@PseudoGod It would depend on the subjects you’re strong in. Since you were planning on preparing for JEE I would suggest you have a look at the Chemistry and Physics tests. You should browse their website, look at syllabi (?) and see what you will be able to do.
I think your 11th grade marks will work against you. Don’t know how they perceive it. Maybe you can have it explained.
Oh and a guidance counselor is useless in India. They don’t know their stuff.
- You need deeper ECs. While the black belt would be awesome, try getting another EC where you can attain an important/leadership position. It always helps if that EC is related to your major.
- What AP exams you should take depends on your choice of subjects in 11th and 12th grades. Choose according to your stream. There's APs for both the Science and Commerce streams.
- I doubt a novel would make a significant difference unless it sells enough copies. There is too much uncertainty.
- No idea about that. Discrimination is everywhere. It certainly won't work as a boon.
- You could, but don't be dependent on it. Maybe get a [url=http://www.amazon.in/Acing-Admissions-Students-Comprehensive-Applications/dp/9351067947]book[/url].
- Overall acceptance rate is less than 10%. Early acceptance rate is usually higher (~20%). Regular acceptance rate is lower (~5%). But for an international applicant asking need based aid, the acceptance rate is less than 1% (Harvard is need blind tho). And this is all assuming that your application (GPA + SAT + recommendations + essays + ECs) is good enough. If it isn't, then you'll automatically get rejected. A few safeties to consider: U Alabama, UT Dallas, U Cincinnati.
Bottom line is: do your research.
I agree with @mundanewarrior , a counselor is useless in India. If there are any questions you have about the application process, you could either ask here on CC or email universities about your doubt.
Your class 11% is pretty low and if you have an explanation for that, you could mention that in the supplement portion of the application. If there isn’t any explanation really, just leave it - you can’t do anything about it. (On that note, UIUC does not require class 11 marks). How much do you expect in class 12?
I wouldn’t recommend completely neglecting JEE, unless you are very certain you want to go to the US (which I’m not sure you are seeing your concerns).
Yea, ECs relate more to your major would be better - it really helps since it shows your interest in the subject and especially since you’re applying to top universities. Leadership positions are good too. Volunteer work/community work is also a good idea since it is a reflection of your personality.
A novel may or may not make an impact - it varies. Unlike mundanewarrior, I don’t think it makes much of a difference whether it sells a lot of copies or not though.
Universities do try to maintain cultural diversity, but keep in mind that hey have a large pool of competitive international applicants to choose from. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of recent racism towards muslims from other countries too, not just people from arab countries. It’s hard to judge the situation, I’m not sure if it’ll be a boon.
With a little bit of time management, you can almost definitely be able to carry out everything you’ve planned. I would love to help you out with your timeline.
CalTech and Harvard are already really hard to get into. Safeties you could choose are Purdue, UC Davis, Penn State (these are more between match and safeties).
Yale-NUS. Full ride
Thanks @mundanewarrior @HB1999 and @InfiniteLibrary for your honest opinions.
-
Has anyone in this thread given the AP exams? I’ve read their syllabi for each subject. Are the exams really hard? I’ve not done my research yet, I just wanted to know your experience.
-
Yes, I know universities are extremely selective about admitting international applicants and for the likes of Caltech and Harvard, my chances are really low. One of my friend got selected into Caltech purely on the basis of his JEE adv. rank - 746 and SAT marks - 2340. He had no serioua EC’s. I told him about my situation and he said I could easily get into NUS (Singapore) with my 1530 SAT score and black belt in Taekwondo, and if I do get a rank under 1000 in JEE my chances of getting into CALTECH would cruise high up. But that’s very unlikely given the fact that I’ve had little no preparation for JEE. I plan to join FITJEE this year. What do you guys think about FIITJEE?
-
As @infintelibrary pointed out, yes I think a novel might not make much of an impact. I’m thinking of dropping the idea and focus more on JEE and other exams that I plan to take.
-
Is anyone in this thread applying to universities of countries other than US? What countries and what universities in particular?
-
@infinitelibrary thanks for helping out. If you’re comfortable could you drop in your personal email address where I could message my timeline.
-
Are there other Indian active threads where I could get more suggestions and advices from others?
-
Is there something you guys really think I should do that will set me apart from other applicants?
