indian student looking for admission in ivy league

<p>I am indian student studying in grade XII - my SAT I scores - 2000 maths - 720 , Critical reading - 690 , wring 590 .I shall take SAT II on DEC 6 - am ranked in top 5 students of my school.till grade VIII ,I have played table tennis at national level for four consecutive years-I have been the state champion once-also played for the state team which won the bronze medal in nationals.played basketball and football at district level.In grade IX and X was the school and city topper in national science olymiad and had and All India (national ) rank of 255.I have been attending course of ART of LIVING and Chinmay Mission youth programme;
what are my chances for getting in IVY league cooleges.Both my parets are doctors in private practice-i am looking for a merit base scholarship - financial aid is welcome but not compulsory.</p>

<p>Ivy league schools do not offer merit scholarships.</p>

<p>It's always difficult to predict, but it sounds based on the info you provided that ivy league schools would be a reach for you. I think your SAT scores on the verbal and writing sections are detrimental given that you are from an English-speaking country. I don't think that exceptional SAT scores are required for admission to top schools, but SAT scores under 700 when there is no explanation don't look good. Your ECs sound good, but you should be careful to write an application that tells a story about who you are and what your goals are instead of just listing them. I am not saying all of this to discourage you from applying since no one can predict whether you'll get in or not, but if you're interested in coming to college in the US it would be wise to add several reasonable picks and safeties. Also as mentioned above ivies don't offer merit based scholarships. Less selective schools might but even then you really have to distinguish yourself.</p>

<p>in case i donot ask for scholarship,what are my chances.what are other safe options where i might get a scholarship.i agree i could have done better in my sat I- in fact it was my fisrt attempt . should i repeat SAT I in Jan. to improve my score? willl they consider it for my apllication ?</p>

<p>This will not happen for you. Less than 1% of American high school students get into the Ivy League, and half do so because they have something the colleges want, such as their parents are active alumni of the university, or they are regional-level football players, or they are underrepresented minorities. Your chances are much better at less selective U.S. schools or at international universities. With two doctors as parents, you may not get any scholarship money. Only a few top schools will accept a January score. Why don't you try the Scottish universities or McGill, U Toronto, UBC or Queens in Canada. They are cheaper than many top American colleges, and in the case of Canada, you can stay three years after you graduate for training.</p>

<p>canada and scottish university donot consider SAT scores and possibly do it on your board percentages.what are the universities in US where I should apply in case I don't ask for a scholarship. I am interested in computers or applied physiscs . How is Ohio state university , columbus - they offer major major in engineering physics.Since i have played Table tennis at national level, is there any university which considers sports and gives scholarship on that basis?</p>

<p>if i concentrate on engineering colleges and apply for univ like illinois or georgia technical universisty , Univ. of michigan or california institue of technology -san diego what are my chances ?</p>

<p>Many do recruit for sports, but tsble tennis is not a competitive sport at US schools. If you don't need aid you can get into 95% of US colleges. You may like to order a college guide book from Amazon to read up on schools and their average scores.</p>

<p>thanks for your encouraging words - if i don't ask for scholarship are ivy league colleges within my reach - i have gone through the sat averages of different univ at college board but i was wondering whether they also apply for international students . i was planning to apply for coronell and univ of penn . as an international student which of these univ.in ivy league do i stand a chance ? should i send my appl.to princeton or yale at all ?</p>

<p>Yes, those SAT scores ranges do apply to international students as well. Often, the international pool is more competitive (thus higher scores than the American pool) due to universities capping the number of international students they would admit/enroll.</p>

<p>Even when you don't need money you need to have the high scores and grades ivies require. With your current SAT scores any ivy would be unlikely to accept you because the pool applying from India is very large and very competitive. Look around at the Indian students you know, of every 100 only about 4 would get into an ivy school. You will need to raise your scores about 200 points to be competitive.</p>

<p>There are many schools, the lesser known ones, that don't get many applicants from india and would love to have you. you should look at schools where your scores fall at least at the median.</p>

<p>@frankchn,
Do you know if Stanford accepts Jan SAT scores?</p>

<p>Check with the websites, mail the staff.
I checked lots of top 20 schools, they do accept jan scores, if they get sent immediately</p>

<p>I think you'll stand a better chance at the more competitive schools if you don't request finaid. I know that some schools claim need-blind admission for internationals, but I'm not sure that it's true, and in any case most schools are not need-blind. The great things about not needing finaid is that it really opens up your options. As you mentioned, you can apply to state schools which are less selective and never offer finaid to internationals. I think the ones you mentioned are great options fo you. You can also apply to less competitive privates including CMU and Purdue. I wouldn't completely discount ivies. In particular, if you're interested in engineering, you could apply to the engineering schools of Cornell, Penn and Columbia which are typically less selective than their College counterparts and will pay less attention to the verbal and writing sections on your SAT. There are a lot of great schools you could apply to, so I don't know what to recommend. Don't despair, I think you have a lot of good things going for you, all I'm saying is that Harvard or Princeton would be difficult, but that wouldn't be the end of the world. If you can afford to apply to all the ivies, and if their applications won't need too much extra work, why not apply? Of course you should be realistic about your options and not do this at the expense of filling out good applications to more realistic colleges.</p>

<p>i must first thank you all for your suggestions and inputs. I do intend to repeat my SAT I in Jan. and hope to improve my score- I actually gave my SAT I with practically very little preperation.How important are SAT II scores ? Do we have seperate application forms for engineering colleges of cornell and penn ?
My final short list is
cornell ; Penn ; columbia ; Georgia Tech ; Univ. of Michigan ; California Institute of Technology - San Diego ; Purdue ; Ohio State - Columbus -
and finally Princeton with the hope that i improve my SAT I score - any suggestions ?
One last question - if i write yes for merit based scholarship in my appl. form is it a disqualification ? will they stiil consider my form in the pool for no finaid ?</p>

<p>dude theres no california institute of technology - san diego
theres caltech (california institute of technology) in pasadena, and university of california san diego in San diego.</p>

<p>i was looking at the admission form of georgia institute of technology - they have mentioned about verification of school transcript from an agencey identified by them,i visited the site of this agency on net but i am not sure of the process-has anybody got an idea about the same? how many international students actually qualify for this institute and looking at my CV should i apply for Gerorgia tech ?</p>

<p>If you feel that you are in the top 10,000 students in India, then I think that you have a chance at some of these schools, but not Penn, Columbia, CIT or Princeton. You need to give us more information. Can you family afford $200,000 for your college education or must you get financial aid?</p>

<p>I think i should easily be able to make it to top 10.000 of my country-The National Science Olympiad and National Science Talent Search examination that i gave in Grade IX and X , my All India rank was between 250- 300(percentile rank of 98%) the finances that you are talking may be arranged by my parents with some effort but i wonder whether it is worth spending to that tune at the undergraduate level !some form of financial aid would be welcome</p>

<p>dear friends ,
i am in soup !.i could take only maths I and Maths II in dec. though i had planned to take physics also but with my mid- terms falling in same dates i decided to skip physics.i plan to take physics - sat II in january - which univ. will accept that ? I was keen to apply for applied physics in cornell but will they accept my January SAT II score ?</p>