Try the liberal arts colleges.
Your ECs are impressive but everything else about your application is mediocore. Consider applying to Umich. Its one of the most prestigious engineering schools in the country and might accept you.
University of Washington. Get regular admittance, make a perfect record for two years and get into CS/CE.
@outlooker May I know what part of my profile is mediocre? So I’ll do my best to improve them.
Dont go too harsh on him guys, ik him personally and i think he ll make it, he has a lot of passion for computer science and i see his interest everyday. 
Your SAT 1 score is on the low side of acceptable. However, I think your EC’s make you fairly competitive. Teaching yourself code is something you should really highlight in your application. It shows initiative and passion for the subject - which is an admissions officers dream. Add sports in there and you are fairly diverse. If I split hairs I would say that your EC’s lack positions of leadership. If I was you I would try and get a position in school - even if it something trivial like house captain.
Of course HYPSM are reaches for anyone, but if you have the language skills to write a stunning essay, then you have an excellent chance. Although financial aid for an international applicant cuts these down
Just from reading this I can see you have a passion for computer sciences. Have you considered applying to Oxford or Cambridge in the UK? These two universities literally could not care less about your EC’s and only want smart people who love their subjects. I feel you would be a good match. I think you are a more ideal candidate for Cambridge computing than MIT or Stanford - and plus they don’t want SATs (which are the weak point of your profile.)
I cannot stress to you enough how good of a fit you are for Oxford or Cambridge - apply, and I can guarantee that you get into the final round of selection - at least. Please, please apply to them.
Chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/17985143#Comment_17985143
For a top CS program EVERYBODY (literally everybody) has done this. There is absolutely nothing unique that will make his application stand out. He seems to be fixated on the possibility that he can “do something” or “fix something” that will give him a good chance of admission.
Let’s put it this way. The application pool to Stanford consists of generally well-qualified applicants and only about 5% or so of them get admitted.
To up his chances to 10% (which, keep in mind is still a pretty much guaranteed rejection) he would need to double his chances above the typical applicant (and by “typical applicant” I don’t mean the typical US HS student, I mean the typical applicant who thinks they have a reasonable shot at Stanford – these are the top of the heap students) he would need to present a compelling case as to why he is just that much better than the vast majority of the applicants – that case is just simply not there.
@soze So you’re saying there is nothing I can do to increase my chances?
@Deebthik Understand this, if you have a near 2300, then no matter what College Confidential members say, you have a decent shot. After a point, Stanford is like a lottery. Among the students who apply, rough 20-30% are not competitive, they apply just for the heck of it ( hell its Stanford)…Among the remaining 70-80%, practically everyone has a decent chance ( except for the really amazing applications, who are perhaps 20-30 per year) . So, once you make it to those 70-80% of 'competitive applicants, you might just get through and the only thing you’re lacking is a good SAT 1 score, in my opinion.
But, yes on the whole chances are low. Apply to some smaller LAC’s . I would personally recommend Swarthmore and Harvey Mudd for CS.
Understand, that even while you are a competitive applicant, there is always a chance (albiet a small one in your case), that you might be rejected at all your dream schools. So, it makes real sense to apply to the LAC’s and some safeties.
IMO you should most probably get into UC Berkeley and you will certainly get into Purdue (unless you write how much you hate Purdue in your essay). But, can you afford UC Berkeley and Purdue considering the lack of Financial Aid? About the others, you can never be sure.
I won’t take financial aid if it reduces my chances of getting admission. And yes I can afford them. Thanks for clear explanation Do you think taking AP exams will help?
@Deebthik I have no idea…But from what I can make out it should…But then again, I am not really well informed about that.
These are the ONLY US schools that are need-blind for international applicants:
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Dartmouth
MIT
Amherst
So, yes not applying for financial aid might improve your chances for Stanford, but given the HUGE amount of very highly qualified international applicants (who are full-pay) they receive, any help it gives you will be marginal at best.
Given you are an unhooked applicant your chances will never be more than about 10% or so regardless of anything you may or may not do to improve them. Should you apply? Probably. Should you have other plans as well? Most certainly as in all likelihood you (along with most qualified applicants) will not be admitted.
@soze Ok thanks. Do you think I should take AP exams (planning to take CS and Math only) ?
@paranoidandroid6 lol wut? those are perfect scores. and @Deebthik you will def. have to get 2350+ to be even considered, bc you are an int’l applicant. it is a disadvantage. 2050 is too low
@vs1997 Ok got it. I will do my best to bring it up to 2350. Any other tips?
@Deebthik
Your SAT score is on low side, but that doesn’t mean you have no chance.
I know a guy who got into UC Berkeley, MIT and Columbia with a 2120. His school grades were nothing compared to yours, even your SAT 2 is better than his.
Apply to a few safeties (like purdue).
If you raise your SAT score, I’m sure you’ll get into a top college.
Its not like because you don’t have 2250+ you don’t stand a chance at an ivy.
Also, consider applying to UMich, Georgia Tech, UIUC and UT Austin.
Good luck !