Thankyou guys so much, your help really means alot to me. May Allah bless you with an admission to your dream university.
-
Haven’t given AP exams but I’ve heard they’re fine for CBSE students and such - especially if you were planning for JEE and all.
-
NUS also requires a high class 12 percentage, so if you can achieve that, then you should have a good chance at NUS. Well, your chances for CalTech may be increased if you get a high rank in JEE advanced, but that has it’s own consequences. For one thing, this may apply only for CalTech - are there other universities that give good importance to JEE score? Also, FIITJEE is very prominent, but it is not a guarantee of getting a rank under 1000. Even if you do get a rank under 1000, admission at CalTech is not guaranteed. If you can afford to spend time on JEE, without affecting other parts of your application, I would say go for it.
Also, doesn’t JEE results come after university decision? When you apply, you’ll get all of your university decision by around March, but JEE Mains would be conducted in April. I don’t know much about this, but unless you do well in JEE this year, will it have any impact on US university decisions?
-
Again, whether a novel may or may not make an impact is not really certain. Unfortunately, this whole admission process is a gamble. If you feel that JEE has a chance of making more of a difference, then definitely prioritize it.
-
Of course - glad I could. I’ll pm you my email.
-
On CC? There aren’t many active Indian threads - you could start on your own threads, but people may or may not respond.
-
It’s hard to say. There are a lot of applicants with similar stats applying and it can be hard to stand out. The difference aspects of an application are:[ul]
[li]Scores - Your SAT score is already good enough. If you’re really intent on CalTech,then you could improve it - CalTech has a high average SAT score, but I don’t think it’s fully necessary.[/li]Focus on your APs and SAT Subject Test. Try to score above 700s in your SAT Subject Test (above 750 preferably).I don’t know much about APs though.
[li]Grades - Unfortunately there is a decline in your grades. If your class 12 board marks are better though, it should be fine. Also, doing well on APs or SAT Subject Tests can to some extent compensate for your class 11 marks.[/li]
[li]ECs - Like I mentioned before, your present ECs already seem good, but hardly any of them are focussed on your major. I think it’s alright not to focus on ECs with leadership in your case - zonal level activities and black belts sort of make up for that. Volunteer related or work experience would be good additions. You could also do online courses related to your major.[/li]
[li]Essays and Recommendations - Essays are pretty importants, so give good thought to them. This is one place you could stand out - writing essays that are not generic and getting good recommendations. Your chemistry teacher may be good at chemistry/discovering compounds etc., but whether he/she writes well is a different matter. I think a lot of universities require a minimum of 2 recommendations too.[/ul][/li]
Check out this thread showing this years results: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/california-institute-technology/1970814-caltech-2021-rd-results-thread-p1.html
Good luck! We hope you get your university choice too!
Thanks for the thorough analysis @InfiniteLibrary. I’ll be emailing you my timeline as soon as I can.
@PseudoGod No problem 
@InfiniteLibrary I read some of the responses in the thread. I think selection is all a subtle play of luck. Some guy with ACT 23(Not 33) got selected with poor EC’s and a guy with SAT 2340 got rejected with excellent EC’s. I think I might have a chance if the odds are in my favor.
Thankyou for the link.
@PseudoGod yep, I guess, to some extent luck plays a factor.
@DEEPUSS Did you give your French Subject Test? Do you think it helped in your acceptance to Yale NUS? What was your score?
@Kaz_103 yes!!! how on earth did you know that??? Yes I do think it played an important role as most students in Yale-NUS are very international and most of them know more than two languages.
@DEEPUSS I got to know from one of your threads. Can you tell me how much score did you get in it that it impacted your admission chances.
@PseudoGod
Note: This assumes you’ll required financial aid i.e can’t pay >25 lakhs per annum.
A very important question: Which city are you living in?
You can’t get into Caltech. Your ECs are below average(mediocre at best). You mention you have no JEE preparation. That means you possibly won’t qualify, let alone get <1000. Your SAT is also too low for Caltech. (It’s very high or good enough for 99.5% other US colleges). As for your friend who got into Caltech, he probably had an EC such as a brilliant science project he had done and participated in a national level science exhibition(not a school level one where you can buy anything and present it). Or he may have reached the national level of the Olympiads or maybe even the camps (INMO, INOI, INPhO, INChO, IOAA). Look at the Caltech essays. You will understand what I am saying.
