Realistic Choices for college

<p>I'm brazillian and I'm currently a junior at High School and I, predictably, aim for an Ivy League or one of the great names in the U.S. First of all, I'd like to know how is the international student scene in these colleges, as in do international students actually stand decent chances of getting in?
Also, I'd like to have realistic options based on my grades and such. The information I have is most likely very superficial and might not be as much info as needed to give me those options but I'd very much appreciate if an analysis would be made, even if not very reliable.</p>

<p>2013 - Sophomore Year
I got an overall score of 81% in the year, which would translate to a 3,2 GPA (not sure if that's correct)
Class Vice-President
Theather Club</p>

<p>2014 - Junior Year
I got a score of 87% (so far), which would be a more or less 3,5 GPA (also not sure sorry)
Member of Senior Trip Committee
Some (not finished yet) hours of voluntary work
Also i'll be Senior Class President next year. </p>

<p>Thank you in advance. </p>

<p>Your a URM so that will help. Are you a permanent resident of USA?</p>

<p>I’m still living in Brazil, and most likely will graduate senior year next year here. </p>

<p>I don’t mean to sound harsh, but no American student would get into any ivy with your grades. As an international student, it would take truly a miracle to get in. Work on bringing up your GPA as MUCH as possible and get sky high scores on your SAT. Write a great essay and then hopefully you will have a chance at the less selective Ivies.</p>

<p>It is extremely competitive for anyone to get into the Ivy League colleges, but it is much harder for international students as space is very limited and the competition is at a very high level. Often they need to be the very top students in their country or have national level achievements. It sounds completely unrealistic for you. There are only going to be a few hundred internationals from all countries so they are looking for the very highest achievers.</p>

<p>Maybe try applying to a state school…</p>

<p>Unfortunately, international students have a harder time getting into elite American colleges, especially the Ivies. but as someone else pointed out, an American would probably not get in with your grades. Try to raise them as much you can your senior year and do more ECs and study your ass off for the SAT/ACTs and you could try for Cornell and maybe Dartmouth. Unfortunately, the rest seem out of reach but you never know. There are other great schools in the states with higher acceptance rates. </p>

<p>You will need to take the ACT and/or SAT, and possibly the TOEFL, for most American universities. Unfortunately, your grades are not Ivy League caliber. That does not mean you won’t have a good chance of getting into the majority of four-year colleges - you do, especially if you will not require financial aid (it’s much, much tougher for international students). If you have not already taken any of the standardized tests, you are at a major disadvantage, since you won’t have much opportunity to re-take them, and you will not have much time to select your colleges. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of colleges that will accept a “B” student happily, especially one with an unusual background. They will not be the most elite, selective ones, though. What region would you like to attend college in? What are your fields of interest? Would you prefer a large university or small college? Do you want a warm climate? Do you prefer an urban area, or would more remote colleges be okay? </p>