International chances (Columbia/NYU ED..?)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm entering my last year of high school in September, so this next term is really my last chance to improve my chances. I would love for any advice on improving my chances.</p>

<p>I'm hoping to apply to : Columbia Univeristy ED <a href="Or%20NYU%20early%20decision,%20depends%20on%20my%20SATs%20this%20fall">dream</a>, Boston University, Northwestern, UCLA, USC, Duke, Georgetown, UPenn, Berkeley</p>

<p>^List will change and narrow down after I get my SATs back</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): Taking reasoning in Sept, hopefully 2100+ (this will be 2nd time)
[</em>] ACT: n/a
[<em>] SAT II: German 640 , Literature 680 (i dont know what to think of these, any opinions?)
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: As Levels (second last year of highschool) : Math, German, Geography, History, Sprachdiplom I
A Level (last highschool year) : Sprachdiplom II (maybe), German, Geography, History
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Duke of Edinborough bronze award, school community service achievement, silver (150+ hours tutoring ethnic minority children)</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Squash team 2 years, Horse riding team 4 years (placed top 3 , 3 times), (head of writers department) yearbook, 3 years writer for scool student newspaper, reporters club for South China Morning Post (leading english newspaper in Hong Kong)[2 years] , run a well received fashion blog with 60k+ readers; giving advice (takes up 14+ hours a week)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: 2 weeks at leading Hong Kong news firm SCMP, 2 weeks at a marketing/sourcing firm, 2 weeks documenting a large private art collection
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: 150+ hours tutoring ethnic minority children over 1 year (continuing more next year), built an orphanage school building in rural Thailand on a school trip, prefect (student leader/teachers aid) on a grade 7 community service trip to rural China [1 week], committee member of school Shark protection society (shark fins soup is huge in Hong Kong, raising awareness etc)
[</em>] Summer Activities: Work and travel</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Country (if international applicant): Hong Kong
[</em>] School Type: International school, private, strong track record with top schools globally
[<em>] Ethnicity: German/Malaysian mix (what should I put myself down as when applying? I look more Caucasian)
[</em>] Gender: Female
[<em>] Income Bracket (mention if FA candidate): 50-100k
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation with a shot at a good university, unusual ethnicity(?), have good grades even comparing with peers here who get all A*s and such</p>

<p>[/ul]*General Comments: *
I have a terrible feeling about my AS results, I think im going to be getting Bs and maybe even a C when results come out next month. Report card is mainly Bs and As, with excellent-good for effort.</p>

<p>Any advice or tips please? Or chance me for the schools I listed?</p>

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<p>What was ur SAT first tries?</p>

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<p>Extremely average, 1880, no studying whatsoever. Not sure what I was thinking, but i wasnt taking it seriously. Probably my phase of teenage denial that anything mattered, but I suppose i treated it as a trial run. I remember my school counselor saying we only have to submit our best test scores, is that correct?</p>

4

<p>All those schools (except BU) require mostly A’s and a high SAT score (2100+ or 2200+ for the top schools like Columbia, UPenn, Berkeley, etc). Also, unfortunately, being Asian (?) and an international student will both lower your chances at good schools.</p>

<p>Right now it looks like NYU should be a pretty good fit. Also think about Tufts, Johns Hopkins, and Carnegie Mellon. </p>

<p>Best of luck! :)</p>

5

<p>Oh also, take a few more SAT II’s. While they aren’t the most important thing on your app, they certainly matter, and at least 2 of them should be 700 or above (since most top colleges require at least 2).</p>

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<p>Thank you for the input! I may sign up for some more SAT IIs in the november testing, and send the scores directly.
Also, I could simply list myself as white (thanks to my german side). Perhaps that would look better, a white student keeping up with a strong asian academic group?</p>

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<p>Anyone else?</p>

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<p>I think you can list both, which is the more honest thing to do, but I don’t think it matters much because you’re international. You’ll probably be compared to other students from Hong Kong, regardless of their ethnicities. </p>

<p>You look like a nice applicant, but your main problem will be that you’ll probably need FA. If I remember correctly, none of those schools are needblind for internationals, and NYU’s not exactly known for generous FA. If you’ll be needing FA it’ll lower your chances, so I suggest you look into a broader range of schools, including the top liberal arts colleges that offer great aid for internationals, such as Colby, Grinnell, Reid, the Seven Sisters, Trinity, Kenyon, and a bunch of others.</p>

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<p>Thank you! I will definately be looking at numerous other schools, I’ll add those to my list to look at. I may be getting a private partial scholarship, so I may not need to apply for FA. Would that help?</p>

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<p>Your SAT 2 scores will hurt you. You should definitively retake the German test and shoot for a 750, plus two in your best subjects. If your school is good at math, you should definitively take math2 since it’ll probably look very simple to you :slight_smile:
Also, with family making 50-100,000, it’s highly likely you will have to apply for financial aid (the amount of money required to get your I-20, even with a partial external scholarship, must total about $50,000 in most cases. IN short, you’ll need institutional grants.)
Right now, you stand as good a chance as anyone to get into one of these schools, but you’re taking too many risks by having no safety whatsoever and only “dream” schools with very, very low admission rates, on your list.
You need to diversify your list with schools that are not ranked in the top 30 NUs/LACs.
Since you’re interested in Columbia, why not apply to Barnard (ED even)? It’s the women’s branch of the university so it’s easier to get in (since you only compete against other girls for admission, but they’re all very accomplished so it’s no picnic either); it’s still very connected and recognized (and if need be you can take classes at Columbia accross the street).</p>

<p>Your ethnicity is “multiracial”, by the way, and it IS a very slight advantage.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your extensive response. I have looked at Barnard before, but was put off by the all women aspect of it. I do in fact have a list of safeties, but the ones I listed are the ones im really shooting for. My thinking is if i can be a competitive applicant for those top schools, I will have an even greater chance at the safeties. </p>

<p>Also, for Columbia ED, it says all SAT scores must be DONE by the November testing. Does that mean I can take SAT IIs in November and send them directly?</p>

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<p>Yes, work on improving your SAT scores</p>

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<p>Does anyone have any Universities they think I should be a match for? Or some safeties I may not know about? I’m doing a lot of research, and any input and suggestions would be great</p>

14

<p>bump bump bump</p>

15

<p>bumping again, anyone?</p>

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<p>What are you looking for? It looks like urban schools, fairly liberal, and you said you’d consider LACs but not women’s colleges. Am I correct in that estimation?
Nevertheless before we can reply: how much money can you afford?</p>

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<p>Thats pretty much spot on! A large-mid size city (nearby at last), an option of liberal arts or a core curriculum, and I dont think a womens college would be right for me. I will be taking a student loan, as well as getting a 20-30k private scholarship (the number has yet to be set, as the man setting up the scholarship is still in the process of finalizing things. But i am 100% sure it will come through, ive worked for him a few times and he has expressed a huge amount of interest in helping me with my uni fees). Basically the only terms are, that I go to a good US university</p>

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<p>With that much money you can apply to Emory, perhaps UNC CH and Michigan; but you should target privates where you’d rank at the top of the applicant pool .</p>

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<p>Thank you for your input. Do you think college ******* application stats are a good guide? I tend to look at their SAT ranges, to gauge how competitive an applicant I would be</p>

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<p>Use the college’s own stats - they’re typically available on their website. invest in a good guide such as Fiske or insider 's guide to the colleges or Princeton Review best colleges.</p>