<p>Hi, i'm a student from Australia and i don't really know how these college applications work. I graduate from High School in December of this year (2012). I'm only allowed to go to the US if i get into one of hte Ivy league schools. I have 2 queries about it:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I was wondering what would be the earliest possible time to actually join one of the ivy league school. I saw something about the 2016 class already being decided?!?! Does that mean the earliest chance of joining them would be 2017?</p></li>
<li><p>I've done the SATs once and scored 2160 although it was the first time i'd seen a test like it and i think if i study i can do better on a resit. Hypothetically, however, if 2160 was my final score would that be adequate to get into Yale or another such school? I'm currently a school debater and was recently selected for a more elite representative team to represent a group of the top private schools in Australia. I'm also currently the school vice president and will continue till i graduate. I'm also 2nd in Command of an Australian Army Unit for Cadets which involves 400 boys. I do academic tutoring for younger students, mentoring for grade 7s and 8s. Im also a School Prefect (one of 12 boys charged with managing many of the day-to-day interactions with students). I've also done some public-speaking with Rotary International, coming runner-up in the Four-Way speaking comp. I dont know what any of that might mean for my application, but i've seen a lot of US people listing their ec and it's far more impressive. Does that put me in any good stead for applying to Yale/Ivy League combined with a 2160 SAT score?</p></li>
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<ol>
<li><p>The ivies don’t accept applications anymore. You must apply by the end of this year (beginning Aug 1st and the deadline is new year) in order to join the class of 2017</p></li>
<li><p>Honestly, your extracurriculars don’t help you stand out from the crowd, so they can’t compensate for your SAT score (which is good for many schools but simply not competitive enough for the ivies).
btw if you live in Sydney there is a college consultant offering free services right now. just contact me in case you are interested.</p></li>
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<p>Feel free to message me - I’m an Australian undergrad at Yale, so I know your cultural/educational situation reasonably well. </p>
<p>Schools like Scotch and MGS and Sydney Grammar and PLC get a disproportionate number of students accepted to Ivies, so if you go to these schools, you probably know whether you have a chance or not anyway. I’d say most of the Australians who want to do science who get accepted are somehow affiliated with the olympiad programs, or, in any case, win accolades at an international (or sometimes national) level… others excel at sports (often rowing), or get near perfect/perfect ATARs with many other extra curriculars or awards. Your SAT scores definitely appear to be on the low side for Australians, which might be a problem unless you’ve got some big prizes or a fascinating life story up your sleeve :/</p>
<p>You may be misunderstanding what the class of 2017 is-- that means that they graduate in 2017. It is correct that the application time for the class of 2016 (which will begin this fall, in 2012) has passed. So the earliest you could start is the fall of 2013.</p>
<p>@Sydneyuni and schrodingerscat: i msged u both. Thanks again for your offers of help. But is my ec really that ordinary? Permit me to list them, or the main ones, more fully. But ignore them if you rekon they’re of no consequence as they may not be. Im 3rd/206 at school atm, and have been for the last 3 years.</p>
<ul>
<li>Second Head Boy (school vice president, deputy, whatever u want to call it…) of a Sydney Private school that accounts for 2000 students. Particularly notable, for me at least, because i am the first non-caucasian person to be appointed as a school captain. (i go to a school where i am one of about 20 boys who aren’t white out of the 1250 boys in High School)</li>
<li>Executive Officer (XO - Second in Command and highest rank) of Australian Army Cadet Unit - 400 boys. As part of this service i participated in 2 bivuoacs per year, as well as 5 hours of training/organisation of training per week every monday.</li>
<li>Member of the 1st Prefects: Group of 12 boys elected to be in charge of the boys of the school.</li>
<li>School House Captain (Houses are smaller groups within schoolsthat provide for a more personal environment…so my role in that is paternal almost)</li>
<li>Member of Student Representative Council, in my younger years.</li>
<li>Academic Tutor of less academically able students</li>
<li>Mentor for younger boys as they move into high school
-Writer for SWR; longest running student paper in Australia</li>
<li>Thinking of joining a newer paper as the editor.</li>
<li>1sts Debating Team for School - 9 hours per week.</li>
<li>Captained one of the 3 GPS Representative Debating Teams (a selective group formed from the “best” debaters from some of the top boys private schools in sydney)</li>
<li>Representative School Public Speaker</li>
<li>Invited to a number of public speeches around sydney particularly by Rotary International to speak about social issues.</li>
<li>Invited to a number of leadership conferences by the state government; at one of which i performed a speech to a conference of hundreds youth leaders from around Sydney)</li>
<li>Have participated in Model UN representing the USA.</li>
<li>Sport for 9 years including 9 years of soccer, shorter periods of cricket (6 years), basketball (1) and tennis (socially) and athletics/running</li>
<li>Participate in a religious organisation to learn about Christianity.</li>
<li>Have done volunteering service at a school for autistic children</li>
<li>Am trying to start an organisation which links schools and school children with retirement homes and other areas of community need</li>
<li>Have worked with Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Abbott)</li>
</ul>
<h2>- Have organised a number of fundraisers and charity contributions. E.g. fundraising and publicity for a braincancer event which raised 75,000 and another organisation for which my “house” donated 300kg and the school raised 3 tonnes.</h2>
<p>Prizes</p>
<p>-Silver Duke of Ed (but i’ll have my Gold by the time i apply)
-Bedrossian Debating Prize for excellence in debating
J.H.Moore General Activities Prize for Academic and Community Leadership
-Runner-up of Rotary International Four-Way Speaking Competition
-2 High Distinctions at National Geography Competition
-2 High Distinctions at National Rio Tinto Big Science Competition (Once where i was 1 mark from getting a medal)
2 Latin Prizes for Topping the School’s Latin Department</p>