Bengaluru!
@roy12345 You have a great app! You are bound to get accepted to a few of the ivies if your essays are as good as you say they are.
Did you apply early anywhere?
No, didn’t apply early anywhere.
@roy12345 the karting thing looks interesting and unique. Be sure to mention it in your app. Which colleges are you applying to?
Yeah, ikr? It’s sad how karting isn’t as common as the other sports in India. Anyways, works better for me! And I’m applying to MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, UC Berkley, UT Austin and Georgia Tech.
@roy12345 thats a brilliant application…and you are bound to get accepted at some of the top colleges
@roy12345 Will you be continuing karting over there?
Did you submit your applications or are still in the process of submitting them?
I’ve submitted all my applications. I definitely want to continue karting. But, it isn’t exactly a part of any college’s on-campus sport/activity. So, it totally depends on the location of my college and nearby circuits, if any. And I’ll also have to see if, being an international student, I’ll be issued a racing licence by the respective authorities. It’s all really messed up. 
@roy12345 Were you at HMUN India 2014?
And BTW, your application is awesome. I wish you all the best!
31-12-2014, I am from India and currently in class studying in class 12th and will be completing my class 12th by end of April 2015. I really really really want to go to the top Universities of US, namely, MIT, Harvard, Caltech and Princeton. But now I feel that I have done a really blunder mistake. I will be taking my SAT exam for the first time on 24th January 2014, and I have NOT applied to any of the universities yet(because the deadline is 1st January for appying to Universities). But my grades are really very good(90-100),I am always in the top 5 ranks of my class, I have participated in many olympiads, exams, school projects. I have bought the college board book for SAT and have practised it fairly well. And from my judgement of my own performance I think that I would be able to perform really well on test and since my parents have already enrolled me in coaching programs for IIT I am sure that I can easily score excellent scores in SAT Subject test. But my problem is that somehow I have missed the opportunity to apply to universities. I am really disturbed and confused right now,and because of my such good performance in school and other fields my parents are telling me to concentrate on exams like IIT. But it is my dream to get into those universities. I just love Physics and I want to do research in Particle Physics and Quantum Field Theory. Please help me. I have many questions in my mind:
1)Should I take a Gap Year, because now feel that’s the only choice I’m left with? I have read on web that a Gap Year is only applicable to US students, Is It TRUE? Will it affect my application in any way? Should I enrol myself in any Gap Year Program, because I have read on web that only a really good Gap Year Program would ensure my application being accepted when I would apply to university the next time? What can I do in my Gap Year to improve my application and performance in test, and how should I do it?
2)How can apply I for spring season in next year? Would it be beneficial in any way? Should I prefer taking a FULL GAP YEAR instead of applying to college in mid-way for spring? Would applying for spring semester result in any kind of loss to some of the courses which I would not be able to take and the fall semester students can take? Does this affect in my job placements or my masters degree program?
3)If I want to improve my performance in co-curricular activities, then how can I do it, because I’m on verge of completing my class 12th and nowadays there are almost no activities going on in school because everybody is busy and indulged in preparing for their board and engineering exams? How can I apply for internships? Would it affect my application significantly in any way?
4)From where can I get the Information about financial aid to international students, student loans, scholarships? Is better to take student loan from US or from India, keepin in mind the HIGH interest rates of Indian Banks comapred to those of US? Does taking loans from US require any special forms to be filled or any special needs are to be met, should I be having any representative in US who is a permanent resident in US(because in that case I have one of my cousin brother who is living there)? What all legal papers are needed to be filled to apply for finnacial aid? Are there any exams available for scholarships? How can I take them? Where can I get more information about them?
5)At last after doing all this would it ensure my application being accepted in my dream Universities? How can I contact counsellors form this site?
Thank You.
@thekoolkid @peepingtom @GA2012MOM @rhandco @mumbai98 @roy12345 @dost97 @DarkEclipse @TheRedBangle The OP tell all Indian students not to apply to Cornell and Stanford as they would be wasting time as 17 or 18 or whatever number of students have been accepted in Early Action. While, if you go through his most recent threads or replies, you’ll find him asking for tips with his Cornell supplement. What do you make of it? Is the OP really so stupid that he believes that by making 5 or 6 people not apply to these top colleges, he can ensure that he gets accepted. it does not work that way kid. To get into Cornell or Stanford you have to deserve it. OP has sent me numerous PMs advising me not to apply to Cornell, Stanford and so on, as I believe he has done to many applicants. He even tried to force me to show him his essay. And when it did not work, then he abused me on one of my threads, which was subsequently edited by a moderator.
