Please Chance me...an international kid

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi!!! I'll be applying to Stanford REA and UC Berkeley this fall... The problem is that I don't have those EC's which stand me out.
My EC's are-
Computer & Technology club (4years as president)
Student Council President
Class representative
Anchor at School Farewell
I'll be interning as a Database Administrator in the Indian Army this summer
Made my own website and blog, I love blogging ,also made school's website with my computer science teacher
Varsity Basketball (vice-captain)
Swimming & Water polo(in free time)
Started my business to repair the computers and teach kids Computer Science and Mathematics.
I know a variety of languages such as JAVA, C++, Visual Basic, Python, SQL, HTML, PHP......learned them on my own.
Drama(8 years)
I'm an Army Education Society scholar.</p>

<p>I know that they are a long shot for me, should I apply to them? Also, I'll apply for financial aid as an International student at Stanford(:( ). My question is that should I even consider them applying them in the future especially that REA? I'll be taking ACT and SAT Subject Tests shortly. Also, I'll be taking the TOEFL. My grades are good and I'm the salutatorian of my class. I'll be the first in my school to apply colleges in the US. I'm a first generation kid. I really want to study in the bay area as my dream is to open a startup after graduation. </p>

<p>Also I'll apply to GeorgiaTech and Hong Kong university of Science and Technology (Safety) early with Stanford. </p>

<p>also I come from a minority in my country , if that counts + first generation </p>

<p>According to World Education Services my marks are-</p>

<p>My GPA is -
9th grade- 4.0
10th grade- 4.0
11th grade- 3.84 :( Rank : 2
12th grade- aiming for a 4 </p>

<p>My School follows CBSE Curriculum and I've taken all classes possible</p>

<p>Estimates of Standardized Tests(I'll be taking them shortly)-
ACT- 33-34 (I currently score 30-31 in Barron's, As Barron's is hard, I'm confident that I can score more)
SAT Subject Tests- Phy- 780+ Chem- 750+ Math-780+
TOEFL- Hoping to score more than 110
AP Calculus BC - Will be taking next year. hoping' to get a 4 or a 5</p>

<p>Please Chance me for these colleges- I'll be applying for CS major
Stanford (CS) (REA)
UC Berkeley (EECS)
Caltech
MIT
HYP
Georgia Tech- EA
UPenn
Cornell
Dartmouth
Amherst
University of Alabama, Huntsville
CMU SCS and ECE</p>

<p>Thank you!
Also I'm torn between Stanford REA and UPenn ED</p>

2

<p>Penn ED is only if Penn is your clear first choice, and you can make the decision to matriculate without comparing financial aid and scholarship offers. Since you want to study CS in the bay area, it does not look like Penn would be your first choice, so applying ED is inappropriate.</p>

<p>All of your US schools except GT and UAH should be considered reaches for admission (the recent Berkeley EECS results indicate that it is much more selective than Berkeley L&S, and CMU SCS is more selective than other divisions). But are GT and UAH affordable? Also, how selective is HKUST?</p>

3

<p>Yeah GT is affordable, just I’ve to take out some loans and take some money from the relatives. Almost every student in my country who applies to HKUST gets offer, they need 85% in final exams of 12th grade, which I can easily score…and also they give out merit scholarships like toffees… and @ucbalumnus Can you give me that link of Berkeley’s acceptance rate, please?</p>

4

<p>Well, no one can chance you based on “predictions”, or on what you did on practice tests from Barrons or other books.</p>

<p>I got a whopping 790 on a Subject Test, even though practice tests “predicted” me that I would get something in the 650-700 range. I also experienced the opposite thing: getting scores significantly lower than I had expected after taking practice tests.</p>

<p>(Still, the CB book is the most accurate in this respect, but still far from perfect)</p>

<p>So you’d better take the tests, then come back here.</p>

<p>There’s one thing which affects your chances more than EC’s, SAT’s, GPA, everything: the way you make your list. And your list definitely needs to be improved.</p>

<p>For instance, why did you put Berkeley on your list if you need full aid? Simply put: Berkeley is a public school, so you will get virtually NO aid because you’re an international. Remove it from your list.</p>

<p>Also, why Amherst and Dartmouth? It’s good to see that you know which colleges are need-blind, but are they really good for CS? I don’t think so(My view is that Dartmouth isn’t good for anything, but I’m subjective here :slight_smile: ). In fact, you can’t be sure that applying to a need-blind college REALLY increases your chances - check my thread here: <a href=“Best kept secret in international admissions: need-blind schools are for wealthy people - International Students - College Confidential Forums”>Best kept secret in international admissions: need-blind schools are for wealthy people - International Students - College Confidential Forums;

<p>One thing you really have to work on: essays. Check the prompts for each of the schools you’re considering - they change little from year to year, and you might get a general idea of what that particular school likes. You will certainly dislike some of the prompts, and that will make you remove some schools from your list.</p>

<p>I’d say apply to 12-16 carefully selected schools, and, provided that you get great scores, you’ll be fine.</p>

5

<p>No, If I get into Berkeley, as it is a very reputed institute my relatives would be very happy to help me and banks would also offer me some loans which I can repay after getting a job. and Can you please tell me what I can improve :slight_smile: ? I live in a small town and I have less opportunities for my EC’s and I’ve taken full advantage of the resources available to me. </p>

6

<p>If you really did all the EC’s you could possibly do, you obviously have to work on the other parts of your app: SATs, essay, recommendation letters. You can start your Common App essay this spring, it will help.</p>

<p>If you really can afford Berkeley, definitely don’t ask for full aid at Stanford.</p>

7

<p>Yeah I made most out of my resources…my teachers love me very much I think that they will write superb recommendation letters. The thing is that, If I don’t get admitted at Stanford and I’m admitted at Berkeley, it will put a burden on my family expenses, that’s why I’m applying for aid at Stanford. I want that my parents live happily when I study in college, so if Stanford gives, it’s OK. If it rejects ,it’s also okay as I am not a researcher or IOI medalist. And if they both reject me, I’ll be probably go and study at GeorgiaTech or HKUST
@disari21 thanks.</p>

8

<p>Stanford (CS) (REA) - Reach
UC Berkeley (EECS) - Low Reach
Caltech - Reach
MIT - Reach
HYP - Reach
Georgia Tech- EA -In for sure!
UPenn - Reach
Cornell - high Match
Dartmouth - Reach
Amherst - Low Reach
University of Alabama, Huntsville - Safety
CMU SCS and ECE - Reach for SCS and high match for ECE.</p>

9

<p>oh thanks you @ChrisJericho , Any one else??? bump!</p>

10

<p>Bump!</p>

11

<p>bump! bump! bump!</p>

12

<p>Without standardized test scores, it’s pointless to ask to chance.</p>