<p>Hi, I'm from Australia and I want to apply for an Ivy/Stanford. I'm just wondering what does it take to get in beside superior academic and SAT/ACT results. Will be good at tennis help me get in - I play alot of tournaments? </p>
<p>I want to study economics and i will require financial aid though I can pay up to $15k per year. </p>
<p>What are they looking for in an international applicant? </p>
<p>The same thing they’re looking for in all their students: some talent that can make money for the school. Do you play tennis professionally? could you in the future? have you patented certain quantum computing algorithms?</p>
<p>Your chances are infinitesimally small, so don’t forget to apply elsewhere. If elsewhere is also in the states, make sure it’s at a school that will offer aid to internationals:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/financial-aid.php”>http://www.educationusa.info/financial-aid.php</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware”>http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/2013/09/19/colleges-that-give-international-students-the-most-financial-aid”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/2013/09/19/colleges-that-give-international-students-the-most-financial-aid</a></p>
<p>I only started playing tennis at 14. I have won many many business and human rights competitions - that is what I’m passionate about. Do the Ivies look at my Grade 9 school report, having 5/8As in Grade 9 and straight A’s in 10,11 and 12, will that hurt my chances? Also, my school doesn’t offer IB or AP, will that affect my chances? </p>
<p>each school has its own rules, but generally grade 9 scores count in the US but they’re happy to see upward change such as you demonstrate, making the freshman grades more palatable. strange, ain’t it, having to make excuses for getting 5 out of 8 As? Ivies are definitely looking for rigor, and it’s hard to say what they’ll think of the absence of AP/IBs. they may know something about rigor at australian high schools I don’t. It doesn’t sound like the tennis is going to be sufficiently outstanding–no regional or national trophies–to suggest you’re truly exceptional in tennis. but what about your work in human rights for which you claim passion? Passion is good in the minds of admissions officers. Focus is good. We’d need to know more.</p>
<p>Australian schools generally aren’t as rigorous as American schools due to the absence of harder programs such as AP and IB. Since your school does not offer both, you really need to get a top ATAR, preferably a 99.95. From the experiences of past successful Australian applicants, all of them who aren’t recruited athletes at the Ivy League universities reported getting a 99.90 or 99.95, with the lowest getting something like a 99.8 at UPenn. In addition, lots of admits represented Australia in the IMO, IPhO or something along those lines so it’s really tough. </p>
<p>Tennis probably only counts as an activity on the common application, unless you are able to play it well enough to get recruited. </p>