Is SAT the only problem? [International]

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello,
I would like to know what are my chances for the universities below (In a 1-10 scale, please?):

Carnegie Mellon
JHU
UChicago
University Of California Berkeley
New York University
University Of California San Diego
University Of Washington

  • Profile:

Male
Huh… Mixed? (White,Black and Indigenous)
Attended high school in Brazil. Best school of the State
Born in Belem -PA,Brazil lived in Uberlandia -MG and Rio de Janeiro -RJ
Not First-generation college in Brazil. If we consider overseas - yeah - First-generation.
Financial Aid? Yes
Intended major: Chemical Engineering/Biomedical Engineering

  • Stats:

Academic
~ 2011: Finished High-School ~ GPA 8.5-10
~ 2012-2014: 3 years of Cram School (When you don’t get a place in a brazilian university for whatever reason, you go to the cram school ~cursinho)
°HS Rank: top 10%
°Cram School Rank: top 5%

High Schools in Brazil have the same programme no matter the career you wish to work in. Therefore, I studied from religious studies to physics.

ESOL
University Of Cambridge ESOL Examinations
~ 2003-2005: YLE (Starters, Movers,Flyers)
~ 2006: KET
~ 2008: PET
~ 2010: FCE (Band C)

University places won in Brazil

Public universities in Brazil are free for brazilian, so courses like medicine, marine engineering, civil engineering and law have highly competitive applicants. I hope it shows how difficult and challeging it can be.

~ 2012: Got a place for Medicine in a private medical school (51th out of 100)
~ 2013: Got a place for Medicine in a private medical school (5th out of 100)
~ 2014: Got a place for Medicine in a public medical school (17th out of 35 places. 80 students per place)

I want to work with Tissue Engineering research, so I was trying to get a place in a public medical school in Brazil. But, you know, Brazil is meh~ when it comes to reasearch. Because of this, I started to think about studying abroad, and that’s why I came to think about my chances and whether I am academically prepared for this. Of course, this line of activity can be accessed through Biomedical Engineering or Chemical Engineering as well. I am not planning to study for Medical School in the US, because it is not a undergraduate degree like in Brazil and financial options for international students are rare to not dare to say none.

EC
~ Soccer (Only at junior high and high school level)
~ Academic League of Nuclear Medicine (I haven’t enrolled in medical school yet, but I’ve been to EC-related activities to expand my chances)
~ Working at University lab
~ Works in churches e pilgrimages
~ Capoeira and Muay Thai (Train with competitors, but I don’t participate in competitions)

SAT
~ CR 600, M 640, W 570 (I will take the May SAT to get 700+ in each part)

TOEFL
~ Yet to take (Prep course starts in February)

So, is the SAT (And well… the “soon to be over” lack of TOEFL) my only problem? I am not sutyding medicine at the time. I will start after application, so I suppose I am a freshman. Nevertheless, I am using the brazilian universities opportunities for lab work and student leagues for a more competitive profile. Is there anything else I would need to do? Something missing? SAT II? More ECs? Any - constructive- feedback is welcome.
Thanks!

2

@djangom - A major problem you are going to have with most of these schools (all of the publics, plus CMU and NYU) is that they provide little or no aid to internationals. Some colleges provide aid to internationals, but will consider need as part of the admissions decision. There are very few colleges in the USA that are need blind for internationals and meet full need, and all are highly selective.

You are correct that your SAT score is relatively weak for most of these schools. If you are able to raise it to over 700 on each section, your chances should be much improved.

Another issue to consider - it seems like you should be able to apply to these colleges as a freshman if you are not in a degree program, but you might want to review their rules if you have any doubts about this.

You sound like a strong candidate, but the biggest challenge may be finding a school that will accept you, and still give you the financial aid you require.

3

@BldrDad‌ Thanks. Yeah, financial aid will be a problem (I suppose the gross annual income is about 80000 usd. My sister, one dog and me :stuck_out_tongue: must survive and live relatively well with this amount). I don’t know if it is too much or not for american standards.
Thanks, again :slight_smile:

4

@djangom - in that case, you may want to revisit your college list or look for outside funding if you want to attend a college that does is not generous to international students. At the very least, fully research the financial aid policies for all of the schools you are applying to.

