Stats
SAT:: Going to do next year.In BB getting consistent 2100´s
UW GPA: 3.6
Rank: Top 15%
Info:
Race/Gender: South American (Brazil) /Male (11th Grade)
Hooks:: I think none 
(URM ?)
I am an international student with American citizenship.
EC´s:
- Lots of national and regional scientific competition medals/awards.In the selection process for Internationa Physics Olympiad.
- Giving weekly classes for poor.
- Invited to the first special intensive week of physics studies for IPhO with one internationally renowned professor and others with national reputation.Week sponsored by brazilian physics association.
- Blog about science/math with book suggestions,study plans for olympiads,discussion on some important topics and questions…
Career Goals:
I wan´t to be a internationally renowned physicist.Probably in Particle physics or any awesome subject.Hence, looking for a top notch degree in physics and C.S ;academicly focused.Don´t care “loosing” 4 years of my life intensively studying,as I lovo to learn and challenge myself.Woudl like to be involved in research and beeing able to annoy professors with off-classes questions.
Criteria for College
As I am international I dont care the state too much,but would rather a nothern climate…(Trully superfulous).Also don´t care about city or rural…Would consider some UK suggestions as well.And money… of course a cheaper one would be better ,but there are good savings and know some who would help (probably) any cost if needed.
First College list (±20) aiming for a 15 one:
MIT,Stanford,Harvard,Calltech,Yale,Princeton,Cornell(Double Legacy[PhD {dad} and {Mom} Masters]), UPenn,UChicago,Cambridge/Oxford,UBC,Carnegie Mellon,UCLA,UC Berkeley,Columbia,Duke,U Wisconsin Madison,Harvey Mud,
All reaches rigth? Which should I rip off my list and which should I stick with/add to mylist?can you help me get to a list with 15 universities with ±5 reaches.What should I do to have better odds in those (final list) universities?
What was your PSAT score? If you have American citizenship, I don’t think you would be classified as an international student. Correct me if I’m wrong, anyone. Do you know where you would be most likely to have residency in the United States?
All your schools are reaches. If you really like Cornell and you know it would be affordable, apply ED there. It might help out admissions-wise since you’re a double legacy. Lemme have a crack at your list (don’t just look for prestige. Just because a school isn’t top 20 or top 50 does NOT mean the academic quality is lacking)
Revised:
Reaches - MIT, Cornell, UChicago, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, Harvey Mudd, UWisconsin Madison
Matches - Worcester Polytechnic, Rutgers, whatever state flagship you may have residency at, Ohio State
Safeties - University of Arizona, University of Washington, University of Alabama (Don’t rely on this as TOO much of a safety because I have no idea what state you would be involved with. Really, a safety would be a much smaller school. If you lived in NJ, say, I would recommend TCNJ, Rowan, Rider etc. as safeties.)
You are a U.S. Student, not an international student, which is a good thing for you 
unless your parents are paying state taxes somewhere (sounds unlikely) you are OOS everywhere.
Oxford & Cambridge are (obviously) in the UK and the key variable is standardized testing.
Not sure what type of school you are in- if Brazilian, the Vestibular won’t do it, you will need APs /SAT. If you are in an IB school you are set for the UK.
Physics is a very ‘set’ major: all of the colleges will have all the courses you need to get into grad school. You can have a good life & still get into a top grad school. Larger schools will have better research opportunities during term, but as a U.S. citizen you can also apply to REUs (paid summer research jobs).
Cornell is a great option- super physics program, and legacy certainly helps.
Are your grades asymmetrical? B/c your ambitiousness, willingness to work intensely in college, and your GPA don’t seem to line up.
I know my GPA isn´t as high as should be and I know that will hurt me a lot on admissions,but the fact is that I´m in the hardest possible special class in Brazil and an 8/10 is something huge.And the cass rank 15/100 is because I am in the top 5 of my class(~40 students)… My parents are not americans (but I was born in the US and live in Brazil) that is why I stated I was an International student.I was looking for those school based on their prestige and faculty members…No PSAT score.
Do I have any shot at my raches(besides cornell) ?
Without test scores it is hard to say much, but most of the big names on your list would be looking at the top 1-2% of the class, certainly top 10%.
