Hello Everyone,
I have a slightly different case and I hope you will love to read about it.
I Graduated from high school in 2015. I scored All India Rank 143 out of 650,000 students in ALL INDIA PRE MEDICAL TEST - one of the biggest exams in India. I was selected in one of the best medical colleges in India. But, I dropped out to build my own startup.
I am CEO of Aether Biomedical, A startup working on cutting-edge robotic hands for upper limb amputees (People who do not have a hand below their elbow). We have won various awards, patents, and have raised investments as well. Our Product is being licensed and so I was applying for an engineering program in USA.
My SAT 2 physics score - 800, Math 2 - 730 (Quite Low). I have ACE credits for Calculas 1 and Calculas 2 as well.
I have a lot of olympiads, resesarch papers, internships, awards, patents in my name.
I am thinking of applying to these colleges (All colleges will not allow me to apply as a freshman but these will) -
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Johns Hopkins University
Princeton University
Cornell University
Yale University
Duke University
UMass, Amherst
Boston University
Pennsylvania State University
Rutgers University
Virginia Tech
Purdue University
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
University of Southern California
My questions are -
Is my list well balanced?
What are my chances ?
Should I apply with financial aid or without? I can afford to pay by loan by it is way better if i get scholarship.
Thanks
I attended college for 3 months but do not have any transcript. I have already called admissions office of all these schools and asked if i could apply or not.
Thats why i have not included georgia tech, caltech etc
It is all based on GPA and test scores. Not just the math scores.
Your rank in ALL of INDIA doesn’t apply when asking for admission to the elite colleges.
Those schools are expensive and elite; your chances as an international candidate are about 1-5% chance. There just isn’t room, at these schools, for all of the students from the US and from the world who want to attend.
I think you might like the apparent permission to apply as a freshman vs a transfer in writing (or official email), but when you inquired at your list of schools re your standing, did you state you would be asking for FA or did you imply your would be a full pay international?
You have an impressive record…143 rank, startup. Having said that, your chances of getting into any top undergrad program very low (MIT, JHU, Princeton, Cornell, Yale, Duke)…for one reason alone…these programs look to build a strong community/experience. With you being out of high school for three years by the time you start the college will work against you. You have a good chance of getting into some of the other programs, as long as you are not looking for financial aid.
@“aunt bea” I got 95% in CBSE class 12th. I will give my SAT on 2nd December. Apart from the 6 elite colleges that i choose, What are of my chances in the rest ?
Chances for international students, especially from India, AND for engineering, are minuscule. Expect 1-5% chances. You are competing with your countrymen for a handful of spots.
There are only so many seats; it is a finite number. The US universities are funded by US dollars. Most of the spots go to domestic students. Asking for funding gives you even less of a chance.
@agrawaldhruv It is hard to say which specific school is a safety, especially given you haven’t taken the SAT yet. Having said that, as long as you’re willing to pay $60K+ per year, these are your safeties…UMass - Amherst, Boston University, Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, Virginia Tech, and Purdue University.
There are thousands of your countrymen trying to get into US universities. They all seem to have a list of the same elite schools. The US has over 3000 great colleges and universities, but most of those schools are ignored by Indian students.
Assume 1-5%, depending on the school. Remember that there are only so many open seats. Public universities tend to save most of their seats for instate residents (e.g. Penn State) because the taxpayers fund the schools.
I’m confused because most people who are already successful in their own right, just skip college and continue with their private businesses. I don’t know why you would want to restart?
Safety schools would be those in the south and midwest. Those schools try to attract a diverse student population.
@“aunt bea” Firstly my startup is getting acquired by a prosthesis company. I want to continue doing research in a more innovational focused environment where I can get better opportunities to build and create.