Do I have a chance at Ivies/MIT/Caltech? CS/English Major

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I really need to know if I should bother applying to these schools. Not as much a chancing request but advice on how to improve profile/whether I’d be competitive for top schools.

Planning on applying to:
Princeton intended CS and English major
Harvard same as Princeton
MIT will show interest in CS and Writing departments
Cornell College of Engineering CS
Yale same as Princeton and Harvard
Caltech will show interest in CS and English majors

I’m an international citizen asking for financial aid, so I understand my chances may be impacted by that.

Also, I’m a sophomore in HS, so I will indicate so if some information is intended. Gender: female

GPA: 1 B in math in freshman year special circumstances because everyone in the class legit got a B that year, straight A’s after that, plan on straight A’s in junior and senior year
ACT: 35 composite in sophomore year, should I take again??
AP tests: 5’s in AP Statistics and AP Lang so far, planning on taking the tests for AP CSP, Calc BC, Physics C: M and Lit and studying to get a 5
I took an SAT Subject test in Math Level 1 freshman year, got an 800, so thinking of reporting that to make up for my B in math that year

ECs
2 IT/tech internships virtual in web dev and app dev with National STEM Honor Society and Seaside Sustainability
Kode with Klossy program
Working on app prototype. Proficient in HTML, CSS, Js, Python, working on C++
Writing: around 30 publications, gold medal in CW from school, TOI national award and summer workshop
Tutoring math and CS
I plan on a prestigious CS/math summer program Curie Academy/MathCamp etc
Model UN: Lead Mentor to 300+ students, 10 conferences chaired

Awards
I’ve been preparing for IMO, IOI and hope to get something at least. Very confident about prep!
Global SDGs Challenge Winner
A few state level achievements in math standardized tests ranked top 2 percent in all of them
Instructables contest winner

Also planning on submitting a creative writing portfolio and resume to Harvard, Princeton, MIT and Yale. It’s gonna look good, lots of international, national and state achievements!

MIT Maker portfolio: Some shots of my app prototype, cool robots I made for interschool competitions, and [so proud of it] an actual calculator I made, both the program and hardware. Hope to make some more stuff!

First-gen, sort of low income, female.

Hope for some great feedback, advice and a chunk of your time, thanks!

2

You look strong. I’d work toward leadership positions in ECs. Many people assume that a ton of ECs is the key, but from what I know it matters more if you’ve taken them seriously enough to make a difference. They are not necessarily looking for people who will do a lot of things, but rather people who will be influential (obviously in a good way) on campus and beyond.

Good luck!

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Thank you! Your advice is very helpful. I’ll work towards a leadership position at maybe my internship or Model UN. Thanks so much again!

4

A lot of international candidates have been rejected by the top schools this year. They all apply to the same set of schools, which have very limited seats. Most of those seats are taken by recruited athletes, underrepresented American minorities, artists, musicians, and celebrities. If you don’t fit any of those categories, you’re not getting in, especially if you need financial aid. There are just too many excellent students, in the US, and those applying from all over the world, to that set of schools.

If you want a chance to attend a US school, then you need to cast a wider net because you do need financial aid. Our US universities are strong. And we have ~4000 colleges and universities all over the country. The pandemic has adversely impacted the incomes of the schools which usually have funds coming in from student expenses. That didn’t happen this year, and it will affect the schools for the next couple of years.

Since you’re a sophomore, you have time to investigate the schools and find out which schools will actually fund you. Look at their websites and look under “financial aid for international students”. Get a college guide, like Fiske, and investigate.

No two colleges are alike!
Some are in rural, farm-like environments, where the school is the only thing in the town. Some are very urban-in the middle of the city. Some are in the suburbs.
Some schools don’t have great transportation. Some get rain nine months out of the year. Some get snow five months out of the year.
It doesn’t hurt to research because, in most cases, you’ll be there for four years and the environment really does matter where you’re studying.
You can also try schools in Canada and in Europe.

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