Please chance me :)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi
I'm an international student (from SE Asia if that matters). I'm currently a junior and I'm planning to apply to top schools in the US.</p>

<p>SAT : 2310 (first time)
TOEFL: 118 (out of 120)
GPA : 4.00 (out of 4.00) no weighted/unweighted thing in my country
class rank: 1 (out of 250)</p>

<p>SAT subject tests:</p>

<p>Math level 2 : 800
Physics : 800
Chemistry : 800
Biology : 700-780 (score not out yet)
World History: 700-800 (prediction, but haven't take the test)</p>

<p>APs:
My school does not have any AP courses. But I self study 6 APs and took AP exams at another school. The scores are not out yet but I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a 4/5 on all of them.
These are the subjects:</p>

<p>biology
chemistry
physics b
world history
microecon
macroecon</p>

<p>Awards/Achievements:</p>

<p>Patent Owner</p>

<p>1st Place Winner of Asia Pacific FedEx Express/ Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge 2010, competing as a representative of my country and won $4,000.</p>

<p>Invited as a coach for next year's competition ^.</p>

<p>3rd Place in nationwide innovations competition, competing against adults/college students (I'm one of the 2 students competing) </p>

<p>Best Actress in school's annual film festival and Editor of the same film</p>

<p>School's Academic Honors (many of them)</p>

<p>On several TV shows and newspapers (don't think it really matters, but just put it in case)</p>

<p>Activities outside of school:</p>

<p>Own a business (pet stuffs made from environmental materials)</p>

<p>Raise fund and build a books and toys library for children in underdeveloped communities (raise around $10,000 so far - just starting)</p>

<p>Train students to create e learning softwares and coach them for a computer competition.</p>

<p>Write a book about Personal Social Responsibility (both e book and normal book)</p>

<p>School activities:</p>

<p>My school does not have any clubs, student governments, or anything like that. So this part might not seem very strong. </p>

<p>Regular MC at school</p>

<p>School stage crew (act in numerous plays and film) --> both main and minor roles</p>

<p>Varsity tennis (3 years so far)</p>

<p>Keyboard player in a student band</p>

<p>Organizer of a school fundraising project to help soldiers fighting an insurgency. - Raise around $20,000.</p>

<p>Work experiences:</p>

<p>200 hours internship at a medical clinic.
100 hours internship at an economics research center that co with UChic (also help with website designing for the research center)
50 hours community service at school library.
50 hours community service at school's nurse office.</p>

<p>Essays + Letters of Recommendations: should be great :D</p>

<p>I'm going to study business/economics. These are the schools I'm interested in.</p>

<p>If the school is need blind, I'm going to apply for a scholarship. (My family is mid income and no one in the family has been to top school)</p>

<p>Harvard
Stanford
UPenn
MIT
Princeton
Yale
UCs
Babson
Boston College
Brown
Northwestern</p>

<p>Thanks :)</p>

2

<p>I just realize it’s a very long post lol.</p>

3

<p>Good stat and ECs but…
South East Asian international applying for FA</p>

<p>Harvard: Reach
Stanford: Reach
UPenn: Reach
MIT: Reach
Princeton: Reach
Yale: Reach
Brown: Reach
Northwestern: Reach</p>

<p>“I’m going to study business/economics.”
Where is U Chicago?</p>

<p>How come you are not applying as a (female) scientist or engineer?</p>

4

<p>

</p>

<p>Northwestern is definitely not a reach. I think UPenn is a lower reach. Also, I think those schools are need blind, so FA isn’t a factor in chances. And, I don’t think Southeast Asian is an ORM (East asian and South asian are, but not Southeast Asia)</p>

5

<p>Every need-blind school for internationals is a reach.</p>

6

<p>“Every need-blind school for internationals is a reach.”</p>

<p>Correct!</p>

<p>I have a friend with better (or similar) stat than OP who got rejected from every selestive colleges.</p>

