<p>Hi All,</p>
<p>I am a parent of an aspiring undergraduate . My daughter wants to pursue chemistry degree in USA. She is aiming for admission with a ACT composite of 32, lots of AP´s ( 8 in total i think) ,but not a lot of EC´s. Her college wish lists are UCB, UCLA, Wisconsin ( Madison), UIUC, Purdue, Texas austin and Rochester.</p>
<p>Would appreciate if you can share some advice on chances/difficulty in getting in chemistry ( i hear Engineering admissions are more competitive) with the above and any other alternative university suggestions</p>
<p>warm Regards</p>
<p>( Not looking for any financial aid, scholarships)</p>
<p>Vivek: By all means tell her to apply, but she needs to go into this with eyes wide open: </p>
<p>She will be competing for the same spots that American and international students with similar stats to hers, will be competing for, AND there are thousands of students like her. </p>
<p>Additionally, multiple EC’s are almost a requirement now for the UC’s. I don’t know about the other schools, but in California, it’s expected that the students have volunteered and led multiple groups in multiple areas. Additionally, the students here have been in varsity sports for more than 4 years and this “enhances” the “resume”. In other words, the UC’s aren’t really looking for “bookworms” they are looking for students who have had multiple experiences in various areas and can balance the EC’s with difficult coursework</p>
<p>I disagree with aunt bea. American universities understand that norms, opportunities and expectations are different in different countries. They DON’T expect the same level of ECs or sports from overseas applicants as they do from their American counterparts. International students are compared to other International students, not to US applicants. </p>
<p>Vivek, since you don’t need financial aid, I believe your daughter will have a good chance at most of these schools. She has good stats, and public schools usually welcome high-achieving international students who are also full-pay out-of-state tuition applicants.</p>
<p>Many Thanks Katlia Mom, for your comments.</p>
<p>My Daughter´s education over past 12 years has happned in several countries across continents ( asia, Europe, US and Africa) to date. This was one of the reason she never had a very deep rooted Ec´s… hopefully she will have the opportunity to study in the great country of USA</p>
<p>Your daughter’s educational background would make for a very good essay! In that essay she might also discuss some of her interests and passions - to give schools an idea of who she is as a person, and what she would contribute to the university’s student body.</p>
<p>Katlia: I was speaking to the UC’s and how they are admitting students. I am a “sponsor” mom for several academic and sports teams at a strong California high school that produces a number of UC admits to Berkeley and LA. I’ve listened to these kids admits for 10 years.</p>
<p>The OP asked about UC’s; I know that international students are compared to other international students; since my dd has had good experiences with international students at her UC, she’s told me a lot about her friends and their previous EC’s. The internationals coming in now to the UC’s have lots of EC’s. </p>
<p>So, I’m speaking from the UC experiences in admits for both of my daughters, as well as team members of HS kids admitted to the uc’s every year.</p>
<p>She doesn’t need financial aid, so as long as her grades are good, she should apply but it definitely is more competitve.</p>