I am currently in grade 9 in India, and wanna peruse C.S at Stanford or MIT
I think I have some time left please tell what can I do to make my application stand out
I have poor gpa and that will be poor as I Got 2 IOI medals . Also I am sure that I would manage to get a perfect SAT score in later years so can I get into Stanford or MIT with low gpa but Olympiads and SAT on my favour … by low gpa I mean 90% as I am from India following CBSE pattern
90% on an Indian scale is not a “poor gpa”. Don’t try to convert percentages straight to an American GPA. Your 90% is close to a high A+ here.
Winning international competitions are definitely a way to stand out.
You will need very high scores on the SAT and high TOEFL scores to be competitive.
Highly selective schools also want to see leadership.
Please know though that no matter how perfect you get your application, the odds of admission are still very, very low. It’s extremely difficult for all students, but even more so for international students.
Financial aid is also very limited for international students at Stanford. MIT does give need based aid to international students but there aren’t many schools in the US that do so. If your family cannot afford to be full pay, you need a different strategy and looking at much less selective colleges.
Spend time researching and understanding what makes each school’s program unique and why it’s a good match for you. It’s not enough to say you want to apply to the top CS program.
All that said, you are just starting your HS experience! Work hard, do your best, and do the activities that interest you most. When the time comes, be sure to have a variety of schools on your list with various acceptance rates, and back ups in your home country.
We can’t link to it here, but go onto the MIT admissions website and look for the blog titled “applying sideways”. This is the approach needed for all of the top schools, and it will serve you well whether you end up at one of these universities or elsewhere.
And understand that you can do everything “right” and it still might not work out for one of these schools. The odds are very very low.
Sir, Please can you convert an Indian 90 percent into American GPA that Stanford or MIT uses, I really wanted to ask just one thing is GPA important when I am really passionate about C.S as I got 2 medals a bronze and silver respectively at IOI. Also I am pretty sure I can get a perfect SAT score I am now in 9th grade and ready to rub my asses. Just tell me is 90 percent considerable for MIT or Stanford As here in India there is a growing craze for small children reading IIT foundation books but I am not, so just wanna confirm is my path right and can I make to Stanford this way.
https://www.schoolapply.co.in/blog/posts/2017/april/gpa-blog/
GPA is an important factor. Every part of your application will need to be near perfect for these schools and the odds are you still wont be accepted.
You can get a great CS education at any number of schools.
You will also need to really work on your english if you want to study in the US.
Hello Nextjeffbezos, When you wrote “rub my asses” I think you meant to say “Bust my butt”. The literal translation is close but not close enough.
IOI medals-congratulations!!! As a 9th grader? Wow!
You’ve mentioned only 2 schools that interest you. Your credentials may be strong enough that you are admitted to one of the two. But are those the only 2 you are interested in? IF admitted, MIT now meets 100% of need for both international and US applicants but I don’t think Stanford makes that promise-although it might if they want you badly enough. Do you need aid are can you attend without it? Have you considered other outstanding CS schools like Carnegie Mellon or Georgia Tech? University of California-Berkley,
I also often suggest students read the blog mentioned above: https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways/
Sounds like you are well on your way. The MIT site notes that students are evaluated within the context of their world (not to be mistaken with “school”). Different countries put different emphasis on EC’s. In the US, involvement in ECs often provides some hints about how the student interfaces with ideas, intellectual endeavors, etc. But that isn’t true in all countries. Your involvement and success in IOI, rather than having a string of EC’s, is very informative about students from your country. I add this because students from other countries are sometimes discouraged from applying to top US schools without being able to list a bunch of ECs. They shouldn’t be. Even in the US, a long list of ECs isn’t what top colleges are looking for. But that is even more true for students from countries that don’t readily offer them. Still, consider the other top US colleges too. {I won’t suggest that you identify “safeties” in the US unless coming to the US is an overriding desire for you. If not, coming to the US for “safeties” wouldn’t make much sense.
