Harvard, Columbia, U Chicago- am I on track?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey, I am an Indian living in Hong Kong, and will be applying as an international student- no financial aid. </p>

<p>School- Private school, sends kids to ivy leagues/ ivy league standard schools each year.
This year we got one person into U Penn, one into Harvard, one into Cornell, two into Oxford and one into Cambridge, as well as a few into NYU. </p>

<p>these are my SAT Scores-</p>

<p>SAT I- 2310
Writing- 760
Maths-770
Reading-780</p>

<p>Haven't taken SAT II's yet</p>

<p>I have taken the IGCSEs, IB and for extra courseload, take the AS levels (I think I'm the only person, perhaps in the world? to take both the IB and the A-Levels)</p>

<p>So far for AS levels- (A is the highest)
Maths- A (completed)
Physics - A
History- A
Economics- A</p>

<p>IGCSEs- 7A*s, 2 As</p>

<p>IB Predicteds (so far, mocks are in three weeks)- (7 is the highest)
Maths HL- 7
History HL- 7
French SL - 5
English SL- 7
Physics SL - 7
Economics HL- 7</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars/ Awards/ Positions-
Won the Sing Tao Debating Competition 2006-2007 (this is the biggest Hong Kong level debating Competition)
Sing-Tao Debating Competition Champion 2008-2009
BAR Association Debating Competition Champion 2007-2008 (National level competition)
BAR Association Debating Competition Champion 2008-2009
Inter-Cities Debating Competition Champion 2006-2007
United Nations People's Speak Debating Competition Champion 2007-2008
Hong Kong Debating and Public Speaking Number One 2008-2009 - this means I represented Hong Kong at the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, this year</p>

<p>In this tournament I was ranked 18th in the world, and top 12 for Interpretive Reading and Persuasive Speaking</p>

<p>Model United Nations 2008 to 2010
Hong Kong Model UN representative this academic year- 2008 to 2009</p>

<p>Student Council (we get elected each year, kind of a big post in my school)
2005-2006
2006-2008
2008-2009</p>

<p>House Captain
2008-2009</p>

<p>Head Prefect-
2009-2010</p>

<p>I also helped create a Rock Show for charity which raised 6,000 HKD.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance guys, and I'll chance you back- although I'm really not sure how much of a help I'll be =)</p>

2

<p>I think you have a pretty good shot at those schools. Good SATs, just be sure to do well on SAT II’s and essays, etc. Your awards in debating and speaking are pretty impressive. Also make sure to show how you stand out as an applicant in your app, though I’m not sure how the international aspect will influence it. Good luck! </p>

<p>And chance me back please :slight_smile:
[Do</a> I have what it takes? HYP: 2014 - College Discussion](<a href=“http://www.zend2.com/browse.php?u=Oi8vdGFsay5jb2xsZWdlY29uZmlkZW50aWFsLmNvbS93aGF0LW15LWNoYW5jZXMvNjkwMTU3LWRvLWktaGF2ZS13aGF0LXRha2VzLWh5cC0yMDE0LWEuaHRtbA%3D%3D&b=13]Do”>http://www.zend2.com/browse.php?u=Oi8vdGFsay5jb2xsZWdlY29uZmlkZW50aWFsLmNvbS93aGF0LW15LWNoYW5jZXMvNjkwMTU3LWRvLWktaGF2ZS13aGF0LXRha2VzLWh5cC0yMDE0LWEuaHRtbA%3D%3D&b=13)</p>

3

<p>as an international student you get much better chances
also your extracurriculars are excellent
you’re focused in one area and you clearly excel in it
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/690211-chance-me-ivies.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/690211-chance-me-ivies.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>whoops- I forgot some Extra Curriculars-</p>

<p>Tennis (since I was 5) (now 16)
Art (Since I was 10)- this involves me drawing human faces and stuff- I’ve ACTUALLY become pretty good despite my having noooo talent, whatsoever.
History Tutoring- I’ve been tutoring kids in in the year below and the year below that this year for their GCSE History Exams.
Debating for 5 years
MUN for two years</p>

<p>I also run a LOT in my spare time- like during my lunch breaks I’m in the gym on the treadmill</p>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>Uhhh…no</p>

6

<p>“Maths HL- 7
History HL- 7
French SL - 5
English SL- 7
Physics SL - 7
Economics HL- 7”</p>

<p>those are really intense scores…good luck</p>

7

<p>In contrast to what Lemonio stated, being an international applicant hurts your chances.</p>

<p>With that said, your resume is very impressive and you have a good shot.</p>

8

<p>haha- well those are my predicteds- the advantage with US colleges is that I can get in through those predicted grades and almost forget about my real IB score XD</p>

9

<p>bumpppppppppppppppppppp</p>

10

<p>good applicant but so are thousands of others so it’s really hard to say. You have a decent shot though</p>

11

<p>thanks guys- any more? =P</p>

12

<p>this: “In this tournament I was ranked 18th in the world, and top 12 for Interpretive Reading and Persuasive Speaking”, and your awards, extracirriculars, and whatnot are amazing! :] </p>

<p>I think you shouldn’t worry that much, really. </p>

<p>You probably go to a really, really great school there, right? :] Because I know, or I am pretty sure, that many Hong Kong schools do not send people to Ivys and Oxfords, or even top Hong Kong or China colleges.</p>

13

<p>hmmm well, we’re not AMAZING- we’re definitely the best in terms of academics in the organization we’re a part of, but no way are we one of the best in HK. (maybe apart from public speaking- we got three into the HK team, 3/7)</p>

<p>it’s just that in HK there are really good schools in the local system whose kids are all ivy league standard- the exams they do are waaaaaay harder than the ones we do. </p>

<p>But, because they are local school kids, many of them don’t get a decent look at from the admins at universities.</p>

14

<p>i’d say u’d like a very competitive challenge to other candidates</p>

15

<p>thanks a LOT for your help!</p>

<p>just a question- what would be good safety schools for me? I’m not sure how I should go about picking them and my family doesn’t know because I’m the first to go abroad to the USA for uni!</p>

16

<p>for safeties if you’re looking at around NY/Boston: Tufts, NYU, Boston College
others i would recommend (these are more matches than safeties): Duke, Georgetown, Cornell</p>

17

<p>bump 10 char</p>

18

<p>bump 10 char</p>

19

<p>c’mon guys… I need some help on how to shore this app up-</p>

<p>oh one more thing</p>

<p>I’m going to GYLC over the summer (can’t wait!)</p>

20

<p>Ok as someone who is going to the U of Chicago this fall I can say that for U of Chicago they are going to focus heavily on your essay and writing skill. As well as how much they think you want to be there- while your stuff is impress they aren’t all about academics and curriculars as far as getting in.</p>

<p>Columbia requires and will look heavily at you SAT II’s, so make sure you study hard for that as well. Also I think that you have a good shot at getting into Columbia</p>

<p>IDK really that much about Harvard but I can say that you have a fair chance.</p>

<ul>
<li>Let me add that being an international student hurts you immensely- with both admissions and financial aid. Also it hurts your that you are asian- indian, as they are no longer considered minorities by top colleges. Right now I would advise you to concentrate on writing a good essay, getting things in on time, and trying to see if you can get atleast a phone interview. Good Luck!</li>
</ul>