Swiss student: Am I qualified enough to get into Ivy League colleges or Stanford?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Hello all:)
I am currently attending what US people would call High School, in Switzerland (Gymnasium).

Last year US colleges somehow caught my attention and I am kind of keen on attending an Ivy League school. Now of course, like everyone else, I’d like to know what my chance are and would lovo to hear some opinions. For some questions though, I think only a former Swiss student or someone who knows a former Swiss student, can answer them.

So here are the facts about me:
I am currently in the second last year(Swiss term would be Sekunda) and I am looking forward to apply Early Decision. I have Economics and Law as a special subject and I am in an immersion class, so some subjects (History, Maths, Biology) I have in English and not German.

Extracurriculars:

Founded a business, which sells sustainable cardholders, that you can easily stick on your phone. It gets produced by people with disabilities. We also compete in an National Competition, which isnt over yet. Position: CEO

Founded a second business, which sells Vintage or second hand clothes on instagram. We like to give used clothes a second chance. Position: CEO

Active member at an Entrepreneur Business Club, which encourages and helps Start-Ups to grow and helps them to write Businessplans. We also organize Events.

Delegate of my class for the School organisation. So I represent the opinion of my class and I discuss with other delegates, what we can change in our school and then we talk with the school directors.

As you see there is this kind of sustainability and social thinking in the two Businesses I founded and I think that would be a topic for the essay and is kind of what makes me standout.

Grades (probably only swiss people will understand)
at the moment, three out of ten grades are a 6, five out of ten are a 5.5, two are a 5 and the last one a 4.5.

Languages:
English, Swiss-german, German, French, Italian

Because of covid I think im not going to need SAT test scores.

So what are your opinions? Do I have chances? In what school do I have the best chances? Can I improve my EC‘s? Sorry for grammar, I wrote pretty fast and i am tired :slight_smile:

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Before someone with no knowledge of Swiss grading makes a comment, let me add texture. In Switzerland, a 5.5 or 6 is very rare. A 5 is equivalent to an A and a 4.5 is a low A or A-.

For the OP, there is one German language, despite what the Swiss think. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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Haha we could argue about the Swiss-german thing for days :slight_smile: But I agree, that its maybe more of an accent than an actual language. But the border between language and accent, sometimes is really thin: Because for example, we have multiple Swiss-german accents, so that would be an accent of an accent. Anyway!
Thanks for your comment!

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And thanks for saying this about the grades! I sometimes feel kind of insecure when I read things like that a 6 is an A, a 5.5 an A- and a 5 just a B.
Thank you for sharing this. It gives me some confidence!

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No problem. You seem very qualified. And bonus points for knowing Stanford is not an Ivy; 99% of Americans could not name one Swiss university. But international acceptances are very low at these US universities.

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baby you will get in!!!

You are extremely qualified.
Good luck and more power to you!

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Wow. Thanks for your kind words my friends. I didn‘t see this coming. Heavily appreciated! I wish all the best in life for you all.

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Why only Ivy League and Stanford? There are many excellent schools in the United States.

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Take comments like “you are in” with a grain of salt. The acceptance rates at those schools are ridiculously low.

You sound like a strong applicant. However, you should understand that those schools are not interchangeable. I suggest between now and when you apply, you spend a LOT of time figuring out what each of those colleges are looking for in a student. You need great teacher recommendations and excellent essays that demonstrate your “fit” at the school you apply ED or REA to. Your app needs to show why you need to be at that school and why they should want you there.

Spend a lot of time on their websites. Read their mission statements, check out every page you can find. Read student stories if you can find them, check out videos on YouTube. Sign up for virtual info sessions. Check out their social media pages.

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You are a strong candidate indeed. Since you are interested in applying early, do note that the rules at the SCEA-REA schools (HYPS: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford) and ED (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, UPenn) schools mean that you can apply early to only one of the above in the early round.

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Again, thank you very much for your tips and comments. I‘ve been researching about the individual colleges quite a bit and of course will make the application as appealing as possible.
And as you stated, its probably never clear if someone gets in or not. I will try to improve and develop myself the next months even more.

Just out of of curiosity, what would you say is the college that seems to match my current interests most? Or which one am I most likely to get in with my set of skills?

And yes, I will of course only apply to one Early Decision.

Thank you guys. Didn‘t think I‘d get this many answers. I appreciate you all.

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Of the ones you have listed, Wharton ties in most with your interests as written. If focusing on entrepreneuship, I would add MIT (another reach school and has its own application) and Babson.

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I agree with skieurope’s assesement on Wharton and MIT; perhaps the " The Huntsman Program in International Studies & Business at UPenn" might be of extra interest to you.
huntsman.upenn.edu
For huntsman or just Wharton, ED is almost a must.

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Thank you very much for your recommendations. I will be taking a closer look at the ones you listed!

Would you say the most famous ones like Harvard, Yale or Stanford don‘t really match? Or are they maybe just too hard to get into?

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All are great colleges, but none offer an undergraduate business program. And while the acceptance rate at Penn and MIT are not as low as HYS, they are still below 10% - which means below 5% for an international applicant.

That said, you also need to think what you plan to do post-uni. If returning to Switzerland, you also need to consider European universities.

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Thanks for your detailed information. HYS means Harvard, Yale Stanford right?

Anyway, I noticed I have to look at the colleges more precisely and determine what they actually offer.

Do you guys maybe know a good specific Website, on which it lists what these colleges offer for undergraduates, so a kind of overview?

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Best to determine whether you prefer to study business or whether you want to study economics during your undergraduate years.

Studying law as an undergraduate in the US is not an option as law school in the US requires a BA or BS degree and three years of graduate study in law school.

If you prefer to study economics, then add the London School of Economics (LSE) to your list. This is a 3 year program of study versus four years in US colleges & universities. The extra year reduces costs and is helpful to those contemplating 3 years of graduate study in a US law school (common law curriculum).

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Again, great tip, thank you very much. Colleges in the UK are also very interesting and its my second choice of Country I‘d go to study in. Universities like Oxford and Cambridge are great aswell I guess.

Yes indeed, I‘ll have to look closer at whether I‘m going to study Economics or Business. Both are of great interest to me. Is there an University which offers kind of a mix of these?

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Both are great. But be aware that you can only apply to one or the other.

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Another issue to consider is whether or not you will be seeking financial aid from a college or university. Room & board, tuition, fees, books and transportation may be in the range of about $70,000 to $80,000 per academic year (10 months) on the high end. Very few colleges & universities offer financial aid to international students.

If you prefer to earn a degree in business during your 4 years of undergraduate study, then the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University are the only Ivy League options.

Elite undergraduate business schools in the US are:

UPenn-Wharton

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

University of California at Berkeley

University of Michigan–Ross School of Business

New York University (especially for the study of finance)

University of Texas at Austin (Austin is a great small city with lots of career opportunities)

Carnegie Mellon University (very high tech focused school)

Cornell University Dyson School of Business

University of Virginia

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Indiana University–Kelley School of Business

If you prefer to study economics, then your list of elite target schools would be much greater. For the study of economics, add the University of Chicago & Northwestern University to your list of schools in addition to Stanford, MIT, and the 8 Ivy League (Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth College, Brown, Univ. of Pennsylvania, & Cornell) schools.

If you prefer a small college environment, then Williams College, Amherst College, Swarthmore College, & Claremont McKenna College are some elite LACs (Liberal Arts Schools) to consider.

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