Stanford and MIT (and every other top school) will not convert your GPA; they will look at your Indian GPA. They ahve more than enough Indian applicants that they are very familiar with the Indian educational system.
Oh. I thought maybe “pet/prod my donkeys” might be some kind of expression.
@Nextjeffbezos (awesome screen name!) Googling “india gpa calculator” brought up this page: https://gpacalculator.net/grade-conversion/india/
That looks right to me.
Guys whenever I post anything people tell me about the mistakes and that is true , You have seen me texting badly think how bad my speaking skills could be ? Also I have to prepare for TOFEL So Guide me how I can improve my english or learn new accent ? ?
Your English skills seem good. It’s hard to learn the meaning of various expressions in another language because there is no way for you to know that the literal translation isn’t correct. But that isn’t apt to happen often.
@Nextjeffbezos You gave me a “Helpful” for my joke, thanks! Idiomatic expressions are the hardest part of a language to master, so it’s probably best to avoid them unless you are very sure you are using them correctly. The same goes for most kinds of informal speech. Leave that for the native speakers. As for improving your English and/or accent, maybe consider finding “the next MacKenzie Bezos” and hook-up with her. (Joking, but also serious.) I became conversational in Spanish without taking any classes mostly from having two Mexican girlfriends and watching Spanish-language TV shows. If MacKenzie is hard to find, this plan may have to wait until after your TOEFL, sorry about that. 
@Nextjeffbezos, Hi! I’m an applicant from India to unis in the US for the class of 2023 (which means I have submitted my apps and will start college this Aug-Sept)
90% CBSE in 9th grade is not bad at all! Make sure you maintain an A1 grade throughout 10th grade and during 10th boards. After that, whether you do CBSE, IB, your state board (which state are you from, btw?) or anything else, make sure to maintain high grades.
As for SAT, the English section is not a walk in the park for most Indian students, and judging by your previous posts, it probably won’t be for you either. Check out Khan academy prep and start working on it now… plan to take it once after 9th and then again in the long vacation after 10th boards. There is a date in May.
As for improving your English, don’t stress about the accent. You are an international student and no one will expect you to speak with an American accent - it will, in fact, come off as fake if you try. But you will definitely need to work on grammar - try reading as many English books as possible as I’m not particularly enamored by the textbooks we have for cbse. Also, watch different types of shows and movies - it’ll help to both understand the American accent and develop a wider vocabulary. Don’t hesitate to go through English grammar - you WILL need it to be successful at US unis.
Lastly, and here’s the important part - admission to both MIT and Stanford is immensely selective. I must ask you, are you one of those people who is set on doing undergrad in the US, or someone who is only going to come to the US if accepted to Stanford or MIT? If the latter, you need to assume you will be rejected and think of your options in India, while still trying your hardest for the MIT/Stanford apps. Yes, that means studying for the JEE, CET, etc. However, you’re only in ninth grade, so there is a whole lot of time for all of this. Personally I didn’t even bother till after 10th grade.
If, however, you are set on doing undergrad in the US (and assuming your parents are ok with it and willing to be upfront with you about finances), then you will have to apply to far more than just MIT and Stanford. You’ll have to read up a whole lot on the process, realize there’s a lot more to US undergrad than just ‘MIT and Stanford’, and create a list of safety-match-reach colleges.
All that being said, I personally think it’s a little early for this. Right now if I were you I’d focus on working hard in school, keeping up your grades/CGPA/%, and actively participating in ECs that interest you. After your 10th grade is over, come back to College Confidential and ask this question again. You may find it much easier to think about and understand all of this.
Whatever you decide and wherever life ultimately takes you, all the best!
@jmtabb I would like to PM you but I’m actually not sure how to do that. I have a question for you as regards another one of your posts.
Found a official post just read it
https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways/
@DevotedSteppie - you need 15 posts in order to PM someone. I’ll send you a message to se if you can reply - not sure if that will work, if you don’t see it, keep contributing and PM me once you have reached “junior member status”.