US domestic, not a citizen or permanent resident (H4 Visa)
Residency: Texas
Type of high school: Public
Gender/Race/Ethnicity: Male/Indian
Other special factors:
First 2 years of high school were done outside the US
Changing schools again in senior year, from a very competitive public school (junior) to rural non competitive school (senior)
Intended Major(s): Computer Science GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.78 on a 4 scale (As in everything except for math, where I got a B and C)
Weighted HS GPA: 5.05 on a 5 scale
Class Rank: Current school does not rank, not sure about new one
ACT/SAT Scores:
ACT not taken
SAT 1: 1490, EVBRW: 730 and Math: 760
SAT 2: 1460, EVBRW: 700 and Math: 760 (free reported this to many colleges)
Coursework
AP Courses: AP CSA: 5, AP Physics 1: 4, AP Chemistry: 5
Junior year math course was: advanced precalculus
Planned Senior Year Courses were AP Calc AB, AP Macroeconomics, AP Physics C (but not decided at new school and not sure if those courses are offered there)
Awards
Certificate of academic acheivement for junior year
Java specialist certification
(Sorry im not sure if those certifications even mean anything)
Extracurriculars
Extremely weak on extracurriculars but:
40 hours of volunteering at an animal shelter
I code a lot as a hobby and I’ve learnt a lot of python and web development that. I have projects to showcase this (a self driving car powered by a neural network, an implementation of a pathfinding algorithm on a board, etc)
Studying Japanese, currently around N3 level on JLPT (approx. 600 Kanji)… Is this worth listing or is it a bad EC?
Essays/LORs/Other
Essays: I’m honestly not very good at english so I dont think I can write a good essay, but I’m trying to improve
LOR: I asked one from my cs teacher and will ask one from my chem teacher. I never really spoke to them much but I always did my work on time and never bothered them.
Cost Constraints / Budget
Under 40K would be ideal. But if I get into a really good school which is OOS and expensive (60K-ish), my parents have said that they would want me to go there.
Schools
I don’t really have a college list, so I’d appreciate your help in helping me form one. But schools I will be applying to are:
UT Austin (I know that its impossible but my parents keep talking about how they want to me get in there)
Texas A&M: I’d be really happy if I could get into a&m, do you think I stand a chance here?
Personal preferences: I’d like to study in a big city (like nyc or LA) but most of the schools there seem very competitive. If you happen to know one that I stand a chance at, please let me know! The big city preference is not a must but rather a nice to have.
Please suggest other schools you think might be a good fit for me. Your advice and expertise are greatly appreciated! Let me know if you need any more information.
Congratulations for everything you’ve accomplished so far. Moving to a new country is not easy at all, especially during high school. You have done well, despite these challenges.
You will be treated as an international student, not domestic (unless there are public schools in Texas that will count you as a resident. I don’t know).
Affordability will be your main challenge, so you probably need to focus on in-state options that will be within budget. OOS schools will be expensive. Private schools can cost as much as $85k a year.
There are many knowledgeable posters here who can suggest appropriate schools.
Tagging @AustenNut
It will depend on your GPA (not sure how the first two years will count) but how about an Arizona or Arizona State. Or home at U Houston. Or U Cincinnati or UCF or Minnesota (maybe).
You have options. UTD is not in city but close. Or UTSA etc.
Good luck.
Edit - didn’t realize would be international so my note may not work. But take a look at each.
Alabama gives regular merit to Intl. You’d be well under budget. But it’s not big city
Arizona would still work. Tucson is sizable and campus is a short ride on public transport from downtown.
Thanks for your response!
I hadn’t thought about UTD and Arizona, those seem like good schools. I’ll look into them, thank you again for your response!
Thank you!
I wasn’t actually too sure if I’d be treated as an international student or not, so I mailed a UT Austin admissions counselor and asked them about it. They said that since I’d be graduating from a Texas high school, I would be considered in-state and not international. They also said that they would sponsor a visa for me if needed and even if they do that, I’ll still only be paying resident tuition. I’m not sure if this only applies UT schools, all Texas school or all schools in the country. I’ll try looking into that, thank you for your insight and tag!
Great! Being able to pay in-state tuition will be a huge help.
Not sure how broadly this applies. Definitely not to the whole country - in many states you’ll be an international applicant and may not be eligible for (need or merit) aid. Looks like Texas is different - which is great for you.
Thanks for the information! I was really hoping I’d be considered OOS and not international. At least Texas still considers me a resident, thanks for your help!
@DadOfJerseyGirl brings up a great point on Intl. Check each school. UH is a safety as is UTD and Arizona. Check ASU too.
All safeties but you need a school you like and can afford that you’ll get into. You don’t need matches and targets. They’re fine to have but safeties matter most.
I’m basing my assessment on your stats as if US but the Intl angle may throw a curveball.
Thanks! Yea, safeties do seem to be the most important.
Ill try mailing UH and ASU today. Also isn’t ASU quite expensive? I was looking at their cost of attendance and for non resident it seems to be in the 50s. Are they generous with their aid?
I cant seem to find the exact email I sent them, but I’m pretty sure I had mentioned that my first two years of high school were abroad.
But you’re right I might be only considered a resident for tuition purposes and not for admissions, I really do hope that is not the case.
Wow that is generous aid! I didn’t know universities outright stated that you’ll receive x amount of aid if you have a certain gpa. Thanks for the information!
That’s true. When joining my school in the US, my counselor had told me that they’d mostly ignore my foreign grades since its too hard to convert those.