<p>
Seriously, why not?</p>
<p>hehe! rt! of course i do! i’m punjabi! <em>does giddha steps</em> hehe! though my mother’s from the south! :)</p>
<p>I am forced to…
I was in Punjab a few days bfore
and will be again in a few months later</p>
<p>:) where in punjab?</p>
<p>Ludhiana and Chandigarh(Sector 19 and 18) and Solan</p>
<p>You have to be very, very clear about how much money your family has available for your education. Then you will know what places are possible without financial aid, and which would require financial aid. Many colleges and universities are “need-aware” for international admissions: they won’t admit you if you need financial aid that they can’t meet. You need to go to the Financial Aid Forum (there is a link on the left-hand side of this screen) and read the long informative thread on Financial Aid for International students. It is at the top of that forum.</p>
<p>Your parents might like reading some of the information here - especially that thread about Financial Aid. There also are some international parents who post in the Parents forum who might have ideas and advice for your family.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Talk about family opposition <_< I’ve had to literally struggle over it 
Moreover I had nothing close to your stellar stats! What was your rank in the IMO TC? I was so furious the noobs either didn’t decipher my handwriting or failed to understand my crazy proofs and gave me a stinking 4 in INMO 
And rank 13 in national chem olympiad, do you mean IChO TC? I suck at chem hehe. Your stats really make me ashamed of my insignificant existence. Good luck with your college list! I’d leave tetris to help you with that She’s the one who made my list ;-)</p>
<p>Just to add my 2c regarding your parents’ issue. I understand that they want you as close to them as possible, but since they are your parents and they love you, they’ll realize a US education is the best thing for you. Just get them involved in the process, let them know how great US colleges are. The same happened to my parents. They didn’t want me far away by any means, but eventually they realized it was my best option. For me it was harder because they don’t speak English and I had to explain them everything, but if yours speak English, make them read some college websites, some student opinions and other stuff. Or try to get them in contact with other parents of (current) international students, either Indian parents or some random parents from CC for example. You have no idea how much it helps.</p>
<p>On the other hand, you have a 99% shot at one of those HYPSMC and so on great schools you consider. However, they are a reach for EVERYONE, and what if you are so unlucky as to fall under that 1% category? Consider a safety. I may be very biased, but I’d recommend my future college, the University of Richmond. it’s an incredibly beautiful college. For me, it was my ‘favorite safety’, but after I got in, I fell in love with it and ended up refusing Northwestern to go there. They have a merit scholarship program, Richmond Scholars, which gives you free tuition, and possibly room and board. They may give you additional aid if you still need it. You seem to have a strong scientific background, and if you show just a little bit of passion for science in one of your essays, I’m 100% (I’d say 150%) sure you’ll have the scholarship. You also get a free trip to the US in March for the on-campus interview. Only for that, and it’s worth applying. However, it’s a liberal arts university, so there’s no engineering major. But they have an amazing chem department (I plan to major in it, so I know what I’m talking about). One of the coolest profs on campus teaches chem and does research (with undergraduates) on something about gold nanoparticles. It’s definitely worth considering.</p>
<p>make harvey mudd a reach too
With like 14 internationals, it’s a reach for anyone. And since you need FA.</p>
<p>It’ll all come down to your essays
Cliched but true</p>
<p>14 internationals or Indians? :O</p>
<p>14 internationals, definitely!</p>
<p>Then why am I thinking of applying? :O</p>
<p>Because you’re a pretty darn good science guy :p</p>
<p>But how do THEY know that? Someone like Avantika has a lot of prof. But me? A guy who failed in a science subject at school? ROFL!</p>
<p>Essays. Recs.</p>
<p>If your question is whether you ‘can’ go in terms of academics – you are definitely qualified enough to get into some of your top choice schools. If you are asking about the parents – you need to talk to them and convince them that it’s the best thing for you to do. You will need them to fill out financial and other forms on annual basis. I would say that MIT is less of a reach than CalTech – CalTech is more selective especially when it comes to internationals from what I have heard/read. I know several guys from my country who got rejected there with bronze/silver medals on IMOs and IPhOs, for one example (their scores and stuff were obviously in range to say the least). Harvey Mudd has a low intake of internationals, but you seem qualified enough to make it – great sat 1 score, 4 800s, science related activities and awards on science competitions etc.</p>
<p>i beg to differ. MIT has one of the lowest acceptance rates for internationals. And looking at the calibre of stuident thats apply from Singapore, Korea, China and India, i wouldnt say its all that easy. </p>
<p>U have a good chance. But remember that only about 1% of all indian applicants are actually admitted.</p>
<p>Well yea, MIT has a ~100 quota on international students, but at least they are need blind – I have been checking some admission results threads, and caltech outcomes for internationals were just insane – I saw international medalists with amazing scores and GPAs (one can’t get much better than that) waitlisted (and most of the WL people were fin. aid applicants). Getting in MIT as an int’l is very hard, no denying, but after reviewing the relevant data for both universities it has appeared to me that CalTech is more picky when choosing students – great ‘life story’ won’t work since their selection is based solely on academic merit.</p>
<p>I dont think you should apply, because youll lower my chances of getting in haha ;)</p>
<p>edit; k now I feel like giving up cuz im an internationals too but with no really big awards and stuff…<em>sigh</em></p>
<p>Yup, 14 internationals</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd has a low intake of internationals, but you seem qualified enough to make it – great sat 1 score, 4 800s, science related activities and awards on science competitions etc.</p>
<p>The first two don’t count. Look at the decisions thread. But yeah, you make the cut.</p>
<p>MIT and Caltech are equally selective. They just take diff kinds of people.
And as for the Olympiads, MIT too rejects a lot.They rejected one this year .An international gold medalist at that. She’s going to Harvey Mudd, i think.
Go figure.</p>
<p>Honestly just apply and pray. you’ll get in somewhere good :)</p>