<p>I'm a prospective international student from India. I've attended a year of college in the where Information Science Engineering is my major. I wish to transfer to an Ivy League college for my Sophomore year. I've done really well in college so far, high grades, top 10% of my class.
I've done really well in my SAT (2200)
and Toefl (110)
Although I do plan on taking them again this January.
However here's the deal though:</p>
<p>I have a pretty poor academic run in high school. I was an average student. Probably top 30% of my class.</p>
<p>I have a lot of co curriculars though:</p>
<p>House captain in school
Soccer Captain in school
Awarded soccer player of the year
Brown Belt Karate
Several medals on Track
Editor and write of the Student body group
Several hours of volunteering
Been a prominent member at several leadership camps
Won several science competitions </p>
<p>I also have some additional unique things to add to my resume:</p>
<p>I built a website which helped people donate resources to people struck by a natural calamity in the country
I have a provisional patent pending in my name
I built a electric generator which potentially converts friction to electricity
I know 7 languages 3 of which are self taught
Been involved in the development of a few android apps
And lastly I'm currently working on another paragraph summarization project</p>
<p>My question is do I stand a chance? I have a reasonably decent list of activities (At least I think) but will my average academic run in school effect me? Will that weigh me down? I have a clear vision and a reason to transfer to help me continue my research on my patent and put it to good use.
Do you think if I reflect all this in my essay I'd stand a chance to get in as a Sophomore? Thank you.</p>
<p>Transferring to an Ivy League college is almost impossible, regardless of your academic or extracurricular abilities. There is usually a 1% acceptance rate. There is a 99% chance that the all money you are spending (on testing, etc) will all go to waste. I would suggest that you continue working in college and try to get an excellent overall GPA, and then apply for a graduate school.</p>
<p>@MelsHM: Thank you for your reply! But by Ivy League college I didn’t particularly mean Harvard. I meant a college of Ivy standards. Anyway assuming you understood what I meant,</p>
<p>From the stats of the previous years it turns out: (transfer)</p>
<p>Thanks for clarifying that. I only spoke about Harvard, because that is the forum you posted in. </p>
<p>As for your academics, they’re not excellent and won’t make you stand out, regardless of your performance at college. Your extracurricular activities are average, especially for an Indian applicant. </p>
<p>Your website sounds good, pending patents don’t mean anything (especially not in India), your “involvement” in app production is very ambigious and won’t help. As for your electrical generator, is it something completely unique? Has anyone built anything like it before, or are you really the inventor of it? Knowing seven languages is not unusual in India (most applicants speak several), but if you want to include them in your application, you should take a public examination on them. </p>
<p>You should be wary about applying for financial aid, as it will lower your already-low chances. As an Indian applicant, you are at a tremendous disadvantage.</p>
<p>I agree I’ve been a little ambiguous over a couple of details in my thread. just to clarify:</p>
<p>Academics: Average, argreed.
Extracurriculars: I’m an Indian applying from India, so there is a limited number of opporunites here for me wrt ECs.
Website: Donation website that linked donors with victims, made the procedure of linking people with resources easier.
Patent: The legal procedure takes a minimum of 3-4 years in India and even longer if you’re applying in as an individual as opposed to doing through organization or company. For the record this is an password security patent. Mathematically speaking stronger than any existing technology so far. (hope to write this up in my essay)
Apps: By involvement I mean I interned at places developing android apps. I also wrote an app which solved the problem of generating timetables for the classes in my school, which was a huge challenge my teachers faced every month, everytime a timetable was rescheduled for the classes. (hoping to have my school teacher mention this in my L.O.R)
Generator: I wouldn’t say completely unique. There isn’t a generator like this in the world, but it is using an established principle of physics for its working. So technically my invention.
