International considering ivy league ?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>Hello,
I'll try to be brief as possible , so first of all I am a grade 11 Egyptian student planning to attend a us college.
My stats are </p>

<p>SAT1: 2120(620R-730W-770M) * I'll retake in December hopefully I'll get somewhere around 2200 ~ 2250 with 700+ R *
SAT2: will take next June * expecting 700+'s *
GPA:4.0
EC's : member of the school's drama club , music club , math club , and school journal. elected president of the school's debate club , member of the school's student body union and hopefully president next year. member of a number of local societal organizations and international ones (ex. rotrarac , enactus ) participated in a number of charity activites (ex. blood drives , marathons , charity events)
top 5% of the class & the school </p>

<pre><code>Now , as I have understood ( correct me if i am wrong ) finances pose no threat to ivy league students since ivy leagues cover full financial need for any admitted student regardless of his/her citizenship , solely based on need , right ?
</code></pre>

<p>so the hard part is getting admitted , eh ?
If the answer is yes , then please feel free to tell me why is it so hard ? what do I need ? how possible is it and what are my chances ? what do I need to work on ?
I just really dont get ivy leagues yet since I've never even considered them until recently when I found out that they are , ironically , the only ones that I may actually be able to afford attending to ! given the currency difference between the Egyptian pound and the us dollar my family can afford next to nothing when it comes to a us college ( like 7 ~ 10K$ ) ! </p>

2

<p>

Wrong!!</p>

<p>There are currently six U.S. higher learning institutions that are need-blind and meet full demonstrated need for all applicants, including international students:</p>

<p>Amherst College
Dartmouth College
Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Princeton University
Yale University</p>

<p>Other colleges may be need-aware or may not meet full demonstrated need.</p>

<p>Note that demonstrated need is the college’s determination; they tell you how much aid they will award, you do not tell them how much aid you want.</p>

<p>Acceptance rates for internationals at many of these top schools is roughly half of the overall acceptance rate, so the odds are already stacked against you.</p>

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<p>@skieurope I’ll fight for it. :)>- I just need someone to guide me , I need to know what it takes! </p>

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<p>

Because every US college has a “soft quota” for international students. Although the numbers vary every year, Admissions usually reserves about 11% of their beds for international students. Harvard having about 1660 beds in total, seeks to admit about 180 to 190 international students every year. On another thread (<a href=“Should Harvard disclose the quota of International applicants pool? - Harvard University - College Confidential Forums”>Should Harvard disclose the quota of International applicants pool? - Harvard University - College Confidential Forums) someone calculated that about 6,100 international students are competing for those 180-190 beds. </p>

<p>

All international students are not created equal. Harvard accepts more students every year from Canada, Great Britain and Australia than other countries. So, you’re not directly competing against those students, but rather you are competing against your fellow countrymen. So, you need to be the best of the best from your country – however you want to define that.</p>

<p>Currently there are 5 Egyptian students in total at Harvard College (the undergraduate school: <a href=“Statistics | Harvard International Office”>Statistics | Harvard International Office). So, Harvard admits about 1-2 students every year from your country. How many students apply form your country is anyone’s guess. Your chances really depend on how much better of a scholar you are than your fellow countrymen who are also applying. </p>

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<p>@gibby I am the country’s highest SAT score among other 11 graders , and since my state is the highest academically ranked state I can tell you that nearly no one will even consider an ivy league , so if it’s about competition with my countrymen I guess I have a fair chance.
but I am sure that’s not it , is it ? </p>

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<p>^^ Selective colleges do not just rely on GPA, test scores and ranking to determine who is the best of the best. Sometimes students with 4.0’s and 2400’s are rejected. You should probably read this thread: <a href=“Chance Threads - PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING ONE - Harvard University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1420290-chance-threads-please-read-before-posting-one-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;

</p>

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<p>@gibby well yes I am totally aware of this , and I am working on my Ec’s alot more than I am working on my academics but it’s hard to have good extracurricular given the Egyptian educational system single minded objective , you see it focuses only on academics and leaves little or no space for Extracurricular so students must work socially without the school’s help or participation. </p>

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<p>Why is it so hard?</p>

<p>It’s a matter of numbers. Each place in an exclusive college has a large number of applicants who wish to take it. For a college that has a less than 10% acceptance rate, there are at least 10 applicants who want that place, and many of them are qualified. In addition, colleges seek a diverse student body, so they choose applicants with a variety of backgrounds. </p>

<p>For all applicants, the chances of acceptance at a selective college is unpredictable, and also depends on how many other applicants with similar achievement and background apply too. So if you are the top applicant in your country, that may be a better chance than if you were one of 100 good applicants- but regardless, every applicant is one of many more who are all hoping to get a place in a college that doesn’t have room for all good applicants. </p>

