined a local sorority, though they are not residential), and their attitudes toward sports (academics come first).

What she would change: the dorms vary in comfort, and in distance from the center of campus (like most schools); fewer required gen eds; the closest first-run movie theater is 25 minutes away; and, like many LACs, you sometimes don’t get all of your first-choice classes (though she has gotten 75 to 80% of hers).

I wouldn’t call Sewanee isolated, as some do. (It is literally just 5 minutes off the Interstate.) But it is rural. The upside is that it is a huge, gorgeous campus. And because most faculty members live on campus it feels like a vibrant, special community. D has already been to her advisor’s home several times for meals, and she has had breakfast with the Vice-Chancellor (equivalent to President). IMO it is less isolated, say, than Middlebury, St. Lawrence or Williams. And roughly equivalent to Kenyon in its rurality.

The downside is that maybe because of its location, it doesn’t draw as many international students as some of its peer institutions. I believe there are a dozen or so international students in D’s class. She is close to a couple of the international students, and they seem very happy there. But for someone expecting NYC or LA, it would be a bit of a shock!

Good luck with your search. I would suggest that you try to find a way to visit each university that you are serious about. Don’t hesitate to call admissions at schools to see if they are able to defray the cost of a visit.

Oh, and Sewanee has a gorgeous golf course right on campus!

10

@Wje9164be As a F-1 visa student, I will not be able to receive any type of in-state tuition nor benefits from reciprocity agreements. U of M does have a scholarship for international students that covers the gap between international and in-state tuition though. I will also have to get a on-campus job no matter where I go for college. Thanks for the recommendations, I will definitely look in to them.

11

Thanks for your comment @MidwestDad3 ! I did not know that I could call admissions to see if they can defray the cost! I also didn’t realize that a visit could have an effect on my admission. I will try to talk to my parents about visiting the college. I am okay with the small international student population and the smaller city neighborhood. I am living in a rural area right now anyways. Do you happen to know anything about the dual degree engineering program between Sewanee and Columbia as well?

12

Sewanee is one of those schools where it pays to get on their radar screen before you submit an application. A great time to do this is in June or July (by then LACs have already filled their classes for the year, and admissions officers have some down time before things get busy again in the fall). The counselor for Minnesota is listed under the “Connect” tab on their admissions page. Drop her a line and tell her about your interest in Sewanee. Tell her about your desire to visit, and your challenges in making that happen. Maybe she’ll have suggestions. She can connect you with the Sewanee/Columbia faculty advisor. Also, she can tell you when she will be travelling to your state/region so you can possibly meet with her.

If you visit, try to go when summer classes are in session so you can sit in on a class or two. My own D narrowed her final choice down to 4 LACs, and her ability to stay with a student on campus overnight, eat in the dining halls, and attend a class or two was key in helping her make an informed final choice. Incidentally, several students that she met when visiting last year became friends once she enrolled has a freshman this year.

Also consider looking at Union College in upstate New York. It was on D’s short-list. We were really impressed by their science & engineering programs.

13

Thanks for your kind advice! @MidwestDad3 I will make sure to look into Union College as well!

14

Does anyone have any suggestion on how I can strengthen my ec? This summer, I am going to volunteer at the same soup kitchen and continue with my translating work. Hopefully I will have about 500 hours of community service when I am applying for ED. I am also going to continue with math team, knowledge bowl, art club, student council, and NHS my senior year. I am working to establish key club at my school.

15

I agree with a lot of what @MidwestDad3 had to say about Sewanee. It’s a great school and a pretty environment. If you like that environment and Amherst you should definitely consider Middlebury. I do, however, think he is splitting hairs when making the distinction between isolated and rural. While he makes a valid point (I’d say Cornell is VERY isolated, but not terribly rural). I think Sewanee is VERY rural. This makes it FEEL pretty isolated, but it is not that far from some good sized cities. Middlebury is less rural and Williams is about as rural as Sewanee, but Both Middlebury and Williams are about an hour away from mid-sized cities and a few hours from good-sized cities. Hope that helps.

16

Thank you @urbanslaughter for your comment. I like how you wrote very in all caps haha. Sewanee must be more rural and isolated than I thought. Even though I am getting used to living in a rural town right now, I would like to move to a bigger city for college, so I will definitely keep that in mind.

17

If you are truly interested in chemical engineering (either in addition to or as an alternate field of study to biochemistry), you should know that the 3 LACs on your list do not offer it (although you would be able to study it if you were able to attend Amherst through the 5 College Consoritium – UMass does offer that program). Maybe if you go the 3/2 route with Sewanee or Carleton, as you seem to contemplate.

In regards to your ECs, focus on the ones where you have leadership opportunities. At this point, depth not breadth becomes important.

18

@irispapyrus0 Please don’t miss my point. I think it might feel a little isolated, but remember it’s pretty close to some major cities. I think it’s a great school and would absolutely recommend it for the right person. You sound like you may be the right person.

19

@gandalf78 I am thinking about applying to U of M and U of W for chemical engineering, Amherst for biochemistry and biophysics and Sewanee and Carleton for the 3/2 Columbia dual degree route. I know I like chemistry, so I want to do something related to it. Thanks for your advise with ec as well!