<p>I am an international student wishing to apply to UChicago, Columbia, Stanford, Brown and Cornell. I understand that my chances are low due to the fact that I am an international student but I was wondering if anyone can help me understand if applying RD rather than ED will reduce my chances? I am self teaching the Subject Tests and will not sit them until December 7th so I have no other choice than to apply RD on January 1st. Also, if I require less financial aid than other applicants, will I have a higher chance of getting in?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>Goldfly </p>
<p>PS: if you think, due to my situation, that I am in a bad position to apply, what kind of grades should I be looking to get on my ACT and Subject Tests to have a good chance of getting into at least one of the universities of my choice? My essays, I imagine, will be pretty good and so will my recommendations. In terms of ECs, I am on the debating team, cross country team, runner up of a national science competition, runner up of a national essay competition, senior prefect, house prefect, play director, guitarist, RAF cadet, high school scholar and have Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Silver and Gold under my belt. I also write for the school magazine, tutor children in younger years and have done a massive amount of charity work (the highlight, spending a week in a Filipino slum and experiencing how they live which is what my common app essay will be on). My work experience is also top notch (at a London based investment firm). </p>
<p>There’s a thread ongoing in the college search forum right now with another international student (from India) who’s looking for major financial aid for her undergrad studies. Take a look as some issues are universal. </p>
<p>It doesn’t sort many of your questions but the posters have given lots of information on various lists to cross check and the level of competition.</p>
<p>Are you saying you’re a junior who’s going to take Subject Tests on Dec 7, 2014?
If so, you have plenty of time to study and prepare; lots of material should match what you’ve studied in school anyway. :)</p>
<p>ED will increase your odds but you should only do that if you have a clear first choice - the schools you list are quite different (Brown/Chicago, Chicago/Stanford…)
If you are applying ED, you should take subject tests in May or June this year, or October 2014 at the latest.</p>
<p>Applying to the schools you list is a crapshoot anyway, even if ED increases your odds slightly (not as much for an international as for a domestic applicant).</p>
<p>Yes, if you need less financial aid than other applicants, it’ll help you. Most colleges are need-aware, meaning that the more financial aid you need, the higher your stats must be. Full rides are typically reserved to geniuses of some kind :)</p>
<p>Will you be applying to match and safety schools in the US, too, or do you have those in your home country?</p>
<p>Your achievements are impressive, but how did you do on your GCSE’s/O’Levels? AS Levels?</p>
<p>I will take the Subject Tests on the 7th of December 2015 which is my final year. I need to take them as late as possible in order to increase my chances of achieving the score that I am aiming for. My parents have only agreed to let me take the Subject Tests once as they are reluctant to let me apply to the US all together. </p>
<p>I don’t really have a clear first choice and as I have explained above, I will not be able to apply ED anyway so I’ll probably apply RD and hope for the best.</p>
<p>Well I’m no genius but my parents earn around $200k between them so I will need financial aid but not too much I don’t think? </p>
<p>I will be applying to match and safety schools in the UK as they are much cheaper </p>
<p>Thank you very much do you think my essay topic will be unique enough to be considered a strong common app essay? I am really worried that my extra curriculars will not be enough as I don’t have a clear ‘hook’ I don’t think and plus universities over here don’t really care about ECs so I am lucky enough to have what I have. My GCSE results were ok I think I got 7A*s and 2As and my AS results are still pending. Will the universities in the US care about any of those by the way?</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply. My school is in the UK and therefore I don’t have a GPA (I’m doing A Levels not AP classes). I would estimate that I am in the top 3 percent but again my school doesn’t publish rankings. I’m taking the Act test soon I’m predicted a 34.</p>
<p>for all the schools you mentioned, with the exception of Cornell, you need around 2200 or even 2300 SAT to get accepted (34-35 ACT), and also be in the top percentiles of your school. with the stats you stated and taking into account that you require little financial aid, I think you will get into some of those schools.</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply, that is very reassuring to hear but I’m worried about the fact that some applicants with better stats than me are rejected by the very same universities that I intend to apply to. Should I be worried? Also what do you think of my essay topic and ECs?</p>
<p>Cornell likes to admit international financial aid applicants without financial aid. Just a heads up that this might happen. (Most other universities instead reject international applicants whose financial need they cannot/don’t want to meet.)</p>
<p>Instead of GPA they’ll look at GCSE results, AS results, and predicted A-Level results. It’s better if you can manage 4 A-Levels or if you can take 3 “traditional” A-Levels (like History, Art History, English Literature; or Maths, Further Maths, Physics…) - your 4th can be communication or media studies or business then. :)</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your reply I was unaware that GCSE, AS and predicted A Level grades mattered to universities in the US. I’m pretty sure that there isn’t a section for them on the Common App? </p>
<p>If I have to calculate an overall GPA, would it be my GCSE grades (4.0) and my AS results (4.0 or very close) thus giving me an overall GPA of 4.0? How will they know if I have done the conversion correctly? I don’t know how to calculate a weighted GPA by the way. Is it just add 1? What is the point of that? </p>
<p>I will be taking Maths, FM, Economics and Physics at A2. Do you know how much of an overlap there is with A Level Physics and the Physics Subject Test? I want to avoid doing too much self teaching for the subject test :p</p>
<p>Yes they use these results instead of GPA and yes you’d have a 4.0 if you have A/A*. A British B is an A- as per the Cambridge scale, and it goes all the way down to G and U as D and F.
The Physics Subject test will be between GCSE Physics and AS Physics in level however I do not know the exact overlap.</p>
<p>@Goldfly Of course that about 95% or more of internationals, some with exorbitant statistics, get rejected by those schools. But it is also a fact that some get accepted with relatively low stats (2000 SAT) due to other nonquantifiable factors. The best you can do is write good essays, apply to safeties, and hope for the best.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all of your replies. I guess it is almost impossible to predict whether I’ll get in to any of them so I will simply apply and hope for the best. My main concern was my extra curriculars and my essay topic and if you have any more comments, I would love to hear them I intend to major in economics and I will apply to safeties in the UK, not in the US. Happy new year by the way!</p>
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but I’m worried about the fact that some applicants with better stats than me are rejected by the very same universities that I intend to apply to. Should I be worried? Also what do you think of my essay topic and ECs?</p>