I planning to focus on business studies related undergraduate course and I hope to eventually get an MBA. I am 17 and I am going to start my final 13th class next in a month.
Originally I was hopping that I would have some chance at getting into Ivy league, but after getting my SAT scores (1960 in total), I think its going to be impossible… I am going to do my SAT2 this autumn, and they will probably be higher than my SAT1. But I think my SAT scores are just too low to be competitive.
On the other hand I am predicted something like 42 on IB. Take in account that predictions in our school don’t seem to include the 3 extra bonus points. I am pretty sure I can get 2 if not 3 of those bonus points. Furthermore, I have excellent IGCSEs (12 As, B in physics, C in French and B in french GCSE).
So will my IB score have any effect on top schools like Ivy League et al? Or should I just focus on England because I think I have a realistic chance to get into Cambridge.
So is Ivy League out of question? Especially considering I am asian-looking Ukrainian citizens (as I understand the white/asian section are the most competitive ones). Considering that students with perfect SAT scores are not getting into Ivy League, I think I have a much better chance of focusing on British Universities. So how bad is my situation with regards to top schools in the US?
<p>Sadly, I think IB students get the short end of the stick here...you can't get as many credits with it than with APs, and from what I understand, they're harder. </p>
<p>Applying as an international might change things a bit, but you should still get those SAT scores higher if you can.</p>
<p>If I understand correctly, you are international, and sorry to say but the international pool is EXTREMELY competitive. Getting a low SAT is not the end of the world. Many people retake (if not most), and I believe colleges dont care how much you retake as long as its not a ridiculous number of time. Also, why the Ivy league? The prestige? There are many great American universities such as Stanford, Berkeley, Duke, Johns Hopkins, CalTech, MIT, that are just as good as the Ivy league, and are just as prestigious. I recommend you apply to the Ivy league, but don't limit yourself to universities that simply have the Ivy name attached to them. Also, have you considered the university of Moscow?</p>
<p>Lets just say I can't re-take my SAT1. There isn't anything I can do about that.</p>
<p>I don't know about how hard IB is compared to the AP, but I can tell you that there is no way you would be able to do say 10 IB (is 10 APs a decent amount?) subjects in two years. And my IGCSE certificate can be used as toiletpaper in US, right?</p>
<p>Anyone have any stats on how competitive the international pool is? Some ratings for business schools would also help.</p>
<p>Yeah, I am not focusing on Ivy League. I guess what I really wanted to say was top-end schools. Well, c'est la vie. I guess I am not really top-end material. When I read the stats of people who have decent chances of getting into top-end colleges, I was shocked. I mean people have so many achievements. Winner of this competition, president of this, 400 hours community work. How do people find time? And our school (it's an international school in moscow) doesn't even take part in any local academic competitions. But I guess I am just not up for it. You have to be exceptional and unique to get into top-end schools. Anyone who lacks perfection can forget about studying in top-end schools.</p>
<p>Not true. You don't need those things to get into a top-notch school, but they help, I won't lie. Your predicted IB score is astonishing -- unfortunately the schools don't care much about it. I only had an SL Math 7 when I applied -- no predicted scores sent. IB scores are really only useful for placement in college. IB itself is more rigorous than AP by concept alone, so if you do well in IB, the adcoms will look at you more favorably. </p>
<p>My Yale interviewer told me that the adcoms know how hard IB is and will give more consideration to people that do well in it, because there are a lot more requirements for IB than there are for AP.</p>
<p>As for your SATs, try to get them 2200 or better with some practice. Don't put the Ivy Leagues out of your mind just yet. If you're worried about ECs: Mine sucked. Virtually worthless, but they showed commitment (ie. if you can check 2-4 ECs in your list down for all four years of HS that aren't standard ECs like NHS). Let your passions come through your application and your ECs. </p>
<p>You don't need perfection. Your essays will also, at times, be what get you in. Plenty of people get rejected from top schools because they just seem like grade-churning test-taking machines that, on a deeper level, are boring and trite individuals. Or at least, people that don't make themselves interesting on paper. Write essays that show the adcoms how you think and feel (don't just "tell a story"), get your SATs up, do well in class, and you can apply where you wish and have a good shot of getting accepted.</p>