Hey guys so I’m kinda new to forums but I’m hoping I can get some feedback on my chances of getting in schools.
I’m currently an international school student attending an IB school. I’m a diploma student taking 4 HL courses. My predicted score is pretty low around low thirty something.
My GPA unweighted is currently around 3.97 and our highest GPA score is 4.33. The thing about my GPA is that it dropped around junior year and senior year due to some personal social issues which caused me to be less hardworking, motivated…etc. So I’ve been having a mixture of Bs and As in my junior + senior year.
My SAT score is 2200
My Subject scores are Math: 770 Chemistry: 730 Biology: 700
I took the subjects again so I’m hoping I got better scores
My extracurriculars include:
Model UN: Four years
President of a service club at our school which has raised over 1000US
Leading a leadership conference thing
A few minor awards for writing and math
4 years of team basketball
Service: 100+ hours
Research: At a bio lab for hundred of hours, submitted one research to a conference and had one published
So what are my chances of getting into Duke, Hopkins, Washington U in St. Louis, Notre Dame and Rice?
As someone who is seemingly passionate about something and shows promise in research, as you have already done so many hours and have even submitted and published it, I would say that you have a pretty good chance. I would say that while they are all high matches, make sure to portray yourself in a very personal fashion, one which showcases you, your passions, your progress, and your goals. If you do this, it will separate you from the majority of the application pools and will be supported by your extracurriculars. Also, make sure to explain the grade drop, as the admissions people may look past it if there is a good enough reason (a social reason would be justifiable). Good luck!
Hey guys, I’m an international student applying to US colleges and would like to have feedback on my chances of getting into colleges like Cornell, Stanford and Johns Hopkins.
So here are my stats:
SAT: 700 CR, 700M, 730W
GPA: ~3.6/4.0
Subject tests: 660MII 690Physics
Course rigor: School offers no academic flexibility and has 13 subject requirements per quarter
Extracurricular Activities:
Software designer: Designed an AI engine that optimizes economic development
Coding: Ranked online as the fifth fastest coder nationally
Also regularly take part in online programming competitions on TopCoder and Codeforces
President of school Physics and Astronomy Club, president and founder of coding club
Took part in a robotics workshop as a freshman year student
Internships/work experience:
Interned at a Gaming company for 4 months
Volunteering:
Volunteered as an assistant tennis coach during the summer
Awards:
National science fair champ
Intel ISEF finalist
Iken Scientifically robotics championship finalist
Nominated by a famous entrepreneur for an entrepreneurship prize
Would very much appreciate any constructive comments
@NotVerySmart sorry didn’t read your comment very clearly. I have a 3.97/4.33 because I worked pretty hard from ninth to eleventh grade, having mostly A+s and As. I also didn’t get too many Bs in the first semester of 11th grade. Also I’ve been slacking too much and teachers play it safe when giving predicted scores so naturally it’ll probably be lower than what I might actually receive.
Ah, misread that as 3.97 UW and 4.33 W rather than 3.97 out of 4.33
What you need to remember is that international applicants face tougher competition than the average, which is never a good thing.
I would tend to call Duke, JHU, and Notre Dame mid to high reaches, with WUSTL and Rice as low to mid reaches. Most competitive applicants for US schools, at least at my HS, have had IB predictions in the 40+ range and grades to match over the past 3 years. The exceptions are a few athletes and one URM applicant. There’s also the grade drop - which some colleges would disregard with a note from your GC, but others will still consider.
Unfortunately, all these schools are competitive enough that they reject thousands of qualified applicants each year. Make sure to have some safety schools and matches on your list, because it’s quite possible for a strong student to be rejected by all 5.
@AcceptableName 3.97 out of 4.33. A lot of schools recalculate GPA on their own scale, and my understanding based on what my school’s GC has told me is that a 5 in an IB subject is not too well regarded at places like Duke, JHU, etc.
@NotVerySmart Thanks for the good suggestions. Yea I definitely have safeties on my list but hopefully my extracurriculars and SAT scores can be considered a bit more in the process.
Not sure what major you are doing but it seems like you want to go into biology/science research
Your SAT II for bio and chem should probably be 800, so if you get that then you will be in better shape.
around low reach/fairly good match, depending on how impressive you can make your research experience sound/how passionately you can express your interest in research
You’re applying to highly competitive universities within a highly competitive pool. Your low IB score may be a deal breaker but do include the research you participated in as this may push you into the accept category.
WashU like high scores so it may be a possibility, otherwise most of the universities you listed would be reaches.
What are your matches?
@MYOS1634 Well I think schools like maybe Rice, UCLA, Tufts would be matches but I think, like you said, Washu could be a match too looking at my SAT scores. Though I do hope I can get in reach schools.