Deebthik, remember that a lot of posters here are just high school students who haven’t gone throug the process themselves and really have no idea what goes on.
The # question for ALL internationals is “Do you need financial aid? What’s your budget?”
Please note the question is not “do you want financial aid” but rather: can your parents pay $45,000 to $65,000 a year without going into debt? If the answer is yes, then admission to most top 25 universities and LACs are as competitive as for domestic applicants (except at the 6 schools listed above). If the answer is no, then it is much, much more difficult.
Add to this the fact there is a distinct tendency for College Confidential posters to focus on test scores because they look objective (strictly speaking, they correlate best with family income and whether the high school is high or low performing, ie., external factors - but while adcoms frown on kids taking a test more than 3-4 times, you have kids here who candidly admit to taking the test 5 or more times to get from 2250 to 2300, not realizing what it means to an adcom) and perhaps because they are something that seems to be amenable to a quick fix or be in the test taker’s control. Expect your scores, with hard work, to get to 2100-2200, and whatever score you get then will be fine.
Diversify your SAT Subjects; there will be, literally,THOUSANDS of Indian applicants with 800 in two sciences. Are you able to do that in Italian, in World History, in English Literature? Yes, it’s MUCH harder, and you’ll see why fewer Indian applicants will have good scores in these and thus why those who do will stand out a bit more - two 700s in Humanities subjects will help you more than one more 800 in a science.
You are a shoo-in for Purdue, for instance - but no financial aid in all likelihood. If you have the money, why don’t you apply to Penn State as soon as the app goes live (Sept 1)? Its alumni network is stronger than Purdue’s (even if it’s not the case in India), its academics are similar, and it’s closer to interesting cities you may want to visit, such as Washington DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, or New York City. You’d be admitted quickly and you’d have a strong safety -you could of course apply to their excellent Honors College (where the only factors are course rigor, essays, and recommendations - not test scores, even if admitted students tend to have very high scores too.) UMass Amherst is well-known for CS and you could apply (and get into) the Commonwealth Honors College.
Look into Olin, URochester, RIT, RPI, UCincinnati (for the co-op), Cal Poly SLO, Rose Hulman, Union, Clarkson. But for CS, beside Swarthmore (already cited, and as hard to get into as most schools on your list), Dickinson has good CS and would be pretty safe if you’re full pay, and a match if you need FA.
If some financial aid might help your parents, check out University of Alabama Engineering (guaranteed full tuition scholarship if you get to 2100, which you will, + $2,500 stipend).
Strictly speaking all top schools will want at least 2100 and for the schools you’re considering, you’d be better off with with a higher score. ANY higher score - universities do not distinguish based on 2250 vs. 2300, for instance. If your score places you in th top 2% (2100) and, better, the top 1%, they’re satisfied you can do the work. They move on to the next part: will you be a good, interesting addition to their campus? What do you bring, in what will you participate, do they want you around, will you fit in, how well have you researched the school?
In short, your essays should be read by someone who has never met you and they should think “I want that kid here” because you’re warm and unique, neither pretentious nor common-sounding.
And your ECs should show you’re not a run-off-the-mill applicant.
Now, I look at everything you listed and I think that it’s very “diluted”.
For instance, “I like to play football and cricket” is good enough for Eastern Central University, but could matter less to the universities you’re talking about, unless you coach a team of 5-6 year olds or include that to round out your profile, not as an EC. There are only 6 lines and limited allowed characters.
When you say you reached level 8 for keyboard: what does that mean? How many views does your You tube channel get?
Describe the movie making competitions - any chance you could win something there? That in any case would make for a terrific essay (creativity, team spirit, challenges…)
How popular are your Android apps? (Developing one will be par-for-the-course for CS applicants, but developing a successful one: NOW THAT is interesting).
Highlight Karate, black belt, 3rd place national competition.
F1, national level: what do you do exactly (race, build, fix?), and how have you placed so far?
Speedcubbing is a great EC, dont forget to list your national awards on your application. Top 20 nationally?
“I play chess too” tells us nothing: do you play chess competitively? If not, include it with cricket and football, under “in my unscheduled downtime, I love to play with others, whether chess or football, and especially cricket”
Stanford, Harvard, CalTech, MIT are all “lottery” schools. You apply and keep your fingers crossed.
UCB is a match if you can bring those scores up, as long as you’re full pay.
Purdue is a safety.
Right now, you need to find 5 more matches and 2 more safeties. As an international, those are the most important schools for you, since your odds are very high that’s where you’ll be attending. Any school (university or LAC) ranked in the top 25 should be treated as a reach no matter what due to how selective they are.
Yes, but you need to take them in areas outside of Math and CS as well.
The number of applicants from India with Math, Chem, Physics and CS APs (with all scores of 5) is pretty much infinite. To echo the post above, you need to diversify. A 5 in History, Latin and English Literature will make your application stand out while 5’s in Math and CS will do nothing but evoke a big yawn when looking at your application.
@ss124081 Thanks a lot
@MYOS1634 Thanks a lot You cleared a lot of my doubts, so kind of you