I was so hyped about applying to the US, but after seeing how competitive everyone was, I felt a bit overwhelmed. I ruined my Brown application because I made 3 mistakes in one supplementary essay, so here is that out the window, the rest of my supplements for unis are okay and detailed. My school doesn’t offer GPA or class ranking and the SATs have been cancelled for 2 years in my country, so I am already less competitive than most applicants. But I am taking the IB diploma so that’s something right :’)? I don’t know what to think of my extracurriculars, so that’s ■■■■. I haven’t competed in anything (except soccer on a city level for 6 years), I wish I had had the opportunities other schools offered like state competitions and stuff like that. SO end of story, kissing my application (and dreams :’)) goodbye. Even worse I am applying for financial aid, there is no way in hell I can even afford 1/18 of the tuition.
I’m gonna be real with you. Brown is absolutely on steroids this year, don’t know what they put in the water in Providence but I know a lot of really qualified people who got absolutely demolished in Brown ED rounds this year.
I’m also gonna be honest; the 7 schools you mentioned are… incredibly difficult to get into. Now, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have a chance. Good grades and more extracurricular involvement plus some passion can take you a long way.
What I’d recommend if you haven’t already is to apply to some state schools like Ohio State or Penn State. They’re really great options even if you don’t think they’re what you want more than anything.
Honestly I can’t tell you how much of a shot you have at those elite schools without GPA, class ranking, or SAT, but then again, I don’t know you, and it seems like your application is going to be fairly holistic. The best thing you could’ve done here, as cliché as it is, is just to give the admissions boards the most authentic and quirky version of yourself you can; one thing standing out on your app can make the difference. It’s not your fault you don’t have access to those things, and as long as you demonstrate that you challenge yourself and expand to fit the spaces you’re given, absolutely anything is possible.
Good luck! I hope you get to come to the US!
The grades part isn’t concerning me much as the extracurriculars. Don’t get me wrong, they’re good, but I don’t know how good. Also important to note, I am applying to the Abu Dhabi Campus at NYU (listed as the first choice and my essay was more focused on it). But I cant apply to state universities, they don’t offer FA for internationals at all I checked.
Okay, that makes sense. This is the first time I’ve ever talked with an international applicant. I know there are good scholarship opportunities based on merit for a lot of the state unis (don’t know if you’re restricted from those too). Also, if you’re an in-state attendee (you can file for residency after 1 year), you get reduced tuition. For example, for Ohio State, the first year would be full-price, yeah, but after that you’d only pay around 11,500 a year for tuition. Maybe that would help? I’m not sure what your financial situation is. I’ve never realized how weird our application system is, reading through this stuff.