Please tell me if I have a chance for Ivy Leagues (Especially YALE, I was accepted to it’s young global scholars tho)
*Major: Celluar/Molecular Biology
*GPA (Note: My high school for these years does not offer AP courses or credit):
Freshmen: 3.91
Sophomore: 4.00
Junior: 3.96
Cumulative: 3.96/4.00
I’m changing schools for senior year since I’m moving from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. Course load will be rigorous.
*SAT:
SATI (Old): 2100 Single sitting (770 M, 650 R, 680 W)
SATII: Biology: Predicted 760-800 Math IC: 740-780 Math IIC: 700-720
*ECs:
National Honor Society
I used to play rowing in Egypt - Got 3rd place- bronze -in national championships in U18 double sculls.
I am now playing swimming for Saudi Arabia and will try to compete and get good times for the 2020 olympics.
Participated in INTEL science fair in 2011, got the chance to meet Egypt’s prime minister at that time.
Accepted at Yale Young Global Scholars but could not attend.
Participated in school’s “Helping Hands” to raise more than 500$ for charity.
Peer tutor for all subjects in sophomore year - I actually made students do well in school.
Many more (will update soon)
*Finances:
Most likely the Saudi government will pay for my full tuition and living expenses. There are special exams for that and I’m doing well in them.
Your SAT scores are low, especially since international admission is a lot harder than domestic admission. The fact that you school doesn’t offer AP courses might hurt you, because while they won’t judge you for not having challenging courses available, your low SAT scores don’t exactly give them reason to admit you either. You should retake if possible.
Are you trying to be recruited for these sports? If you’re competitive enough to make the olympics, I imagine you must be competitive enough to be recruited for swimming.
Is English your first language? I’m not trying to be rude, but this sounds a little condescending, and you would want to phrase this differently in your actual application.
In general, you have a good profile that has a chance. However. here are things that can maximise your chances
Retake your SATs 2100 is a good but not great score for internationals applying to such top schools ( imo ofc) - I know you don't want to study for the New SAT but I believe it will do more than you think to your chances if you can improve that score. I got very similar score to yours during my first sitting but was able to bump it up to 2250+ which really helped me I felt.
Start working on your essays. It took me a lot of time to find my own voice and finally get rid of the " What do they want to hear?" idea that always messed up my thought process. Start letting your friends and teachers read your essay drafts. Also I agree with sophie, you should definitely NOT sound cocky/ condescending. I met an admissions officer from a very selective college and they told me that he always preferred students that were humble and accomplished at the same time and he could easily spot that through essays.
Contact coaches from Ivys especially ( Since they're big on sports) and try to get recruited. If they like you you're pretty much guaranteed acceptance with the good academic standing that you have.
Not that you can change that now, but I believe YYGS could have improved your chances. I know a few people who have gone through it and they go to top schools now. The program’s name grabs attention on the application but I think what was more important was that the stuff they learnt from the experience gave them a lot of ideas and networking of students and professors to do amazing stuff during their senior year in high school.
From a fellow Egyptian who had to go through this process by himself a while back, GOOD LUCK!
It sounds like you are a Saudi national. Not too many internationals from Saudi that apply to US schools so this is good for you. They will understand that English is not your first language.
But you do need to get your SAT scores up a bit higher. Focus on getting to at least the 25-50th percentile for your target schools.
Athletic recruiting for Ivys are now in high swing. Coaches can start contacting students on July 1. However if you were a great rower I’m sure the coaches would know about you already. It doesn’t hurt to contact the coaches anyway. Send an email then follow up with a phone call.