<p>Many colleges accept international students- but how much financial support they can offer them can vary. For many colleges, some financial aid comes from US taxpayer funding that isn’t available for international students. I am not certain of the laws about this but I expect that few governments offer paid schooling to non- citizens in many countries. Some colleges may be more flexible with this if they have endowments to support students from any country.</p>

<p>Nobdy can tell you what to do to make sure you get a place in a college that will offer you full financial aid- because it isn’t possible to say this for any student. </p>

<p>The advice is the same for all students: apply to your reach colleges if you feel you are qualified. Do your very best in school.</p>

<p>…and you must also apply to colleges with a range of selectivity. Be sure you apply to some colleges that you are likely to be accepted at. Apply to colleges that you can afford.</p>

<p>And then, hope for the best.</p>

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<p>I have two suggestions: Look to Universities with branch locations near you. There are excellent Egyption universities and US universities with branches in the region.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/arab-region-universities/rankings?int=9e2808”>http://www.usnews.com/education/arab-region-universities/rankings?int=9e2808&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Do NOT “Work” on your EC’s, and get out of the “Poor me, I’m in Egypt with few opportunities” victim mentality. I assure you many other students in the world use the internet and other resources to make the best of their own situation. And many students in the US feel at a disadvantage because of their local situation. For example, Egypt is a great place to study neonatal care because of the racial diversity and the lower regulatory climate. It is a major effort to get there I suspect, but compared to others around the world, you have relatively easier access to major archeological sites. Egypt also has great socioeconomic diversity. You could help the poor on many levels. In rural Egyot, you could work on getting basic necessities into the hands of the people, or invent new labor-saving ways that fit their lifestyles. Grounded (with in-person interviews) study of the Arab Spring phenomenon is uniquely available to you. Or just collaborate/work via the internet. Be curious, extend yourself, follow your passion, and have it validated by an outside entity (i.e. submit for publication or competition for award- the higher the award level the better). Don’t necessarily “try to get in” so much as start a scholarly trajectory that you can share in your application.</p>

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<p>Hello,
I’m an Indian applicant and I dream of getting into one of the Ivies. But I’m not sure even if I’m half eligible to GET INTO one. I’ve taken a gap year (Finished High School earlier in 2014)
Here are my credentials:</p>

<p>Scores:</p>

<p>SAT: 2250 (Maths: 800 Writing: 780 Reading: 670)
ACT: 34 (Maths: 35 English: 34 Reading: 33 Science: 34)
IELTS: 7
SAT SUBJECT TESTS: Mathematics 1: 800 Physics: 770
AP: Microeconomics: 5 Macroeconomics: 5 Psychology: 4
GPA: 4</p>

<p>Extra-Curricular Activities:</p>

<p>1) Music:
Guitar: Grade 5 (Rockschool)
Music Theory: 3</p>

<p>2) Sports:
Table Tennis: Consistently ranked number 3 in school. And, not to mention, State-level participation.</p>

<p>3) Languages: Except for ENGLISH and HINDI (which is my Mother-tongue), passed B-2 examination in both SPANISH and GERMAN.</p>

<p>4) Entrepreneurship:
Done a couple of courses. Founder and CEO of an event-organizing company (Both Profit and Non-profit) (Has been on since May 2014)</p>

<p>5) Writing
Co-Author of a book on Economics (For 12th grade, Board: CBSE)</p>

<p>6) Internship:
-> A seven-day internship at a Home-furnishings company.
-> A two-week long internship at a well renowned Newspaper company in India.
-> My own company has led to a lot of exposure and ‘work-experience’
-> And a couple more.</p>

<p>7) Social Service
A total of over 350 hours of social service in a variety of NGOs. Plus a few non-profit events organised by my own company.</p>

<p>8) LORs
Brilliant LORs! One from a teacher who has taught me both in Grade 4 and 11 (Cool, right? :wink: ) and another one from my English teacher (From Grade 12). And one from the counselor as well. </p>

<p>Note that MOST of the things (About 75%) mentioned above have been done DURING my GAP year, though a lot of hard work put in during my SCHOOL LIFE has made it possible. Let’s just say studies are really tough in India :stuck_out_tongue: </p>

<p>I want a true opinion on whether or not I have a good chance of getting in. I don’t want to try unnecessarily.
Thanks in advance.</p>

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<p>@MadoverHarvard‌ - please do not hijack another thread. Create a new thread - preferably in the “What are my chances” forum. Your post is not Harvard-specific and chance threads are discouraged here.</p>

<p>As far as your chances, you are a strong candidate, but the application deadline for most of these schools is less than two weeks away, it’s a little late to be deciding where to apply. FYI, although it doesn’t help you, but it might help others reading this - you chances would have been better if you had applied to one of the top schools SCEA.</p>

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<p>@‌BldrDad
Thanks for the advice. I’ve created a new thread, just as you said. Hope it helps… </p>