How can I improve my application/ What is lacking? (Ivy League)

Applying to College
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Academics:
SAT - 1550 ( 780 770) 7 6 7 Essay
Subjects Tests - 790 - Bio E 800- Math 800-Physics
GPA - 10.0/10.0 throughout high school
IELTS - 8.5/9
CBSE (Indian System of Education)
Rank: 3/150
English and French Olympiad Gold Medalist
Indian student staying in the Middle East (Oman)
No financial Aid Required
Intended Major: Economics (CAS)
Subjects: Physics , Chemistry, Math, Economics, English

Extracurriculars:
Community Service:
Founder of an Organization called Kindness Inspires Change Initiative - Set up , fundraised and managing Music Education for Underprivileged Girls in Haryana , India as a means of empowerment
Compiled and distributed a bilingual Workbook for underprivileged students in slums and raised funds for this - distributed in over 50 schools in India
Ran 10 km to raise funds for PETA for the vaccination of 200 strays - Now running the 21km
Organized kindness days in the neighborhood, kindness book readings, Kindness to laborers(poor Asian Migrants mostly) and Kindness Towards Animals Campaigns
It has a popular facebook page with 15000 likes

Music:
Grade 8 in Piano form Trinity College London , Grade 8 in Electronic Keyboard , Grade 5 in Music Theory and Grade 5 in Violin from ABRSM. Performed in school and used music to fundraise for my charity projects. Inspiration to start Music Transforms( Music Education for Underprivileged Girls in Haryana)

Leadership:
Elected Head Boy of my School
Member of the Student Council for 5 consecutive years
Participated very actively in all school events

Model UN:
Secretary General (President) of my school’s Model UN Club and organized a 300 Member inter-school MUN conference that embodies the UN recommended UN4MUN format which I received special training in at New York. This was the first UN4MUN conference in the Middle East
Chaired a Committee at WIMUN 2017 New York - first in the middle east to get this opportunity - only 6 selected from across the world
Won awards at several International and Regional Conferences

Economics:
Did a research project on Comparative Economic development of India and China under my economics teacher
Interned at the leading Finance Company in the Sultanate and did 2 extensive research projects under them
Founder of the Eco Club in school
Have done online courses with A grades in Economics
Economics Debate Champion

Neurolinguistic Programming:
It is a psychology based field that studies human behavior and how to enable oneself and others to utilize their maximum potential. Have over 300 hours of training and Master certification in this. Also am a Certified Life Coach.

Golf:
Have won several local and regional and club tournaments

Teacher Recommendations:
Economics Teacher: Excellent (9/10)
English Teacher - (9/10)

Essays:
Wrote how my mother’s abysmal taste in wallpaper enabled me to find my own individuality. Well-written (8/10)

Where I am applying: HYPS, Columbia , MIT, Penn

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I don’t really think there is anything lacking in your app, the only reason you would be rejected is for the simple reason that they cannot accept everyone. you definitely have a shot though! especially if you applied to one of the schools listed early!

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Hi , where do you study? Are you a fellow vegetarian/vegan ? Sorry :slight_smile: I had to ask since your username is vegucated

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My credentials are that I once stayed in a Holiday Inn Express.

Assuming you are a rising Sr. there is not a lot you can do to your stats/ECs at this point. Actual adcoms will know better but I don’t think marginal increasess in your SAT scores would warrant you retaking unless you really wanted to. Obviously, you could inch up a few points in your main SAT if you had a good sitting, but I doubt it increases your chances in any signficant way.

I think the thing that would be most worth your time and energy at this point (assuming you’ve done all the regular “can I/we afford this school” calculations and have put together a realistic “saftey” plan, just in case.) is to do a deep dive on each school and really dig in to what you think you could contribute to each campus/school.

One of the pitfalls I’ve seen a number of HYPS/Ivies kids fall into is not really understanding how New Haven is going to be different than West Philly is different than Palo Alto.

Each of these schools is used to seeing applications from students with high statistics and one of their goals is to “yield protect” meaning they don’t want to offer every qualified kid a slot if they get the feeling that student really wants to be at Princeton not Harvard or Stanford not Columbia.

So I would spend some time on the various schools websites, mission statements, Penn’s Dean of Admission, Dean Furda has a blog on admissions that is worth reading. One of the memorable moments in Columbia’s presentation was always the suggestion not to put in your Columbia essay that you have always longed to live in New Haven…

It’s a good idea to familiaize yourself with the unique quirks of the schools (Columbia’s “core” curriculum, Penn likes to extol its interdisciplinary opportunities, etc…) Stanford has something like 5 unique essays (a couple are small) and they can take more time than some kids allocate to the process. In the unique essays you get to make your case for how you will contribute to and what you will gain from the institution. That is the place you can probably best help your chances at this point.

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@Hesienbergbitch

The one other thing I forgot to mention is you could consider selecting one of the schools for an Early application.
The schools all have different restrictions.
Penn and Columbia are “Early Decisions” schools. If you apply to one of them early and get accepted you have commited to going there (as long as the financial aid package is doable, not sure how that works if you are not a US person) Columbia has the added “out” that you can apply to your state school (which is likely not applicable to you give your residence, but you should check the specifics.) Both Penn (and I believe Columbia) take a higher % (20 or higher) of ED applicants than RD applicants, but you would have to commit to that school.
H, Y, P have REA (Restrictive Early Action). You can only apply to one Early, but aren’t required to attend if accepted so you can see if you get in other schools RD. Their EA rates range from 15 - 17% reportedly.
Stanford is also REA. (you can apply to publics.)
One warning, while it’s clear that chances at Penn or Columbia are increased by early applications, there is debate on how much it helps at HYSP. For Stanford, in particular, some people warn you that the early pool is actually usually made of higher stat students than the RD pool. I have no idea if that is true.

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@CaliDad2020 Thank you so much. I really appreciate this

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There’s a lot of good stuff here, but it can get lost in the morass of “stuff.” Remember you only have 5 Honors and up to 10 ECs (which some say is too many) to catch the attention of ADCOMS and separate yourself from the pack. As an Indian, you are in the ORM group, so the bar is higher, also international, no? I rarely recommend a college consultant but you have a lot of good stuff, but a lot of stuff in general and need to showcase certain things only as a ORM. I would recommend your getting help if you can to better your odds. Look for some hooks also, see what you come up with. Good Luck. With the right help of an experienced person, you could get into your ivy, but without it, you could end up on the cutting room floor. Remember, you only get once chance to put the ball in the basket.

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Thanks a lot!

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And be sure to use a neutral screen name in any email correspondence!

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You’re an excellent applicant but Asians are what’s called over-represented minority, but you’re international which could make up for that somewhat. @CaliDad2020 gave very good advice on applying ED to one of the five ivies that offers it, you’ll have a much better chance. In addition, broaden your choices to other schools that are strong in economics - Chicago, MIT, Northwestern, Michigan, to name a few.