<p>I made a similar thread a few months ago, but some of the stats on there are outdated and my college choices have changed since then. My top choice is Stanford, closely followed by Duke and Princeton and finally Berkeley. I'm also applying to USC, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB and maybe Northwestern or BC. We'll see how things go. </p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<p>SAT I: 2180 (690 M, 760 W and 730 R) (One sitting)
SAT II: Took Lit, Math 1. Taking World History in Jan. Still awaiting results. </p>
<p>IB: Predicted 43/45 Total (Economics HL 7, History HL 7, English HL 6, Biology SL 7, Maths Studies 7, Arabic Ab Initio 6)</p>
<p>GPA: British system school, so we don't really have GPAs. I achieved 7 A*s and 4 As at GCSE though and my IB predicteds are quite high, so I assume I would be close to 4.0.</p>
<p>ECAs:</p>
<p>300+ Hours of Community Service (Including self organized trip to India for 3 weeks during summer to volunteer at an autism center, and further volunteering in Chaing Mai, Thailand)</p>
<p>Leader of the Community Service Team at School; organize fundraising initiatives for local charities throughout the year.</p>
<p>Vice-leader/president of School Economics Society.</p>
<p>Member of school soccer team.</p>
<p>Team leader in Duke of Edinburgh Bronze and Silver Awards (for those of you who know what that is)</p>
<p>Won overall first place at the Japan Karate Association Tournament in Bahrain, 2011.</p>
<p>Member of MUN Organizing Committee (Head of Communications).</p>
<ul>
<li>Some other small stuff.</li>
</ul>
<p>Essays:</p>
<p>Common App:</p>
<p>Wrote about the gym - how I used to be severely overweight and managed to turn my life around by working out. Started writing the essay towards the end of September, finished in 2 nights ago. A lot of thoughts and emotions went into it, and I think it turned out quite well. 8/10</p>
<p>Duke: Wrote about my passion for community service, and how Duke will enable me to continue with what I love. Also wrote about my cultural diversity as a German-born Iranian who has been raised in Bahrain (a small island in the Middle East) 8/10</p>
<p>UCs: Essays were okay - one was about volunteering in India and the other was a condensed version of my common app essay. 6-7/10</p>
<p>Other:</p>
<p>I expect my recommendations are quite good. Got one from my English teacher, one from my History teacher and one from the deputy head teacher/principal. All know me quite well and have good relationships with me. </p>
<p>I'm an international applicant. I live in Bahrain, have Iranian roots and German citizenship. I speak Farsi, German, English, and Arabic fluently. Applying for political science. Don't require any financial aid.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>