Hello everyone. I am going to apply next year to top 25+ American colleges. Please chance for those colleges, especially the Ivy League, top UCs and other ultra-elite schools. I am expected to major in Econ, Fin, Statistics or Accounting. So here is my stat:
International East Asian Male
Studying in an American Private High School since Junior with a full scholarship
3.9 GPA UW - 4.7 GPA W, expected to be the same in Senior year
1580 SAT, 35 ACT
790 SAT Math II, 780 SAT US History
Expected to have taken 10 AP by the end of senior years, probably seven 5s and three 4s
Founder of the school’s Finance Club
School Newspaper Editor & Lead Reporter
Top officer (Same rank as VP) of the Student Council
Student ambassador
Model UN Senior Member
Chess Club VP
Student Ambassador
Summer 2-month Internship for top Bank/Capital Investment Firm in my Country
Summer 1-month Internship for a National War Museum
Member of National Math Club in my Country (entrance exam required and there is a quota of 5 students for each province/state)
Founder of a recognized, accredited nonprofit organization operates in 5+ countries (for 2+ years, serious work, it also get the checkmark on Facebook lol)
Founder of a small online magazine and a 20k-ish subscriber YouTube Channel
TEDx Talk Speaker
Featured on various national news & TV in my Country
Student of the Year in my hometown
Organizers of various volunteering campaigns, including international ones
Thank you very much for your helping! I appreciate all of your comments.
*Please note that some of my stats are either omitted or slightly changed to avoid exposing my identity. However, they demonstrate very similar scale. For example, the Finance Club or Economics Club demonstrate quite similar skills. Please excuse me for this concern. Thanks!
In case anyone need more info, I took and will take these APs: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Statistics, Calculus BC, Calculus AB, World History, US History, Physics C Mechanic, Physics C E&M, Human Geography.
Hi Gumbymom, thanks for your comment. My family can easily afford around 60% tuition fees but if there is no financial aid provided, we can still manage by other ways. My parents prefer a more prestigious college rather than a high scholarship at a lower ranked college so financial aid is not a priority concern for me. And of course, I also applied to a variety of top 70 U.S. colleges and lower ranked European universities as safety options.
You are definitely a competitive applicant but schools like the California UC’s offer little to no financial aid to OOS/International students so you should expect to pay full fees at $65K+/year to attend. Top schools like Harvard, Yale etc… offer need-based aid but not merit aid although most can be generous but depending upon family income, you could have a significant gap in costs. Also be aware the tuition costs are the not the same thing as Cost of Attendance. Tuition costs do not cover the following: room/board, books, personal expenses and transportation. Make sure you aware of the difference between tuition only and all costs.
There is really no way to chance you since International student acceptance rates in many of the top schools are very low. As long as you apply broadly, you will have several options from which to choose.
“quota” isn’t exactly the right word, but yes, most US colleges- not just the top ones- seem to keep their international students % in the 10-15% range. Moreover, between the many parents around the world who value the name foremost (like yours), and the fact that the top tier of private institutions give the best financial aid, the competition is intense. And, when you are from a region of the world with a large number (in absolute terms) of highly motivated, high achieving students it is harder again to stand out. US colleges value diversity both from within the US and from around the world. So, a student with your stats from a region that is under represented will be in a better position to stand out (that is not the same as saying it is ‘easier’!).
But; you are in a private school. That school should have a very good idea how it’s students do at the schools you are interested in- including their international students. You will honestly get a better sense of where to focus your search there, both from your classmates and your GC. You want a name university so find out which ones seem to take a lot of students from your school- and which kinds of kids tend to get in there.
Thanks for your reply. My country is kind of under-represented in the Ivy League, with only < 3 undergrad+postgrad students every year at schools in HYPS so I would be at a slightly better position then.
Also, the fact is despite great stat and not-bad ECs (I would say they focus more on Academic and very limited on others so that would be a disadvantage), none of the students in my school get to the Ivy League or Top 10. The closest our alumni get into is UCLA and UWash.
Your STATs are competitive, and the fact that your country is under-represented, gives a clear boost. However, I can just imagine the thousands of applicants who are also international that resemble similar profiles applying to T10 or 25, so focus on other aspects of your application, that will make it or break it, such as personal statements, supplemental writing, and demonstrate a passion that revolves around your interests.
Hi @Puzzled101, thanks for your suggestions. I am still concerning if the fact that my country is under-represented will compensate enough for the disadvantage of me being a Male East Asian student. (I know this is still debatable, but you can see statistically Asian, especially East + Southeast Asian acceptance rate to U.S. elite college is very low)
Thanks everyone for your helpful reply. I will not apply to U.S. Colleges and stick to an European College where eligible students in my high school are guaranteed acceptances.
Dear Moderators, please have this thread/discussion closed.
If you are willing to use Harvard (one of the few schools that actually make granular international student enrollment data available) as a proxy for top 25 US universities, “under represented country” does not provide any advantage in undergraduate admissions. The data shows undergraduates from 102 countries enrolled at Harvard College.
That means that there NO students at all in the last four years from approximately 100 countries at Harvard College.
Are you attending a US school in the US or a US school in another country?
I think your odds at the UC’s are good, although which ones is difficult to discern. I’d apply to all UC’s you like + a few other public universities and their honors college (let’s say top 10-top 15 public universities) and LACs, especially Carleton or Grinnell where you would be under-represented.