With these scores, what are my chances at top tier universities?? I’m an international student and I’ll be retaking the SAT in December, in which the max I can expect is 1500+
Intended major?
Which top universities? What about your GPA/ grades, course rigor, EC’s and awards?
Which universities? Which majors?
Where are you applying from (if India, China, or Korea, these scores aren’t very useful. If Italy, France, Iran, Botswana, or Tunisia, they are.)
What honors or competitions have you participated in?
Are you applying to test-based merit scholarships such as at Miami Ohio, UAlabama, UTDallas?
Most importantly: How much can your parents afford?
Country - India
Major - Astrophysics/Astronomy/Physics
Honors - 2 international (Space settlement design competition and trinity drums examinations), 3 national (f1 in schools, a quiz and INMO, which is equivalent to USAMO)
Activities - Community Service (including hosting a foreign exchange student), an internship, 2 clubs (co-president at one, mentor at the other), music (drummer and about to release a song, which I’ve written and composed), several courses on astronomy through coursera, among other things
Universities - UCB, UCLA, UCSC, Gatech, Cornell, Princeton, PSU, MSU, UMich, CU Boulder, UofRochester, UofArizona, UIUC, Johns Hopkins
My parents can afford around $40000 dollars per year
We don’t have a GPA system here, but the academics here are quite rigorous.
And I think I’ve written pretty good essays
Looking at one school, CU Boulder accepts 86% of its international applicants, which suggests a very high likelihood of acceptance for you.
As a suggestion pertaining to your interests, consider adding a college or two at which the night sky would be much less subject to light pollution compared to several of the schools on your current list, such as Williams, Vassar, Haverford, or Hamilton. These colleges, though generally reaches, would be appropriate for your level, offer astronomical observatories and provide excellent financial aid. This group has produced Apker Award (for undergraduate research in physics) finalists and recipients as well.
alright thank you! any thoughts on others??
“My parents can afford around $40000 dollars per year”
UCB, UCLA, and UCSC are not going to be affordable.
CU Boulder does seem quite likely for admission, although we do not know your grades. Whether it will be affordable is hard to guess. Most universities in Canada would also be possible with your SAT and budget, if (and only if) your grades are also very good.
“Gatech, Cornell, Princeton” are reaches. For some of the rest affordability might be a bigger issue than getting accepted. I do not know much about ASU but from what little I know it might be the most likely to come in under budget.
Do you know how your grades compare with others in your school and in your country?
Regarding grades, I can’t say anything for sure in comparison to my country, but my school counselor told me that I was in the top 1% of my class.
Beyond your reaches, you have a few schools that you will get into easily. This analysis should offer you an idea as to which colleges these may be: https://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9. (Ths ranking’s SAT scores refer to a prior calibration of the exam, but its general order is still relevant). Since the UCs may not necessarily be affordable, as well as for other reasons, I recommend you add private college selections in the vicinity of UCB. Consider private colleges proximate to all the public universities on your list, actually. So along with the University of Michigan, consider Wesleyan, Colgate and Middlebury, for example. Swarthmore might be within reach as well. This analysis covers a narrower range, but could also could help you evaluate your choices: https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/40090323.
Remove the UC’s and GATech from your list since they won’t be within budget.
UArizona and ASU should be within budget.
Applying to universities in the Midwest will not consider you “over-represented” so look into those.
I’d definitely add at least one from Vassar, Haverford, Hamilton, Wesleyan, Colgate, Middlebury, keeping in mind these are reaches.
“my school counselor told me that I was in the top 1% of my class.”
This is very good.