International Chances for Engineering?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Background
Nationality: Canadian
Ethnic group: South Asian

GPA and Grades
Unweighted GPA: 3.97
Rank: ~5 to 10/300
AS Levels: AAA in Math, Chemistry, Physics
A Levels (Predicted): AAA* in Math, Chemistry, Physics

SAT Scores
SAT 1 Superscore: 2220 : 760 Math, 720 CR, 740 Writing
SAT 1 Highest Sitting (2nd attempt): 2180 : 720 Math, 720 CR, 740 Writing
ACT: Didn’t take - was registered but wasn’t getting above 32 in practice and I’m fairly sure 2220 = 33.5 essentially.
SAT II (taken in Dec, predicted): 800 Math II, 720 Physics, 750 Chemistry

Extracurriculars and Achievements
Sophomore Salutatorian
3rd Position in Junior Year
School Merit Scholarship winner
Best Science project award at regional exhibition
Best end of year English and Science project award
2nd Position in robotics competition
1st Position in regional football tournament
4-H community service work at the only 4-H facility in my country
Community work with Red Crescent and tree planting with local development authority
Attended seminar on renewable energy at Mishkat Energy Center in Saudi Arabia
Debating club founder and president
Former Science club president
School media and social network manager
Writer and football correspondent for SportsPulse
Varsity level player in football and cricket
Fluent in three languages
Studied in 4 different nations (diversity?)

Essays etc
Essays - I think they’re great, one counselor thinks they’re great, one thinks they’re meh
Recommendation Letters - English teacher: 10/10, Chemistry teacher: 8.5/10, Physics teacher: 7/10, Coordinator: 8/10, Counselor: 5/10

Universities
MIT
Brown University
Bucknell University
Case Western Reserve University
Cornell University
Duke University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Lafayette College
Lehigh University
New York University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Rice University
The George Washington University
Tufts University
Rutgers - New Brunswick
Texas A&M University
Union College
University of Miami
University of Pennsylvania
University of Rochester
Vanderbilt University
Villanova University

Financial Situation
Aid Required? Yes
Affordable per year: $20,000

Expected Q/A

I’ll clear up the questions I’m expecting:

Why not apply to Canadian Unis? - I am.
Its very tough for internationals needing aid - I know
A lot of longshots in that list - I know, hence I put more because my safety option is Canada

Questions

What I want to ask is, given the university list, which I selected based on who gives aid and has a good engineering program / overall excellent uni/college, what are my chances of getting into one of the big ones and can I expect a 100% scholarship from some of the match schools like say, Rochester?

I’m just looking for a gauge to see where I stand and what I can expect. Am I competitive for the elite universities?

Is there a good university I haven’t listed that gives aid that I should look into (not counting other ivies)

2

Do not, do not, DO NOT apply to all of those.

3

Why? Low chance? Not worth it? Expensive? Need safeties?

Could you elaborate?

4

Too many. Do a bit of research and figure out which ones fit you best. There is a wide range of schools in your list and not all will be what you want. Think about the kind of school you are interested in, size, location, type of student body. Then think about the cost. The publics will offer you little or no aid. The private schools which form most of your list are more likely to offer merit aid but not so much the most highly selective of the engineering schools, particularly for international students.

Specifically, I can tell you that you would likely be admitted to Illinois Tech with some merit aid but maybe not enough.

5

Would I not increase my chances my applying to more universities? I’ve researched and I like each uni in the list. I just want to know my chances.

6

Narrow it down to 10.
Check the admissions profile for each of your 20 or so schools. Your SAT score is not in range for the top tier uni’s. Your EC’s appear to be mostly, in-house school awards, striving to resume pad.
If you need financial aid, you need to narrow even further.
Google is your friend, don’t expect the posters here to go through each and every school you’ve listed. You need to do the work. That’s why most students don’t apply to a boatload of schools because it takes work and research on your part.

7

Case Western
Lehigh
Lafayette
Rice
Union
Vanderbilt
Tufts
Miami
Rochester
are your best chances but really your odds aren’t great.
If I were you, I’d apply to universities that 'd be affordable, such as UMiami and Temple.

8

@“aunt bea” Im not sure if I’ve explained it poorly or what - I have done research, I’ve only picked schools that give internationals aid/hefty scholarships, I know the sort of general environment for each, I’ve seen the admission files and my SAT score appears to be at least competitive (fairly above 25% percentile at least) for all of them. I’m applying to a boatload to increase my chances.I’m just asking what said chances are given the unis I’ve selected. I have a common app fee waiver and I know the costs. I’m just asking about how overall competitive I am and if I stand a good chance at getting into one of the top unis on my list if I apply to them.

9

Additionally, I know the uni list is very high ended but given that they’re are few generous LACs with good engineering programs and that you need to go high up the pecking order for aid or low down for merit, especially for engineering it seems, I don’t think I had another choice.