5

You won’t get into most of those schools with that SAT score. You also will not get any merit aid if you managed to get accepted.

Rethink your list and be more reasonable. Can’t you reapply to Brazilian universities?

6

I will take the May SAT to get a better score. I know that my chances are zero if I apply with this score.
Reapply? Hum… Well, everyone must take the national tests again to reapply, because they are only valid for the year. But I do have a place in the university, if everything goes wrong (low SAT scores, no financial aid or no offer at all) I would still be able to study here in Brazil… Maybe not with what I want in the future, though.
SAT aside, is there any other problem with my profile? (I know that I am not outstanding, but you know… :p)

7

If you can do SAT II’s and have good scores it can help, you should try Math level 2 and Chemistry.

8

it will probably weighed against you that you graduated high school 4(!) years ago. If you plan on taking the SAT in May, you’ll be applying (presumably) for the fall semester of 2016 - 5 years after high school graduation. At that point I am not 100% sure that you are even eligible for undergraduate studies, so definitely look into that. Also, why are you in “cram school” and not a university? If you don’t give the adcoms a good reason, that too will be held against you.

As you may already know, improving your SAT score 390+ points in 4 months is going to take some SERIOUS dedication on your part (especially as an international). It’s definitely possible, but be prepared to spend a few hours each week. You will also be required to take at least 2 SAT Subject Tests for a lot of the schools you’re considering (although for some schools SAT 2s are truly optional, like Uchicago).

In terms of ECs, I would advise against trying to find completely new outlets of interest at this point - it will just seem like you’re doing it to impress colleges. Instead, try to focus extra on the ones you’re currently inovlved in and, if possible, try to win some awards, or to publish some papers.

As you’ve already figuered out, applying for financial aid will cause some problems. Now, there are some good news and some bad news. The good news is that 6 schools offer need blind admissions for international students. The bad news is that these are MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Amherst, and Dartmouth.

Lastly, there is no hook in being “first-generation in the USA” as a foreign student, as most international applicants belong to that category.

With all that being said, your chances of getting accepted drop to 0 if you don’t apply. If you’re absolutely sure that American universities are where your eyes are set - go for it. Don’t let the words of amateurs on internet forums bring your enthusiasm down. It’s better to regret things you did do than ones you didn’t.

9

Well, I spent 3 years in Cram School because I wanted a particular degree that was highly competitive to get into. I didn’t apply before because it wouldn’t look good for my profile to apply for a foreign university not being able to be accepted in one in Brazil. Fortunately, I got this year /o/ If everything end wrong, I will still have the university place here. I’ve been studying since november, so I got some extra time to study. Yeah, I know it is hard to improve that much, but it is my only chance/choice to achieve what I want. And thanks :slight_smile: It is really better to regret what we did rather than what we didn’t.

10

As long as you haven’t taken classes for credit at a university, you can apply as a freshman. Cram school, military service, work, and other reasons that may mean an international applicant is older than the traditional age of 18, are all fine and wouldn’t prevent you from applying or being admitted.
Your profile is competitive, provided you research schools well.
A school like Lawrence would be a good match (or a safety, depending on your SAT score). Universities with automatic scholarships (whether OOS tuition waiver or tuition scholarships) should also be looked into.
Present your rank in the competitive exams like this: 17th out of 3800 candidates.
Do prepare for the SAT Subjects in biology, chemistry, and Math2 as soon as you’re done with the TOEFL.

11

Hi! I’m international too (Venezuela). Since I’m an outsider, I don’t really know a lot about the universities you are applying. However, I think you are a strong candidate. I got in Georgia Tech and in the University of Wisconsin Madison, and my stats weren’t outstanding. I think that they are aware that South Americans struggle with the SAT even when they are college material. If you are interested in my stats, I have a thread titled “Chance me if you can :)” where you can check them.

About the University of California Berkeley, I was going to apply, but I read somewhere that they don’t accept SATs taken after finishing high school, and I’m pretty sure the require Math II. However, you should double check.

Hope you get in! I really wish you luck :slight_smile: