Is it worth applying?

Student Lounge International Students
1

I’m a senior high school student that will apply all over the world and see where I’ll get in. I want to apply to IVYs, Oxford, Cambridge, Melbourne, NYU, other top schools…
My family is middle-class and we don’t want to waste much money on applications so I will only apply to one university in the US. Or is it not even worth applying with my stats?

Country: Sweden
School: Private French school
Country of origin: Syria but born and raised in Saudi Arabia
Gender: Female
SAT: 1320/1600 (I won’t take it again) (620 on reading/writing and 670 on maths) (my scores have already been sent to Cornell, Northwestern, Yale and Princeton)
SAT Essay: 5 4 6
SAT subject tests: Won’t take any (I can’t afford more exams lol)
Unweighted GPA 4.0
French GPA: 16/20 (I got though 20/20 in maths all high school years so far)
NO APS
NO RANK
NO AWARDS

Extracurricular:
-Activist in “Djurens Ratt”, Swedish organisation for animal rights (have been a vegan for 4 years so far)
-Member of the Youth Advisory Council of Plan International Sweden (we are currently planning and organizing the International day of the girl child event that will be held in Stockholm this year)
-Blog on cycling
-Cyclist with club
-Cycling Race (no rank, you just have to finish it) 300km long! (It’s called Vätternrundan)
-MUN school : just participation
-Instagram health&fitness account (500 followers so far lol but it’s a passion so I don’t care much)
-Go to the gym a lot (into bodybuilding)

Job/Work experience:
-Private Maths tutor
-Private English tutor
-Bike shop intern
-Interpret (English-French) at a 1-week conference between “Plan Sweden” and “Plan Senegal” (at Plan Sweden)
-KFC part-time job

Summer activities:
-AstraZenecas 2 weeks research summer school 2018

Essays:
I plan to write about my (road) cycling passion.
Also maybe about culture shock in Sweden.
I have other ideas.

Financial situation:
I got no money to finance anything lol so scholarships (full ride please) + loans + jobs + what not

Intended major: I use to know but I changed my mind so many times. I considered first law but that means I’m stuck in the same country my entire life, then I thought psychiatry but the study path is too long, then I thought dietician (which I would SOOOO love doing) but my parents think it’s too deceiving after all the hardwork I’m putting in my current studies, so then I thought alright I’ll do something with business/economics… Lol I have no idea, I’m lost as you can see!
I might do just a bachelors of arts with majors in psychology, nutrition, law/international relations, etc.

WHAT CAN I DO TO STRENGTHEN MY APP?

2

Oxford or Cambridge (you could only aply to one) don’t look right for you as you have no clear idea as to what you would want to study. The application is due 15 October, and you would need to make a good case for why you are interested in the one specific subject/combination you are applying for. Plus, your SAT scores would be too low - while you are applying mainly with your French qualifications, you are required to submit all your standardised testing results.

The SATs will be an issue in the US.

3

NYU is notorious for their poor financial aid offers, so I’d scratch that one off your list. Cornell doesn’t typically meet the full financial need of international students either.

That’s a terrible strategy. You’re looking at American universities with international admission rates in the 1-10% range. Even if you are perfectly qualified, you are playing a lottery. It would be more common to apply to 20 universities in the hopes of getting 1-2 offers of admission.

If you are serious about studying in the US, I would expand your list to include some less selective universities, such as liberal arts colleges with need-based aid for international students. If you’d rather attend a university in France than anything other than an Ivy in the US, then your current list is fine.

Your SAT scores are at the low end of the universities that you are aiming for. For example, Harvard (in a recent lawsuit) revealed that their admission rate is about 2% for applicants with an average SAT score of 650, while it’s about 30% for applicants with a perfect score. Page 7 here: http://samv91khoyt2i553a2t1s05i-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Doc-421-145-Admissions-Part-II-Report.pdf

Successful international applicants at elite American universities typically have excellent high school records, excellent standardized test scores and at least “one more thing” going for them. That one more thing could be a prestigious academic award (e.g. from the International Science Olympiad), athletic ability, community engagement, family connections, financial resources, etc.

Or think about it a different way. You may be one of the best students at your school. Harvard & Co are looking for the best few students in each country. What distinguishes you from the valedictorian at next high school over?

4

Don’t waste your time applying to just one school.
Do submit your scores to European universities since they respect scores of 1300+ (this in addition to your French grades). Include Scottish universities since as a Swedish resident you’ll automatically get free tuition.
What about Aalto in Finland? Sciences Po in France (probably Menton campus??)

5

Could you elaborate on that? I am curious which European university will consider SAT scores for applicants with a European high school credential.