This I write in interest of all applicants, don’t be fooled by any one on this page. There are many jealous kids like @thekoolkid , who would try to harm your application. Don’t let them affect you and give your best shot. All the best to all my fellow Indians.
Thanks for the info @michaelite
However, I have no interest in those two anyway. But OP: shame on you.
@michaelite I was suspicious of the OP’s action. I wanted to let everybody know that no such system such as the one the OP describes works at any of the colleges. If you want to find out if you really are a viable candidate at those top colleges, you have to apply.
Anyhow, I am class of 2020 and am not applying this year. I just wanted to make everybody clear about how things actually work in the post above.
Best of luck to you!
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Composite Score-2050 Math-750 Critical Reading-650 Writing-650 (Writing again soon and expecting a better score)
ACT (breakdown): Not written yet but planning to
SAT II: Math-800 Chemistry-800 Physics-800
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% of my class
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
grades in 9th - 9.4
grades in 10th - 9.8
grades in 11th - 86% (was concentrating on extracurriculars so my percentage dropped)
grades in 12th - 95%
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Music : Successfully completed all 8 grades of Keyboard with a distinction. I have participated in many competitions winning many accolades and also given many stage performances in school and outside. I also reproduce and compose music. I also have a channel on youtube. I have also been part of my school’s Brass Band for 4 years, me being the lead Saxophone player.
Computer and Technology : I have successfully completed courses on web development (PHP and MySQL), web designing(Adobe Dreamweaver, HTML, CSS), Adobe Flash, Adobe Photoshop and Animation (3ds Max) (All certified by the World Multimedia Association). I also learn several programming languages (Java, Javascript, C, C++) myself with books and the internet. I also edit video and music, having participated in several movie making competitions. I have also completed the course of learning the Python programming language from school which is part of the CBSE syllabus. I officially develop Android apps and have developed 5 so far.
Sports : I had learnt Karate till the black belt and won several accolades securing the 3rd position in a national level for a Karate competition. I am also a very ardent basketball player and often play cricket, squash and football too.
Puzzles : Speedcubing is also a very ardent hobby of mine. I can currently solve the 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 and the 5x5 Rubik’s Cubes. I have participated in several national competitions in Dubai and have come among the top 20. I often play chess too.
Art and Dance : Have participated in several art and dance competitions in senior school and have acquired certificates.
Other : I have participated in the F1 in Schools competition and have gone till the national level. (i have a certificate for that too)
Job/Work Experience: Web development, app development and video and audio editing.
Volunteer/Community service: None yet
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Not written yet
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Applied for Financial Aid?: Planning to
Intended Major:Computer Science
State :
Country:Indian living in Dubai
I am planning to apply to Stanford, MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Caltech and Purdue.
@Deebthik dude not written?..the deadlines are gone…you can only apply to Purdue now
@michaelite I am still in 11th. I have a year to apply. What do you think my chances are ?
The percentage which I put for 12th is what I am aiming for.
@Deebthik Ok…If you can raise your SAT superscore to near 2200, then you will be a really solid applicant. But the fact that you’ll apply for aid will hamper your chances slightly, but I would be shocked if you don’t get into a top schools…Your EC’s are awesome…just raise that SAT to 2200 or near about and you will have a really good shot.
@michaelite And do you think my GPA is enough cause I often worry about it?
@Deebthik your 9th and 10th grades are fine. I mean its not like they really weigh a 10 much higher than a 9.6, so if, if you had straight A’s in Maths, science and computers, you shouldn’t worry. I have a similar problem, I managed A1 in all in maths, science and computers, and a rotten B2 in my mother tongue, Hindi. So, I ended up with a 9.2. But many people have told me not to worry about it as it isn’t relevant to my subject of choice, and I did excellent in my 11th and 12th anyway. So, only if you have bad grades in Maths, Science or Computers, you need to be worried, otherwise it all okay.