<p>Hi everyone.
Here's my background. I did my high school from a small town in India 5 years ago. I did very badly in most of my subjects because of various reasons including teacher prejudice and my own lacklustrous efforts but that didn't really bother me (then). I did exceeding well in the one subject that I wanted to do well in, English. I got a 93/100 in the nationwide 12th grade exam, topped my school in English easily, won some state-level debating contests, etc. Living in a small town, all the English that I learned was the product of my own efforts( which took a considerable amount of my time). I got a TOEFL score of 283/300 (I could have done better had I put in more effort but my 12th grade finals were also at the same time.) After high school, I got into a journalism program at one of the more well known universities for women in South India. However, a few months into it I realized that learning English was more like a hobby than an actual passion and it was Physics that I actually enjoyed. I had always enjoyed Physics but my grandfather and father are both published (retired) physicists who eventually settled down in a relatively remote town and I suppose I wanted to do something that nobody in my family had done before. I tried to stick with the journalism course and realized that my interest in creative writing was sporadic. I dropped out of college and took a year to decide what I wanted to do and at the end of it was sure that I wanted to pursue Physics. However, there was no hope for me given my shabby high school grades. So I worked in the staffing industry for a bit, got married and came to this country because of my husband's work. Since, I was on a dependent visa, I can't work, meaning that the only thing I could do (apart from being a housewife) was to go to a community college here in NJ. I will complete my double degree in Mathematics and Physics at the end of this year and am looking to transfer to a university for Spring 2011. I have a B+ in Chem, an A- in health ed and As in all the rest of my courses. All my teachers think very highly of me and are surer of my success than I am. I, unfortunately, have not participated in any extra curricular activities apart from winning the problem of the week award for the year and doing some token work for Phi Theta Kappa. I should graduate with a 3.95ish gpa and I am retaking the TOEFL exam. What colleges do you recommend that I apply to as an international undergraduate transfer student. I plan to a double major in Physics and Astronomy. </p>
<p>The following are the colleges that I intend to apply to:</p>
<p>University of Arizona
University of Hawaii
Rutgers (I almost have a guaranteed seat there)
Stevens Institute of technology
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Penn State
UIUC
My household income is $55k per year, so that would also be a factor.</p>
<p>What do you think are my chances of getting into these colleges, given my not so satisfactory past and lack of extracurricular activities. Are there any other colleges that you would recommend to me? Some aid would be a big bonus for me, but international students seem to have a harder time with funds while the costs are astronomical. I would greatly appreciate some help in this regard.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>