Do I Have A Good Chance of Getting into Grinnell or U of Richmond

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am an international student from Egypt applying ED I to Grinnell
& ED I to Richmond (the one with Dec. 15 as a deadline)

SAT score: 1360
Religious Affiliation: Muslim
Background: Conservative
Rank: Not provided by the school

Courses:
Arabic 3 years: A, A, A
English(Honors 3 years): A, B+, A
German 3 years: A, A+, A
Social Studies 2 years: A,A
Math(Honors 3 years): B, B, B
Mechanics (Honors 3 years): B+, B, B+
Biology (Honors 2 years): B, B+
Chemistry (Honors 3 years): B+, B+, B
Geology (Honors 2 years): B+, B+
Physics (Honors 3 years): B+, C+, B
Technology (Honors 2 years): A, A
GPA 3.7 UW, boosted by the languages

Fluent in Arabic (First Language) & English (107 TOEFL)
B2 in German
Published a couple of essays in very famous national newspapers, and got warned for one(political reasons)
Currently in a gap year, working as a marketing assistant at a food company, studying some courses at ASU faculty of Engineering, and have a full time that I am deferring to the next fall

Boarding School

Extracurricular:
President of the Student Union for two consecutive years: 11th & 12th grade
Founded an IT-team in the school to help students with technical issues
Teaching Java during the first semester of 11th grade
NASA Space Apps Competition: 2nd National Place 11th grade
Internship at the National Authority of Remote Sensing and Space Science: summer between 11th and 12th grade
FLL Robotics: First participation from the school 10th grade
International Writing Program at Iowa: Only Egyptian participant at the BTL program summer after 12th grade
Teaching during summers: 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade
Volunteering @ charity organization: summer between 9th grade and 10th
Founder of STEM-MUN, a model UN at my boarding School
Member at the most celebrated MUNs in Cairo, CIMUN (American University in Cairo) & ALMUN (Cairo University)
Member at the Psychological Health Awareness Society in Egypt
Recommendations: Was one of the most celebrated students of the school, teachers love me.
Personal statement: Focuses on diversity.

*Applying for need-based financial aid

Major: Psychology

2

I hope you know that the two schools are vastly different!

I don’t know how to evaluate many of your credentials. Your SAT scores are low for both those schools, I believe.

3

Thanks for the reply!
I know that they are totally different schools, but I want each of them for different reasons.
I’ve bean to the IWP in Iowa, and I felt Iowa is the right place for the next 4 years of my life, so Grinnell is my first choice. On the other hand, I think from a characteristical prospective, U of Richmond is more like me, since it looks for “well rounded” students, and as you can see I am very “well rounded.”
Another point for Grinnell is the fact that I am from a conservative background, and the college is looking for students from backgrounds other than liberal. In the same time, Grinnell college is looking for more diversity and currently there are no Egyptian students in Grinnell, so there is a good chance that the college “needs” me.
Richmond is another story, for the college, as I see, is looking for more diversity and has one Egyptian student in his 3rd year, so they will consider me as a good filler because they want stay on the same level of diversity (74 countries represented on campus).
As you can see, the colleges are two of the best financial provider for international students and that was a very big factor, since I will need an aid as big as 92% of the tuition (I can’t pay more than 5000$ annually) to attend any university in the US.

What do you think!!

4

P.S. The applications are different for each one, recommendations from different persons in different areas

5

I’m really curious about the OP’s statement that Grinnell is loking to increase its number of conservative students. True?

6

Your test scores and grades are too low for Grinnell even if you are a desirable student. They turn down kids with SATs in the high 1500’s, It’s worth a shot but unlikely. I think you would have a better shot at UR. Maybe add in a few other schools?

7

أحلي شباب شباب ستيم.

8

That being said you do have some really strong ECs. Also Look at Colorado College, Bennington College, Bard, Lafayette Gettysburg and Earlham. I believe all are known for good financial aid for International students. Earlham might be a bit like Grinnell. It has a great reputation and I don’t think you would have any issue getting in. Maybe use it as a back up school.

9

مش هتتقبل يا ياسر
وانت كنت امين اتحاد سنة واحدة بس بلاش نصب

10

Came across an article on Tulane being need blind for internationals. It is a great school. deadline for EA is in two days. I think you would likely get the aid you are looking for.

11

How do u apply ED1 to two schools? If the schools caught wind of it you should have zero chance.

12

To claim that schools are looking for specifically ‘conservative’ students sounds a little off to me. Where’s the box you check in the Common App that you select ‘Liberal’ or ‘Conservative’? Maybe I missed it? haha just messing with you :)) However, I definitely echo what Cornellian88 said about applying to two schools for ED1. Sounds like a bad idea.