Hey! I’m an Indian living in the UAE applying to universities in the US in 2016. I will not be applying for financial aid.
My college list includes: MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell and Georgia Tech.
Given below is a brief description of me:
Nationality: Indian
Residential Country: UAE
Gender: Male
Applying for Financial Aid: NO
Applying in: 2016
Applying for: Fall 2017
School: Private (affiliated to Indian educational system)
AP courses offered: None. However, the courses offered by my school in Physics, Chemistry and Maths makes one more than competent to give APs.
Academics:
GPA: 10/10
Rank: 1 or 2 out of 315 students
Awards/Accolades: Numerous school academic achievement certificates, accolades by community.
Olympiads/National/International Contests:
-The Green Olympiad: Scored in range 70%-80%. Topper for the year. Qualified for national level.
-Sastra Prathiba: Consistent 80% and above marks, scored a 90%+ once (only about fifty students score this high). School topper.
-DELF French Diploma (A1): 80%+
-International Benchmark Test: Numerous High Distinctions and Distinctions.
-Giving the Gulf Physics, Chemistry and Maths Olympiads in the near future. I am sure that I’ll secure a top rank.
Test Scores:
SAT-1: 2350
SAT-2: Physics (800), Chemistry (800), Maths (800)
AP: Phy C-M (5), Phy C-E and M (5)
Will give Chemistry and Calc BC in May’17.
[The above test scores are projected - but I’m sure I will achieve them all.]
ECs:
-Public Speaking and Debating: One of the best junior Toastmasters in my city. Secured ~25 city level and club level wins (1st/2nd place). 1st/2nd place in school elocution competition. Participated in national level inter-school competition. Avid debater - represented my house since 10th grade. Intra-school debater.
Leadership: Vice Captain of my House at school. President and ex-Vice President of school debate club. Events co-ordination for Nature Club.
Environmental Activities: Leader in my school’s audits (waste, water etc.). Bagged first place in a city level competition by the Enviro Agency of my city. Participant in workshops at Eco Summit.
Community Work: Participated in many movements and campaign which got national recognition. Taught children karate (250+ hours).
Sports: Black Belt in Karate. City level win in karate as well. Participated in school basketball competitions.
School science week awards.
-I have plans to develop an app for environmental uplifment. This will go hand in hand with a city level movement as well. It will achieve national recognition.
Essays:
I can nail them.
Recommendation Letters:
I can get the best letters from my teachers - I have the reputation.
An opinion on my chances will be highly appreciated. Thanks.
You should apply to some safety schools as the schools you’ve mentioned above are very competitive. Otherwise, you look like a strong applicant.
Best of luck!
@MyBrainIsHungry
I’m looking to go to the US only if I get into a top college… so yeah.
Btw, could you tell me if I’m a match for any of the less competitive schools (UCB/Cornell/GTech)?
Thanks!
Firstly, UCB is a little difficult to get in.
Apply EA to GeorgiaTech and ED wherever you feel more comfortable as it increases your chance of admission. Write a great, passionate essay and try your best. Sometimes, these colleges reject good candidates. So, don’t feel discouraged as the admission process is a little random.
@MyBrainIsHungry UCB is another school where five/six people have gone in the last few years.
On another note, I’m very unsure about applying to MIT, Stanford, Harvard - especially considering that there exists hundreds of ‘perfect’ East Asians for these colleges.
Some aspects are interesting and.unusual so.that’s good. You’ll have to explain Sastra Prathiba on your app. DO NOT expect adcoms to.know how.to.interpret your results or even what it is.
Are you full pay?
Why didn’t you include Harvey Mudd and Caltech (two of the most prestigious engineering colleges) ?
Your chances are as good as all top candidates - one in twenty at best.
I’m a rookie here… if ‘full pay’ means the ability to pay the entire tuition fees… then yeah I guess! @MYOS1634
I have had a hard time getting people to actually ‘chance’ me, so atm I’m not sure of where I stand in the International Applicant Pool, yet. Caltech admits around 25 intl. students - am I up to that level? I would prefer others telling me if I am or not.
I’m looking for a Major in CS… Harvey Mudd doesn’t appear to be one of the top 15 colleges
I’m limiting my list to quite competitive schools in order to get the maximum out of the money I’ll pay for college (considering I get accepted somewhere). I haven’t put safety schools since I have them already (they’re top tier Indian colleges).
You clearly have a good chance to get accepted based on stats, the only catch is you are Indian, and there is a ton of your people with similar stats applying to the same schools as you. STAND OUT.
@cappex I realise what you’re trying to tell me.
I’m an Indian based in the UAE… UAE is a small country so I can and have availed some national level stuff. People back in India aren’t able to go up to that level (I qualified for an Indian national level too)
full pay = family is able to pay for the full cost of college, the student doesn’t need financial aid
You’re applying to top colleges. If you apply to MIT, CMU, and Stanford, you should have the confidence to apply to CalTech and HarveyMudd (for some reason HarveyMudd isn’t on Asians’ radars, but it IS in the same category as the above for engineering.)
Would you be allowed to apply to a university such as UCSD, UVA, or UMichigan?
That’s because none of us works in an admissions office and none of us knows what a particular university is looking for in its next incoming class. All anybody can do is tell you if you are on the right track.
See above. Nobody can do that, especially without test scores. MIT/Stanford/schools of that caliber reject plenty of 4.0/2400 applicants every year, and they accept plenty with lower stats. As an international applicant, your chances for admission are roughly half the schools overall acceptance rate since these schools have either a hard- or soft- cap for internationals. All you can do is put together the best application you can and note that in many cases, your essays may be the deciding factor. Good luck.
I’m sorry for being so interrogative, but it’s good enough for International Applicant Pool to Top-Tier Colleges?
By the way does mentioning many international competitions participated in help in any way…?
I think what you are asking for is a guarantee of acceptance.
No one on this site can give you that guarantee. You don’t have actual SAT scores. Only projected. The SAT tests are changing. That should be interesting.
What if you are ill on the day of testing, or late, or have to reschedule? It happens.