Note that the UCs limit the number of out of state students.
What is your plan B? Would you come to the U.S.to go to a college with a less-famous name?
8 in Brazil is easily the same as a 4.0 in the US.
Your guidance counselor needs to indicate:
- whether your school is open enrollment (anyone can get in if they want to) or competitive admissions (test? if so, is it city-wide, county-wide, state-wide, country-wide?) - the students at the school represent the top …% in the county/in the state/in the country.
- what percentage students get a score of 8+, 7.5, 7, 6.5, 6, etc… in your school, using the school grading scale
- in relation to the national exams, does a 7 at your school tend to result in a 7 for national exams? If so, no need to detail anything; if not and it results in a 7.5 or 8, then your GC needs to indicate your school has grade deflation and grades typically have -.5 or -1 compared to the national grid. If not and a 7 results in a 6, same thing, but with grade inflation.
- what percentage students in your school score in the top 10% nationally or get national accolades
- that 100% students attend 4-year colleges (or 90%, etc. “4 year college” means “studies that can be followed by a master’s degree”, even if the undergraduate level lasts only 3 years in your country for instance.)
^ How is an 8/10 the same as a perfect GPA?
Numbers have different values depending on country. 8 in Brazil is equivalent to 4.0.
Same thing in Italy. A 7 or 14 in France is also a clean high A like a 98%.
Its a bit as if someone were asking “how can2200 be a high score when you missed 200 points?” That’d be missing the meaning of a 2200 sat.
Sorry, to my mind that doesn’t make sense. A 4.0 is a max UW GPA. Is there solely a weighting difference between an 8 and a 10? Or is this like a numerical GPA (out of 100). If that’s the case then I’ll answer with my standard response there: you don’t just take your average and convert. You have to consider the grades of each class. A single class below an A (or 93% or whatever) means you no longer have a 4.0.
According to a small data pool (the few links I clicked on from Google), and 8/10 would be a B average. Though, University of Northern Colorado (http://www.unco.edu/international/studyabroad/Documents/Grade%20Equivalencies.pdf) says it converts to an A.
At Princeton (for example) 96% of freshmen were in the top 10% of their HS classes. That’s 96% of the small fraction who were admitted. Your chances, if you are outside that range, must be in the low single digits (if that) for HYPSM.
Your chances may be higher if your HS is well known as being exceptionally competitive. Still, you need some less selective alternatives. Consider URochester, Case Western, or state flagships with strong physics departments (e.g. Wisconsin, Maryland). LACs outside the top ~20 might be worth a look, too (e.g. Grinnell or Lawrence).
In Brazil’s academic secondary schools, an 8 means “Distinction” and is an A. A 7.5 is an A-. A 7 is a B+. A 7 is aB. A 6.5 is a B-. A 6 is a C+. A 5.5 is a C. A 5 is a D. The scale is a bit “harder” for public comprehensives. Anything below a 5 is an F. 9s and 10s are there for national awards.
OP, note that neither a “vestibular” score nor the CCEM are sufficient on their own and you’d be expected to pass several APs.If you sat the ENEM, you’ll be expected to produce the results, too. Your school’s typical ENEM score would matter to indicate its quality, the equivalency between your year grades and the ENEM score would also matter, and your showing in relation to all who sat the ENEM could be used.
Brazilians are URM (Latino - this is fairly recent actually) and since you’re an American citizen, this is in your favor. However don’t expect it’ll compensate for poor grades - it merely gives you an edge if you have the proper results.
Scoring 2100 would place you at the very bottom for many of the universities you listed.
If you make IPO things will be different.
Look into UArizona (excellent for Physics in particular), ASU Barrett (ASU is not as strong in Physics as UA, but its Honors College is vastly superior and its graduate program, which you have access to as a Barrett student, is excellent), and Lawrence (excellent for Physics, top producer of PHD, R1 program matching an undergraduate with alumni working at major R1 universities/labs + easier access to Summer REU programs.)
As I study in a brazilian school there are no AP classes.Actually I dont think there are ant in my city,
Can you take several SAT Subjects and score high?
Yep ! At least 3.Chemistry,Physics,Math 2
I would advise picking at least one “humanities/social science” in addition to those. Will you have an enem score to present, too?