<p>I applied RD to a few highly selective colleges for fall 2011..</p>
<p>and i read about how they give a lot of importance to your high school record...</p>
<p>well my high school scores are somewhat typical of India..
in classes 9 & 10 it was around 90-92%. ICSE was 97%..
but in class 11 it dropped to 82% and in class 12 half yearlies to 78% (yes, JEE coaching miserly teachers)
but my class rank has been 1 throughout... (1/154 till tenth and then 1/124)
My predicted scores on the Intrnational Supplement for the ISC are about 96-97%
teacher recs mostly say that i am one of the top few they've seen in their careers..and my subject test scores were 800 in Phy, Chem and Math II. </p>
<p>now where do my scores in class 11 and 12 leave me?
do my teacher recs and sat subject test scores offset the damage done by the aforementioned?</p>
<p>hello fellow bengali i would say that your GPA should be high enough, but US colleges don’t like it if your grades fall at the beginning of either your junior or senior year. the main things that would make up for the loss in GPA would be stellar essays and amazing EC’s, and your recs as well. if you’re applying to ivies, i think they will look at the whole application. sometimes people with 2000 on the SAT get in and sometimes 2400’ers get rejected. there is no guaranteed formula for success at top US colleges. but, go ahead and apply. 96/97% in ISC is quite amazing, so i think they would take that into account. </p>
<p>^ I second that… nearly every indian student who applies to the ivies will have similar score distribution… Or nearly similar… I’ve been told many a time that 90 and 95 may make less of a difference than you think… No doubt, good scores matter…but then there are too many such people… Something has to stand out and if that ‘something’ is strong enough…It may overlook a little lower scores as well…</p>
<p>Could help re iterating something that has been many a time on this forum!</p>
<p>^What compounds the problem is that at least 50% of Indian applicants apply for Computer Science, and the remaining apply for a Math or Science subject (and the usual minors are English, Creative Writing, International Relations). </p>
<p>The only way to stand out now is to score less and choose misanthropy as a prospective major >_></p>
<p>@Tintin1992 … nope… no APs… they don’t offer it out in Chandernagore…and i’m probably too lazy to go to Kolkata for additional classes…</p>
<p>@aniruddhc … sarcastic much?</p>
<p>@rsaxena & deaperado28 … misanthropy probably wouldn’t quite fit in with the whole ‘holistic admission process’ policy of several US Universities… :P</p>
<p>It’s the place where The Castaway by Tagore is set… </p>
<p>And what makes you think I’m sarcastic? You’re going to get into more than one HYPSM and you really have nothing to worry about. If you wrote a good essay, that is.</p>
<p>Samyobrata, your high school scores are excellent. aniruddhc’s being far from sarcastic. It’s a holistic process, I’ve seen kids with 95% from 9th to 12th get rejected from Ivies and kids with 75% odd in 11th get in to Yale, Brown, Cornell, etc. They want the person, not just the marks. Your essays, teacher & counselor recos, SATs, ECs play just as important a role. Plus, you’re the class topper. Your marks won’t be a reason for any rejections you receive. From what I’ve observed and what a person working at the UPenn admissions office told me, your essays are the most important aspect of your application because it’s from there that they get an insight into WHO you are. Don’t let growing up in a state overly obsessed with academic results cloud your outlook :p</p>
<p>@aniruddhc: there is ABSOLUTELY no guarantee that anyone with any stats will get into HYPSM. it is incredibly difficult, even if you have a 2300 SAT and 4.0 GPA and amazing recs, EC’s. i’m not saying samyobrata is a bad student; it’s just that there are lots of people with outstanding credentials who are applying to these places and these colleges really take the best of the best, those who are truly exceptional. you can’t just say “oh you’ll get in”.</p>
<p>But what I have heard is - If you are denied (hope you are not), the scores won’t be the reason.</p>
<p>(I have several friends in India)
Poshak Agarwal got 2390 -> Princeton
Pranay Ranjan got 2400 denied by all -> IIT Bombay (these guys aren’t my friends. I have heard this from my friends)</p>
<p>@aniruddhc … yup the very Chandernagore Tagore wrote about… in fact a few of those old bungalows by the riverside care still standing… i take it you are an ISC student?</p>
<p>@nban92 & tintin1992 … yeah, well, every admissions counselor i talked to said things like that… it seems the general consensus is that the essays make or break your application… :|</p>
<p>I have been stalking CC enough to know that, tintin! That is why I said that the OP will get into more than one HYP provided they write a good essay.</p>
<p>@aniruddhc: well if you know that, you can’t possibly say you’ll get in. you’re kind of contradicting yourself. i agree that the main part of the application is the essay, but there is still no guarantee.</p>
<p>well, i guess there’s no one (or even two) things that will get you into HYPSM (or any good American university, for that matter) … and though it sounded nice, i guess aniruddhc was probably being a bit hasty in his declaration… :|</p>
<p>none whatsoever…
i didn’t do safeties even though i’m an international asking for aid…</p>
<p>i see no point in going States-ward unless i get into a top-draw college… i’d rather study in India then…
and besides my parents wouldn’t even think of funding a plane ticket to what they think is a less-than-prestigious institution… (read institutes they have not heard of)</p>
<p>in fact, i had a hard time convincing them that Duke’s good… </p>
<p>:|</p>
<p>and yeah, of course i now realise that i’m a first class idiot… hindsight is such an eye-opener… :</p>
i would say that your GPA should be high enough, but US colleges don’t like it if your grades fall at the beginning of either your junior or senior year. the main things that would make up for the loss in GPA would be stellar essays and amazing EC’s, and your recs as well. if you’re applying to ivies, i think they will look at the whole application. sometimes people with 2000 on the SAT get in and sometimes 2400’ers get rejected. there is no guaranteed formula for success at top US colleges. but, go ahead and apply. 96/97% in ISC is quite amazing, so i think they would take that into account. </p>