Personal
International applicant
Location: United Arab Emirates
Nationality: Canadian
Ethnicity/Originally from: Bethlehem, Palestine
Color Blind
I am a triplet
Grades
-School has never sent anyone to the IVY league (or anywhere good) & my school is full IB
(meaning i have been in an ib program since grade 5) 1 of 4 schools in the entire world.
Universities
Harvard | MIT | Stanford | Wharton | Princeton | Yale | Berkeley |
Interests
Computer Science & Physics (Quantum)
34 ACT COMPOSITE
SAT 2: Math || : 790 Physics: 790
FULL IB + Extra 2 APs
-40 IB Subject points
English HL [7]
Information Technology HL [6]
Physics HL[7]
CHEMISTRY SL[7]
Math SL[7]
French [6]
AP Physics C Mechanics
AP Physics C Electricity & Magnetism
Extra-Curriculars
- President & Founder of the Computer-Innovation association where we teach years 6-10 how to program in several different programming languages and assist in various personal projects
- President of the Ted-Ed Club where we research and present idea’s of our own interest much like ted-talks, to improve public speaking skills, and allow students to do their own individual research.
- President & Founder of the Physics Club where we hold regular experiments and teach grades 7-10 fundamentals of physics in fields of interest
- President of Operation Smile Branched between two school
- President & Founder of the Chess club
- Member of international Physics Brawl where problem sets are provided every month, to be answered in that month, with rankings of students worldwide
- Member of the GCS ROBOTICS team
- Member of Model United nations where i had attended an international conference and our school was collectively awarded 1st place
- Playing Ice hockey with the Mens league “Dubai Mighty Camels” as a 17 year old
- Tutoring / teaching programming skills
- Played organized baseball for the past 4 years
- Partaken in equestrian for 4 years
- Member of the KG Reading Club
Awards & Recognition (School/country does not provide opportunities for students to receive many awards)
- Best actor & Best production award
- Best Lawyer at Mock Trial award
- Captaincy ice hockey
- Participated in the Business Plan competition [Finalist]
- 3 MVP Ice hockey awards
- CAPTAINED Robotics team [4th Place]
- Distinction in Chemistry SL
THE REST
- FOUNDER & CEO of tech business “Advenio” & "Numeric” Generating Revenue, receiving investments to develop the company, with all earnings being sent to the Red Crescent so they may be donated for children in Palestine suffering from their displacement.
- Paid internship as an associate in engineering technical Systems at grade A level electrical engineering company “ECHO Electricity” in Abu Dhabi
- Chief Director of the “Feed the Needy” charity where my team and I had collected money to support the children in Palestine suffering throughout their displacement through the use of supplying them with learning tools, such as books, stationery, etc.
- Chief Director and Founder of “Investment Bowl” where ages 6-10 participate in an investment competition to see who can raise the most money (through the use of a software, where the money is virtual and fake)
- Chief Director of “Anything Helps” a campaigning charity run to collect money and award it to children in Palestine so that they may utilize it to help in the construction of schools, or something for the purpose of education
- Captained a robotics team at the Taleem Robotics competition receiving 4th place
- Captained the Dubai Sandstorms, the ice hockey team I played for in the UAE
- Finalist in a Business Plan competition, where students build a business idea, and construct relevant planning through, employee benefits, to production, marketing etc.
- Participated in University of Waterloo UCLED Mathematics competition
- Participated in the international Physics Brawl where problem sets are provided every month, to be answered in that month, with rankings of students worldwide
- Self-Published a Research paper in regards to Developmental AI with in the area of Artificial Neural Network, its approach, method, direct result, etc.
- Written an investigation in regards to the utilization/method of “Big Data” in industry to enhance production/performance
- Written Research Paper in regards to computer science innovation through the use of programming a forum to connect developers with consumers [Level 7/7] [IB]
- Enrolled in AP® calculus B/C edX program
- Enrolled in Computer Science Summer course at Sheridan College Canada
- Enrolled in Harvardx CS50 AP Computer Science Principles program
- Enrolled in Columbiax Machine learning & Data science program
- Enrolled in Harvardx High-Dimensional Data Analysis
- Enrolled in Summer program of Mechatronics & Engineering Mcmasters University
- Enrolled in Harvardx Quantum Information Science II: Quantum Computing - fault tolerance and complexity
- Enrolled in MITx Quantum Mechanics: Wavefunctions, operators, and expectation values
program program
- I am a certified Lifeguard
- Cryptocurrency investor primarily in “Contract for Difference” trading
- I have taught myself 4 programming languages
- Volunteering at wheelchair basketball
ESSAY
- This was in regards to how i was born with a birth defect of a soft head where my mother had to fashion rice bags so that my head would form like that of everyone else
- How the doctors said that i would die, for another reason because of an issue with my birth
- How my parent fled the displacement in Palesting during the Occupation, how my dad witness gunfire and corpses
- How parents dealt with all that, had 7 kids with 3 being triplets
- I also disscuss life living as a triplet
- Tying into how i feel that i have been given purpose and objectives i must fulfill
Please tell me your thoughts in regards to how competitive of an applicant I am from the above information
- Yes i know that the schools im applying too are a “crap shoot” but aside from stating that, can i have opinions on my chances and how competitive of an applicant i am for the schools listed above
You have an impressive list of ECs, but have you competed in any of these at a national or international level? Many people are involved in many clubs and ECs but because they don’t distinguish themselves through awards or competitions related to these subjects admissions pass them over.
