<p>First hello everybody
im quite new on these forums but have lurking around for a week</p>
<p>So im a student of Grade IX in Dubai, UAE
First, should I even be worrying about college now or maybe an year or 2 from now??</p>
<p>Now my dream is to get into MIT (stanford or caltech will do too ;D)
I know I can ace the SAT and I am a topper in my grade. So high marks in 9,10,11,12 is for sure. What im worried about is Extracurricular Activites.</p>
<p>I swim well and will participate this year. (I am good but not the best)
I have started learning the keyboard and am picking it up quite fast.
I left Karate early on and have left many many sports in such a manner (Jack of all :) )
I dont do much social service but i think there is still time to improve on that.
I am going to join any other social activities next year. (DEAS)</p>
<p>I know that is not very impressive so can I get into Top 10 colleges??</p>
<p>Secondly, if not then what is better:
1. not so good american college
2. IIT in india (best in india but its a cram house) and after undergrad graduate from top 10
otherwise someone got into iit and transferred (can I do that??)</p>
<p>if i go for IIT in undergrad, i will have to join coaching and forget about any social life, ECs, and even school marks so that i can pass the entrance test.</p>
<p>I really need your advice and thanks everybody :):);)</p>
<p>P.S. Sorry for the wonky grammar just woke up xD</p>
<p>Thanks
Nikhil</p>
<p>come on guys help??</p>
<p>I am an international student too from Europe. To be admitted to the top 10 universities from US you need to have:</p>
<p>-Outstanding academic honors/ extra curricular/ passion. Why? In the world there are hundreds of million of normal students (top 20% in their schools) but top 10 universities from US wants something better than first in the school. I know a lot of people from my country with 4/4 GPA and SAT2200+ and all of top 10 universities rejected them.</p>
<p>-Good SAT and GPA(it is not necessary)</p>
<p>An outstanding academic honor it is better than 10 extra curricular events. </p>
<p>With good SAT and good GPA, and some local county awards you can be admitted to normal universities and colleges from USA </p>
<p>God speed</p>
<p>thanks a lot for replying</p>
<p>Now,
I have the academic excellence (but no Olympiads etc.)
I have the passion (I want to become a CS engineer and im already making simple games)
i dont care about job opportunities etc but i really have the passion to learn the subject</p>
<p>What i lack is in extracurricular activities as i am not very active in a certain sport but for sure from now, i will participate in swimming competition (got reaaaaallly good in these holidays ;D)
I am learning keyboard and will get some qualification but not really advanced composing etc</p>
<p>So
what are my chances??</p>
<p>Academic result are more important than extra curricular activities, so national competition 10 times important than sports. Since you are freshman nobody can not calculate your chances.</p>
<p>but a i said i did not participate in any NATIONAL Olympiad etc mainly due to there not being many here</p>
<p>So
my chances??</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It seems you are in the freshman year. So you have 2 more year to participate in competitions or create a strong extra curricular, because in the senior year you must to finish your admission process. Currently from my point of view you have chances to </p>
<p>University of Denver – Home
University at Albany – SUNY
Georgia Southern University
Portland State University
University of Louisville
University of Idaho
University of Arkansas
Andrews University
Wake Forest University</p>
<p>But who knows without any SAT or GPA information.</p>
<p>ok
thanks for the reply
what does the home and SUNY mean?
I KNOW i can get good in SAT and ACT
its quite simple really
just gave the math section for fun today and got like 80% even though it had 9th 2nd semester and 10th grade stuff.</p>
<p>So if not MIT what about top 25 how about princeton or giorgia tech??</p>
<p>thanks again</p>
<p>80% on a section translates to a 48/60 (for act), which would put you in the mid-twenties. That would not be competitive. To score 30+, you can generally only miss 5-7 questions.</p>
<p>as i said before i studied technically for only 25% of the test (1st Semester 9th Grade)
out of 20 q i got about 15-16 correct</p>
<p>come on reply y’all</p>
<p>What do you want us to say? You’re not anywhere near graduation, and you haven’t taken the SATs yet. No one can tell you with any degree of accuracy your chances at top schools. So instead of writing on this forum, build up your weakest area - the ECs. Decide your passion and join/start a club. Do something meaningful in/with it. Look into academic competitions - they will count more than swimming for admittance to a school like MIT. Establish a close relationship with a few teachers/mentors who then can help with letters of recommendation. Then apply to a variety of schools, keeping in mind that elite schools are a reach for everyone. (In other words, have a back up plan.) But no one here can advise you whether you should be pursuing this route, or IIT. That’s a purely personal decision based on a huge variety of factors.</p>