Most colleges D applied to say you can’t request an interview, only agree to have one if offered. Seems there aren’t too many alumni doing interviews in Russia. The ones she had went well, but it’s just an impression.
On a slightly different note, has any of you heard of accepted/current students from Russia in these top schools? There seem to be few.
Have another question for anyone in the know: while we’d been anxiously waiting for the decisions, D placed in several more regional-level and college-specific competitions (which, incidentally, takes care of her admittance to a university at home). Does it make any sense at this late date to try and inform admission committees? I believe the decisions, whatever they are, are already made, but she really wants to leave no stone unturned.
Many decisions will be released this Thursday (<72 hours) and others early next week; for those, I suspect it’s far too late for an update to be either evaluated or acted upon.
There are undergraduate “students from Russia” at the top US Universities. Almost all of them are from very wealthy families and their pedigree includes top boarding and private high schools in Europe and the US. Some are recruited athletes. Some are children of regular Russian citizen who spent years in the US. This is your daughter’s competition.
For an unhooked applicant with high financial need graduating from a Russian high school to stand a chance - the kid should probably medal at the International Math Olympiad, have high ELO chess rank, write some cool app or perform in Moscow Conservatory (in addition to top scores/grades).
There is always a possibility of going to the US for (fully funded) graduate education. Even the most generous Universities here expect undergraduate student contribution of 6-8K per year and there will be other expenses.Take your free undergraduate education in Russia and use saved money to pay for Summer programs at the US universities to establish contacts for graduate school admission.
Good luck on March 31st anyway.
CCDD14: thank you! we do realise how slim her chances are. Of course, Plan B is a Moscow university, and she’s been working in that direction as well. waitlisted at Northwestern yesterday. When she writes to accept a place on the waiting list, it’s probably the right time to mention any new achievements/awards?
Yes, you should mention new achievements and that Northwestern is the top choice.
However waitlist is where these universities may really start looking closely at the ability to pay.
Thank you to everyone who replied. Just wanted to update the thread for the sake of future international applicants. D accepted at NYU and Williams, waitlisted at Yale, Northwestern, Tufts, Babson, rejected at Columbia, UChicago, Duke and a couple more. Will most probably attend Williams, which is a great place from all accounts and offered generous FA. Reading post on CC made me realize just how much of a gamble it was to apply. One thing is certain: if you’re aiming at a selective school, to have any kind of a chance, you need to apply at a fairly large number of places, 10 at least, preferably more. Best wishes to all new admits!
P.S. We are in no way experts, but since we didn’t have any help and had to figure everything out ourselves, we’d be very willing to share our experience with other Russian applicants. Feel free to ask questions.