<p>Hi. </p>
<p>I've been trawling these forums for quite a while now, but never thought i'd post here.</p>
<p>First off, thanks for all the valuable input you guys as a community have given me.</p>
<p>Secondly, i'm in a very strange predicament.</p>
<p>One, Im enrolled in a local college, but I dont think the curriculum is even remotely rigid enough to transfer credits, so I intend on dropping out and treating this year as a gap year, and start college in the United States afresh. Education in India is simply not to my tune, i've never fit in, and i'm not getting the intellectual stimulus i need to excel. </p>
<p>Two. I'll just list my stats.</p>
<p>My school doesn't do Cumulative GPA, but it does do GPA for grade 9 and 10, and grade 9 was a 9.6/10, Grade 10 was 8.6/10 (Family issues, mom transitioned from a full time job into establishing her own startup, we were financially instable)</p>
<p>We have class rank for grade 11 and 12 (No GPA), and I was in the top 5% consistently, although in my final exam, my GPA (they have GPA for the final exam alone. Essentially, end of the year exam) dropped to around 3 on a 4 scale. (Divorce in the family)</p>
<p>There's no electives that you can choose for yourself, my school follows a set curriculum, so I was on the hardest Rigor of courses that were available to me. </p>
<p>SAT 1 scores of around 2250.</p>
<p>I haven't written SAT 2 yet, but the practice tests i've taken thus far put me on 750+ on math 2, chem, and Bio.</p>
<p>98th percentile on the CBSE Aptitude test (Conducted for all students of the CBSE board across india, so administered to around 20000 kids?)</p>
<p>Getting to my ECs,</p>
<p>In school, i was part of the student council, editor for my school's magazine, was part of the most successful culturals team in the city (Culturals is essentially a mix of debate, drama, and humour), Won a ton of Competitive MUNs and debates across the state, have adjudicated several debates (To the likes of debates in companies like Larson and Toubro).</p>
<p>I am part of a start-up where we're touring schools in my city, promoting awareness of biology and biotechnology, and convincing kids to pick that as their elective in school, and in college, and mentoring them should/when they do take it. We have an established wesbite and a forum where they can contact us.</p>
<p>Im involved in a little research project that we've thus far been running independantly, but i'm trying to get the abstract published somewhere.</p>
<p>I was recruited by the government of India to help with a skill development initiative in rural places in india.</p>
<p>I have over 500 hours of community service in a cultural centre im part of, headed the temple cleaning initiative, and headed the temple reconstruction and renovation task force.</p>
<p>My dad abandoned us when i was 7, he had an affair, and i've struggled to fit into my school ecosystem ever since, until I transitioned into exhibiting my passion (writing, speech, debate), and forged a place for myself in my school. </p>
<p>My mom draws an official salary of what is the american equivilent of under a 100$, even though her company makes 20 times that. She donates all of it to charity, and only draws a 100$ a month salary. </p>
<p>I dont want to presumptuous, but i want to go abroad because i think it will give me more chances to express my interests and my intellect.</p>
<p>The money i end up making or the job i end up in doesn't bother me as much, although i want to indulge in philanthropy to the maximum possible extent I can.</p>
<p>Seeing my dad act only out of his self interest, and seeing my mother, has largely shaped me into striving for global interest over my immediate self interests, and I want to major in Biology because I feel it'd help me understand primal urges like self interest better. </p>
<p>I have stellar recommendation letters, all of my teachers know every last inch of me, and vouch for me.</p>
<p>Im not trying to sell myself, but the problem lies in the fact that I cant afford a single penny to fund my education in the united states.</p>
<p>I DO have a US co-signer, so i could essentially take loans to cover the entire cost, but i guess that would essentially cripple my life. </p>
<p>I dont have National/International awards, so that's a huge deficit.</p>
<p>I wanted to know if i'd be able to secure atleast partial aid, in a good school.</p>
<p>I also wanted to know if i realistically stand a chance at all, or if i should give up, because the applications are expensive as FUCK, and I'm essentially getting my extended family to pool in to help me apply.</p>