well the only awards that remotely mean something are on post, is that not good enough? do people usually have far more impressive awardS when they apply to ivy?
because i live in dubai there isnt much opportunity to take part in competitions in terms of my EC’s for example there is no olympiad, no NGO, no Brother sister club, no newspaper, the only EC’s that exist are really MUN, thats the reason i made and helped make 3 but are my awards not good enough?
Yes, your chances are lower than an American’s. Many schools limit (often significantly) the number of international students they accept every year since their main mission is to educate Americans.
You has made a excellent work, but normally less than 10 % of the seats are for international applicants.
Good luck
Very impressive resume, but it’s crazy difficult to get in to the schools you are applying to other than Cal/UCLA/maybe Cornell, where it is only extremely difficult (so you have a chance). Full-pay? No need for fin-aid?
Have you considered UK unis?
Yes your chances are much lower because you’re not a citizen. Internationals have about 2-3%
In addition, what is your budget ? It’s a factor at most universities.
UCs offer no financial aid. You’d be expected to pay 62k each year.
Being from Bethlehem would certainly add something to your application but “all other things being equal”.
Your list of colleges is prototypical in that it doesn’t care about forward only prestige. You need a much broader list.
Get a book called Princeton Review’s best colleges and start reading.
Also, have you considered various programs in the Middle East?
What are you aiming to get out of college/uni? What goals in life?
Why not Canada? Admissions there would be much more straightforward for you, and your costs would almost certainly be lower.
It’s difficult to get accurate information on the percentage of internationals but as noted acceptance rates for internationals are considerably lower than acceptance rates for U.S. citizens. This is what MIT says on their website:
You will find similar international acceptance rates at the other schools that you mention.
Aside from a handful of schools that are need blind for internationals, applying for financial aid may negatively impact your chance of admissions and not applying for financial aid may have a positive impact.
That you would be facing tough odds doesn’t mean that you have no chance; it just means that competition among internationals is fierce. If your goal is an American education, then I would agree that you should broaden your list.
Personally, I think your life story would be of interest to admissions if you could articulate in your application (through essays and recommendations) how your background could contribute to the campus community.
Thank you for replying, would you say that with the credentials above i would be a competitive applicant as an international student? or is there something i should improve?
Yes you would but it still means odds are against you.
@Guydude01 There’s nothing in your resume that would keep you out of any of the schools on your list (assuming you’re not looking for financial aid) and a lot that would get you in. However, with acceptance rates hovering around 3-4% for internationals, odds (as @MYOS1634 noted) are against you and most other high achieving international applicants.
I would suggest that you devote a good deal of energy to crafting an application that highlights your background and life story. You will want to do this indirectly through your essays and recommendations, to illustrate what your life experience can bring to the campus community both in and out of the classroom.
I would also figure out a way to focus on 2 or 3 extracurriculars that mean a lot to you and group your activities and awards accordingly, (for example, sports, debate, entrepreneurism). You’ll want to demonstrate your commitment and sustained interest and again, how your involvement in these activities will benefit the campus community.
OP, I don’t think you are going to get any more useful information than what has been provided in your 4 or 5 identical chance me threads. You have a shot, but it’s a long one.
I can’t fathom what could keep you out of these schools apart from pure chance. You have the test scores, grades, heavy coursework, and phenomenal EC’s/individuality.
You’re an international student, presumably needing financial aid. Yes, you have amazing ECs. But so do many other international students applying to the same highly selective schools which limit their already-single-digit admission rates even more for non-Americans. So you have a chance. But admission to any of these schools is a reach for you (and everyone else in your situation.) PS Take Berkeley off your list if you need financial aid.
@katliamom Thanks for the reply, I am not in need of financial aid, however, probably should have mentioned that
Keep the segment on your arents as short as possible - they want to know who you are in relation to what you’ll bring to their school.
Apply to more colleges.
You have a shot - it means 2-3% odds.
Where else are you applying?
@MYOS1634
Hey, I’m applying to 3 Canadian universities as safety & Cornell, Columbia… i was thinking about applying to Caltech but i’d assume i would literally have 0 chance.
You dont think i should talk about the struggle of my parents in the past? i thought it would make admission officers more lenient when viewing my application, taking into account all the hardhsip faced, fighting against all odds, ‘deformity’ (not sure if thats the right word), and presenitng how this all has effected me as a person.
Im willing to go to full lengths to get accepted to a single one of these schools, do you have any recommendations i should do?