Seven languages, yes. 4 Indian languages (English, Hindi, Kannada, Sanskrit) 2 European (Spanish, Italian) 1 middle eastern (Arabic) and one other language which I can only speak (Urdu). There’s a story to why I learnt each of those foreign languages. (Again hoping to mention this in my essay). </p>
<p>My study of foreign languages and my patent idea sort of meet up at a common point in a unique way, which is really my highlight in the essay. This what I’m really counting on. The insight from this story. </p>
<p>Financial aid, yes. This is going to put me in a tremendously disadvantageous spot. Nevertheless I will be applying as I can’t afford to pay the full college tuition. However from what I’ve read the colleges I mentioned offers need blind scholarships to international students as well. At least Harvard, MIT, UPenn, and as for Cornell I plan on applying for a local scholarship. </p>
<p>You’ve cleared up some ambiguity, but it appears you are trying to sugarcoat otherwise average ECs. Being from India is not excuse for not having good ECs. I am aware of Indian applicants with their own corporations, micro-financing companies, global nonprofits. </p>
<p>Again, a pending patent is not enough. Knowing the situation in India, it will probably be rejected (a plethora is filed annually and a fraction is accepted). As for your languages, you’re counting way too many. You’ll look like an idiot if you actually write what you have here - and you know why! Admissions officers aren’t dumb. </p>
<p>From the colleges you have mentioned, only Harvard and MIT are need-blind - and even MIT has an official quota.</p>
<p>I’m not sugercoating the ECs. I’m aware they’re not particularly many. But mine wasn’t the biggest school in the country, or the city for that matter. But I do agree that this is a weak point in my application.</p>
<p>With all due respect, when I posted this question on the forum, my intensions were to know my chances of getting into college, not my chances of getting my patent, which quite honestly you are in no position to make that call given that you know absolutely nothing about it. So I suggest you stick to answering the main topic of discussion. </p>
<p>Just to be clear writing too many languages makes me an idiot? I fail to understand what you meant. My interest of linguistics and writing that down makes me assume that admission officers are dumb? I really don’t get you.</p>
<p>Student69, I am not judging your patent. What I’m trying to tell you is that admissions officers are aware of situation with patents in India, so it will most likely make no difference to your application whatsoever. If having a patent really made such a big difference, every applicant would invest a few hundred dollars getting in one. That is why admissions officers consider pending patents with a grain of salt. </p>
<p>There are two things about your languages. First of all, don’t write that you know both Hindi and Urdu - they are the same. Such a small thing can make the adcom think that you may have exaggerated other parts of your application as well. Secondly, writing about this many languages also raises concerns about how well you know them. If you have not taken any public examinations (e.g. GCE) in them, they will also not make a big difference to your application. </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, you do have very good parts on your application (e.g. SAT, college rank, and your website), but I’m trying to tell you to be truly honest with the admissions committee. Even making sight exaggerations can raise eyebrows on your whole application.</p>
<p>I know that those Indian languages are similar but I think it’s still impressive. We have many languages here in my country too and I don’t speak any of them. I don’t think there’s any harm in that.</p>
<p>@MelsHM,
Relax I took no offense. I really appreciate you being so upfront about everything, but you seem to be overlooking the fact that when I said 7 languages I was careful to exclude Urdu.
For the record, Urdu, and Hindi, despite their similarites are considered different languages. And I’m saying this from a linguist’s perspective, not a common man. Just like Spanish and Italian, sound really similar, saying they’re the same would be disrepsectful to both parties. </p>
<p>About the testing, I agree, might sound like I’ve exaggerated, but then again these Italian, Spanish, and Arabic are self taught languages, which is something I take pride in. Writing an exam to seek mainstream validation would seem like it’s defeating it’s purpose don’t you think?</p>
<p>Patent, yes. A pending patent is definitely not as weighty as an actual patent. But isn’t really about what the patent represents, but what it actually does, which is data storage in a much safer manner compared to anything today (mathematically) that really sets it apart. I hope to put it to use soon. </p>
<p>@AnnaTheGreat, yep, some of em are similar, like Sanskrit. Hindi and Urdu, while the other one’s pretty different Kannada. They come from different language families. (Indo-Aryan and Dravidian resp.)
Which country are you from anyway?</p>
<p>Unlike other responders, I’ll actually answer your question.</p>
<p>Yes, you have a chance, although it may not be absurdly high (then again, when were Ivy chances ever high?). I’m not going to make a judgment on whether you’re competitive or not, as it all depends on how you portray yourself. Your stats are probably good enough that you don’t get rejected automatically based on them, so just go write pretty darn good essays and hope for the best if you end up applying.</p>
<p>Student69, your approach now is better. Don’t just list your achievements like you did in the original post. You need need to tell the story behind each of your achievements and how it has changed the way you view yourself or the world. FYI, I speak ‘both’ Hindi and Urdu and when I mentioned that in my interview, my interview was quite upfront about how it wasn’t something special, because they are essentially the same. However, you are correct, in the eyes of a linguist, they are different. Mention that in your essays! </p>
<p>With regards to the testing, you make an excellent point. If you do not take any public examinations, make sure the adcom knows the reasons behind your studying these languages. </p>
<p>You also made a good point about your patent - it is about the product and what it does, not whether you do or do not get a patent. If you choose to mention this in your application, make sure the product comes first, and your patent is used as a form of ‘evidence’.</p>
<p>Getting into a top college as an international (not transfer) is already EXTREMELY difficult. Most of the people that get accepted are literally perfect in all aspects.
You are trying to get accepted as a transfer (which is harder than regular admission) and you’re also international, which means you have to be even better than perfect. And sorry to say… you are not.</p>
<p>And you need FA</p>
<p>I’d say your chances are very, very, very, very, very slim.</p>
<p>@Paragonz, thank you for that really valid point. My essays really do need to be heartfelt and touching and at the same time genuine in order to grab their attention. </p>
<p>@MelsHM. you make some really excellent points there, stating my stats outright one after the other would make it seem like I’m trying too hard. It makes it look like I’m trying to get them to hear what they want to hear which was never the intension. I am a robot who’s just done stuff unless I back each of the things I’ve done with a reason as to why I did it. And that’s probably what they’d wonder too. On a sidenote you know Hindi, and Urdu, which makes me believe you’re Indian as well, is this the case?</p>
<p>@AnnaTheGreat, Iran? That’s fascinating. I’ve always been fascinated by the Persian culture. The Iranian language Farsi falls under the same language family (Indo-Aryan). Although similar to Hindi in a lotta ways, isn’t particularly close, just like any 2 Indian languages. </p>
<p>@satman1111, thanks for the positive crticism. I appreciate it. But I will still give it a shot for better or for worse.</p>