I was rejected from UIUC. This has made me rethink my college list. Is it too ambitious ?
Should I have applied to more safeties? Am I doomed to fail? Should I think more on the lines of Canadian universities?
Here are my statsI am a international student from India .
ACT- 32 (M-29 Sc-31 R- 36 E-33)
SAT (Superscore)- 2100(M-690 CR-740 W-670)
SAT(single)- 2070 (same as above with 710 in CR)
Toefl-115
9-91%
10- 94.8%
11-92%
12(Mid)-94.8 %
Extracurriculars
Published in 5 International Research Journals on Articles on Biometrics and Systems Security, E-Waste and Simulation of solar cells , and alternate authentication systems.( Mentioned in Google Scholars)
Five year state Computer Science Olympiad Gold medal holder
Interned at a Web Development Company and helped as a junior coder in development of a website which was appreciated by a professor from Stanford.
Advanced Certification in Java C++ and DBMS
Member of IEEE Computer Society and ACM India
Life member of Vigyan Bharati
Volunteer work at Vigyan Bharati and taught to girls rescued from militancy
Universities Applied To
UCLA UCB UCSD UCD
UIUC
CORNELL
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
NYU
JOHNS HOPKINS
U Pennsylvania
Stevens institute of technology
UT Dallas
Financial contribution - 20k but already talked for loan if financial need not met
Please suggest additional universities
I think your math scores are a potential problem. Also, I don’t understand how you will pay.
Have you heard from UTD? UTD might be your best financial option if you receive a scholarship.
“Published in 5 International Research Journals on Articles on Biometrics and Systems Security, E-Waste and Simulation of solar cells , and alternate authentication systems.( Mentioned in Google Scholars)”
Really? You are an author on 5 papers. Are they in peer reviewed research journals. I’d have thought that would help you a lot!
@txstella Yes I am applying for CS . I will take out loans . I know its very risky but I have already discussed it with my parents and they agree with my plan. No I have not heard from UTD yet but I am counting a lot on it and Stevens Institute. @TomSrOfBoston Thank you for your candid response . Any corrective measures I may take.
Also I have recently submitted additional
Letter of recommendation from two professors from MIT. Will it help?
Sorry to vent out but I am getting the sense that I really spoiled my life by taking this unconventional and dangerous route.
@GoldenBear10 That’s what I fear that my stats are pretty average for all other of my choices and in the end I Will be left with nothing. I should have researched more. @lostaccount Yes they are peer reviewed. I also thought they may compensate for my mediocre scores. I don’t know what to do.
@tiwari124 Your math scores are a bit low which could affect your ability to do well in CS. Of course, SAT math is probably not a good predictor, but a low math score isn’t exactly helpful either.
Did you yourself publish those five papers? Are you listed as one of the authors (or coauthors)?
I would only request for MIT letters of recommendation if you know the professors well enough for them to write you an excellent letter. For example, if you performed research with them.
@MITer94 I understand that . But I have consistently performed well in my school ciricullum. Maybe I don’t test well or maybe I am just bad at math. I don’t really know but CS is my passion.(I understand it is premature to say so. But still)
They were my research mentors. One I met in person the other we contacted with mail.
I am first co-author on 3 of them , single co author one one and second co-author on another.
@tiwari124 I wouldn’t use “not good at taking tests” as a reason - most classes evaluate students’ performance using tests. Your math scores aren’t awful, but they aren’t particularly strong either, especially as an international student where competition is often higher.
You have received one rejection letter, so it is not the end of the world. If you somehow get rejected from all of the universities you applied to, then you will need a backup plan, for example, pursuing your undergraduate studies in your home country.
@MITer94 I understand that because if everyone blamed the tests for their poor performance it would make no sense to take the test itself. I frankly became overconfident because the level of problems was easier to my ciricullum but what I didn’t realise was they had a lot of traps designed to trap students like me.
Yes I know it is one rejection letter but I was so disheartened because it wasn’t even my dream school and I got rejected. I didn’t clearly research it enough to realise that it was one of the most selective in CS in country . I just research major specific statistics. I clearly get it know after I saw several perfect scorers being rejected . Thank you for the help.
Still something you would recommend me doing at the time ?
Your test scores are awful, everything else seems okay regarding your qualifications. I suspect that your finances will hurt you significantly, since most of the colleges you mentioned cost above $50,000/year.
OP’s test scores are NOT awful. His/her lowest section of the SAT, 670 Writing, is 93rd percentile. That’s the top 7% of people who take the test. OP, you should be very proud of your accomplishments. I’m not familiar with CS programs, but I’m sure you applied to safety schools, and if your parents support your financial plan it isn’t any random person on the internet’s place to criticize it. I wish you all the best; please try not to worry too much. Some of the details you provided are very impressive. Gold medals five years in a row? Internships at web development companies as a high schooler? That’s amazing.
The problem is twofold: 1) probably your math score and the fact that there are many applicants from India who need full scholarships. (We can’t see your essays or letters of rec so we don’t know if there are other issues there.) 2) State unis are not in the business of providing financial aid to internationals. They educate people who live in state and those from out of state who can afford to pay the full fare (and not many of those either). If you requested financial aid at the state schools (all the CA schools for example), you are probably an automatic reject.
You have a few options: Take a gap year during which you work on getting those math scores up and getting some additional research and CS experience and pick a list of schools known to accept talented international undgrads next time instead of those with famous graduate schools for Phd candidates. Or attend college in India and come to the US for a PhD which is fully funded. If you continue to put out research at this rate, you shouldn’t have a problem finding a program to accept you. Or attend school in Singapore - there is a huge Indian community studying abroad there, good tech schools, and you won’t have to go into debt. Then do graduate work in the US.
intparnt is correct when she says taking on debt to do this is ridiculous. Even if you could find someone to lend you that kind of money, you will spend a good chunk of your adult life trying to pay it off.
^Exactly^, if you need financial aid, that’s a major cause for rejection in need aware schools.
Your SAT scores are not in the “elite” category of scores. The universities look at GPA and test scores first. Then they take a look at your ECs.
Letters of recommendation should come from people who know you well and have worked side by side with you. If they don’t really know you, except by documentation and one meeting, what can they say about you?
Something that is appreciated by a Stanford professor:
doesn’t put you on par as a Stanford researcher and looks as though you’re trying to pad your resume.
Your best bet, if you don’t have the money or can’t get into your desired uni’s, this year, is to take a gap year and try to up your SAT scores to try to qualify for some merit aid. Work a job to save up some money for your college expenses.
The UC’s are $55K per year; they are public schools and don’t fund OOS nor international students.
@intparent I realize it is a very risky gamble but it is one I am willing to take.
@rdeng2614 No I am international from India. I am going to get loans from financial institutions . Yes I realise I will be spending a lot of money but many people with same income band have successfully done so in my country. Purdue is no longer an option because they had priority deadline on the 1 Feb but I also applied to U Mich. @gearsstudio I know they seem awful when compared with students from my country. I am not that smart to score better I guess after so many attempts . I hope my EC’s somehow makeup.