<p>Basic Information:
- Status: International
- Will apply for financial aid: YES
- Nationality: Vietnamese
- Country of birth and living: Bulgaria
- Grade level: Junior</p>
<p>Academics:
- GPA: 3.5 UW
- SAT Reasoning: May - 2020 (M-800, CR-570, W-650) (I will retake in October, aiming for 2100+)
- SAT Subject Tests: World History 730 (I am taking it again in June, aiming for 800)
Math Level 1 770
Math Level 2 800</p>
<p>Extracurricular activities:
- Volleyball
- Advanced Math
- Linguistics
- Visiting orphanages
- Bulgarian Youth Red Cross</p>
<p>Awards:
- awards in volleyball tournaments
- awards in mathematics and linguistics competitions
- member of the National Society of High School Scholars</p>
<p>I speak English, Bulgarian, and Vietnamese fluently and some German as well.
I am unsure about my major but it would probably be Economics or International Relations. </p>
<p>I think that I might apply to:
Macalester C
Lafayette C
Washington and Lee U
U Pennsylvania
Emory U
Columbia U
Cornell U
Tufts U
George Washington U
U Miami
Northwestern U
Vanderbilt U
Grinnell C</p>
<p>What are my chances?
Can someone suggest a college for me? (I am an international and I need a serious financial aid)</p>
<p>Macalester C- match
Lafayette C- match
Washington and Lee U- macth
U Pennsylvania- high reach
Emory U- slight reach
Columbia U- high reach
Cornell U- reach
Tufts U- slight reach
George Washington U- match
U Miami- high match
Northwestern U- reach
Vanderbilt U- slight reach
Grinnell C- match</p>
<p>Macalester C-high reach
Lafayette C-high match/low reach
Washington and Lee U-very high reach
U Pennsylvania-very high reach
Emory U-high reach
Columbia U-very very high reach (impossible)
Cornell U-very high reach
Tufts U-high reach
George Washington U-low reach
U Miami-reach (internationals don’t fare well in state schools)
Northwestern U-high reach
Vanderbilt U-high reach
Grinnell C-low reach
Things that work against you:
*Being Vietnamese
*Being international AND needing aid (FYI internationals don’t get financial aid at American schools, and your stats are definitely not good enough for merit aid, especially since many of your schools don’t offer any).
*Low UW GPA AND SAT scores
*Typical extracurricular activities (unless those awards are national, they won’t help overcome your statistics for those schools)
If I were you, I would give up trying to apply to American schools and focus on Bulgarian colleges instead. Sofia University isn’t bad at all.</p>
<p>what is the problem with being Vietnamese?!?!?!?!
(btw, I spent my whole life in Bulgaria)
and no, Bulgarian Universities are not an option for me, thanks</p>
<p>An Asian candidate is an ORM, which means higher competition from people with perfect academic records.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t not try though, but add a few safeties that would almost definitely give you merit aid. That is if you really want to study in the US.</p>
<p>Let’s just say there are MANY Asians applying to those schools with much better stats than you have. Most of the colleges you listed have something called affirmative action. Look it up.
BTW: I was outright rejected at UPenn and given GT at Cornell as a Vietnamese-American with a 3.93 UW GPA, a 2200 SAT, and awards in math team and writing. Just to show how competitive it is at the top schools.
Wait, why are Bulgarian U’s not an option?</p>
<p>there are many asians applying with superior stats, but few of them have the intrigue that you do. you are obviously very intelligent, and the language seems to be a barrier for you (see CR and W scores). Macalester seems to be a very good fit for you. They are strong in the areas of express interest, they are a reasonable match for you, and they love internationals. As their admissions office put it to me, they are “need-aware” in admissions, but I’m sure they will be willing to make exceptions for a very interesting person like you.<br>
Moreover, all colleges love to say that they have students from (insert apparently high number) of countries represented. They all need their token example of diversity. Even state schools. See what you can do to fit that niche.</p>
<p>A vietnamese family in post-soviet Bulgaria. I’d imagine that has an interesting story. see if you can use that.
Also, is there some very compelling reason that you have to get the hell out of Bulgaria? May also be an interesting point to make in applications.</p>
<p>there are many asians applying with superior stats, but few of them have the intrigue that you do. you are obviously very intelligent, and the language seems to be a barrier for you (see CR and W scores). </p>
<p>Macalester seems to be a very good fit for you. They are strong in the areas of express interest, they are a reasonable match for you, and they love internationals. As their admissions office put it to me, they are “need-aware” in admissions, but I’m sure they will be willing to make exceptions for a very interesting person like you. Moreover, they probably have sufficient funds to make things happen for you, as it’s kind of a necessity in order to draw students from around the world. </p>
<p>Moreover, all colleges love to say that they have students from (insert apparently high number) of countries represented. They all need their token example of diversity. Even state schools. See what you can do to fit that niche.</p>
<p>Other posters here seem to be judging you only by your skin colour. I don’t think that does your situation justice. The purpose of affirmative action (which is greatly overstated by other posters) is not to get a bunch of different-looking people, but a bunch of people with a wide variety of experiences. You don’t seem to be like the average Vietnamese American applicant. You likely offer a great deal more to a college by your background than most other Asian applicants. Moreover, I think you’re more of a Bulgarian than a Vietnamese person, since that’s where you’ve lived all of your life.</p>
<p>A Vietnamese family in post-soviet Bulgaria. I’d imagine that has an interesting story. See if you can use that.
Also, is there some very compelling reason that you have to get the hell out of Bulgaria? May also be an interesting point to make in applications.</p>
<p>Ivies I would say are out of your reach, but all the other places are certainly in the realm of possibility.</p>
<p>You know guys, there is a problem why I do not want to study in a Bulgarian U. Let call it a racial problem. If I graduate from a Bulgarian U, I will hardly find a job in Bulgaria. I am not sure I would like to Vietnam and work there from the age of 25 since I have lived in Europe 18 years. On the other hand, universities in the States and Western Europe are better and more prestigious. As a Vietnamese, I am not an EU citizen, and this makes my tuition in colleges in UK, Germany, France, Austria much higher (10-15k Euro): a Bulgarian would pay about 3k to study in the Netherlands, for example. Furthermore, I am not allowed to take loans and scholarships in these universities.
As a result I have only one reasonable option: the USA.</p>
<p>I have been in the States visiting many colleges and really admire the atmosphere and curriculum. I also study at the American College of Sofia, where most of the students go to colleges abroad: especially in USA and UK. Most of the Bulgarians that you see in American universities are actually graduates from my high school. And the fact that I am not an international student in my high school (that is, I study as a Bulgarian student) makes me not an ordinary Vietnamese ;]</p>
<p>And I would not apply to Columbia, Cornell, Vanderbilt, and UPenn, I know am not ready for them ;]
But what about the others? (and btw, my CR and W on the SAT would improve)</p>
<p>Thanks to all that have given their opinions so far =]</p>