7

<p>@20more</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply.
I forgot to mention UChic, what do you think are my chances for UChic (probably a reach too?)</p>

<p>For the ones you didn’t mention, you think I can get in?</p>

<p>How come you are not applying as a (female) scientist or engineer? </p>

<p>At first, I’m going to study premed, but then I realize I like the business/econ thing when I start to join a lot of business competitions. I don’t feel the same passion when I do the science stuffs. :)</p>

8

<p>@bobtheboy</p>

<p>thanks
for the other schools you don’t mention, you think I can get in?</p>

<p>BTW, what is an ORM ?</p>

9

<p>@everyone</p>

<p>Thanks for the quick replies.</p>

<p>I know that it is more difficult for an international student to get in than a US citizen.
But I would like to know why? (with a few exceptions, I don’t find any college websites that say something about this. Most of them say they are fair to everyone)</p>

<p>Do top (private) colleges have quotas for international students? (i know public ones do have for their states)
Is competition more intense for international students? (i.e. separate piles for international and US students)
Other reasons?</p>

10

<p>ur stats are too good & i feel u should b in all the top notches out there
good luck :D</p>

11

<p>Because there are very few U.S. universities that meet full financial need and are need-blind in international admissions (six, to be exact), there are a very high number of international applicants to those particular schools. Just by sheer weight of those numbers, one can apply to every single such school and easily be rejected by all of them. Many tens of thousands of well-qualified domestic and international students are turned down.</p>

<p>I’m not saying you have no chance, but all those schools are a crapshoot for everyone.</p>

12

<p>@ptcbot</p>

<p>Thanks for the support :D</p>

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<p>@polarscribe</p>

<p>so the pile for US and international students is separate?</p>

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<p>At some schools, yes. At others, no. But all six of the “need-blind/full-need-for-internationals” schools are highly competitive and extremely selective - they’re “reaches” for basically everyone who applies, international or domestic.</p>

<p>Only Amherst, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Princeton and MIT are need-blind/full-need for internationals. All other schools you listed may or may not consider need in admissions, and do not guarantee to provide full financial aid for international students.</p>

15

<p>@polarscribe</p>

<p>Thanks for the info!</p>

<p>Can you estimate a percentage chance for those “reach” schools?</p>

16

<p>No. “Chances” are complete tosh anyway.</p>

<p>You’re asking a bunch of high school students and random people on the Internet to guess at the results of an inscrutable by-committee process that weighs a huge number of variables in completely different ways at each individual institution.</p>

<p>You might as well ask the Magic 8-Ball. Same completely-invalid results, much less effort.</p>

17

<p>Of course I know there are random people on the internet answering questions on this site. I just want some opinions (it’s better than nothing) and I know that there is no way to measure accuracy of these replies since all or most of them are not working in the admissions office. </p>

<p>Anyway, thanks for your help.</p>

18

<p>I’m not sure where everyone else got their information, but last year a friend of mine got into Princeton as an international student (from Mexico) and received great financial aid (around 75% I think) . His stats were waaaaaaaaaaaay less impressive than OP’s, 2130 SAT’s, no 5’s on AP tests, average SAT subjects tests and EC’s… He did however, go to school in the United States and was a very good writer. Maybe that was the difference but he got into Princeton, UPenn, and got wait listed at Harvard. He was planning on going into business. Sorry about the lack of order in my reply :p</p>

19

<p>@ Pepe29</p>

<p>Thanks. I think going to school in the US makes a difference since I know many students from my country that go to high school in the US who do not have super impressive profiles but got into top schools. </p>

<p>Anyway, your story about your friend gives me a boost of confidence. :smiley: (not 100% sure that I will get in but just feel better) LOL</p>

20

<p>Your stats are really impressive, but being international and applying for financial aid will hurt you as many have said before. That really sucks that that is the way things work, but I could still see you maybe getting in at at least Northwestern. Thanks for chancing me and good luck, I hope it all works out for you!</p>