You do stand a chance at Ivies though, if you get a better SAT(>1550).
Ask yourself this: Do I only want to do engineering?
If yes, there are a lot of great schools(which are not Caltech/MIT, neither of which you can get into at this point without doing research in your gap year, which you won’t have time or resources coughIndiacough to do). Those great schools are mentioned in this thread by the others. Their engineering programme/faculty are as good as Ivies (just that though, not the entire undergrad experience).
Coming back to the first question, if you live in a big city (Delhi/Mumbai/Bengaluru/Kolkata/Ahmedabad - basically any city which has an Advanced Placement centre could probably be considered a big city) - then take professional help. Visit two-three different people and see who you like best. They will be able to help you select colleges and they will save you time. But note that if you end up with someone who’s shi*ty, it will only hamper you not help you ( but if you end up with someone good…). One of the best ways to do this is to talk to people you know who did apply outside.
A very important point : YOU WILL FACE TROUBLE BALANCING PREPARING FOR THE SAT AND THE JEE.
As for whether FIITJEE is good or not, it depends on the city you’re living in. Mumbai? PACE is better. Jaipur? Kota. Most other places in India? FIITJEE.
Oh, and if you haven’t already, apply to NUS. Today’s their last day. While there is nothing wrong with taking a gap year, getting into NUS could save you a gap year.
Principle may be being too straightforward, but he/she is not really wrong unfortunately. It’s already exceptionally hard to get into the Ivies and CalTech.
If you really are intent on going to the US, then I would strongly urge you to apply to some safeties. You have a good SAT score and other parts of your application look fine, but there are many other applicants with more amazing stats. Apply to the Ivies and CalTech - just don’t put all your hope into that.
I looked through your previous posts and you haven’t really said anything about whether you’ll need financial aid - this is another factor you must deal with. If you definitely need financial aid, then apply to universities where you have a good of chance of that and can be easily admitted to.
It may or may not be hard to prepare for both SAT and JEE - this varies with people’s capabilities and only you can judge that. Again, JEE will most probably will be held in May next year, but most admission results are announced by March - how will you writing JEE be of any use next year?
I see a lot of other disadvantages to focussing on JEE. Even if you do study hard for JEE, it is extremely hard to get a rank below 1000. Also, just because your friend got into CalTech on basis of JEE (you can’t really be sure of this - there are other aspects to an application), doesn’t mean you definitely will, even if you do get a rank below 1000. Unless you studying further in India is an option, I really don’t think studying for JEE is going to do any good.
It’s great to have hopes - just don’t raise your hopes so high that you don’t apply to any safeties an may have to end up taking another gap year.
@Principle They mentioned that professional help was not affordable for them. I also don’t completely agree that professional help is needed - I used it and it wasn’t much of a help - except for one thing: choosing which universities to apply to based on your profile.
I got into Cornell and Colgate! With high financial aid, I was really anxious at first but it all worked out in the end so future applicants , never lose hope and dream big!
@InfiniteLibrary I don’t think he should waste money on professional help for selecting universities. He can do that with putting some effort into researching individual universities and taking help from CC. What he should take professional help is for writing essays because college essays are way different from what we learn in school and you may not be able to write a stellar essay without some help. And by writing essays, I don’t mean get them written by someone else. What I mean is take a session with a really good professional ( 3 hours will be enough) about how to write a college essay.You can also show him your essay and get his opinion on how to improve.
If you want to know about a good professional admissions guide to help you with writing essays, you can PM me. ( He is a Harvard grad and he really really helped me)
It is possible that PseudoGod is not aware of financial aid. But I definitely think he needs it, because if he cannot afford professional help, then I wonder how he can pay $65k/year in fees.
Also, it is next to impossible to get into NUS with anything less than 95% in boards. Indian NUS applicants are expected to have 97-100 in PCM. To that, add essays and extracurriculars and recommendations.
@InfiniteLibrary a post on this thread says you got into 7 universities,at least 5 of which are great.
In contrast, I did not take professional help. I applied to 20 universities, I got into one(in my defence, I only applied to highly selective universities. My logic being that I would only want to go outside if I got something better than an IIT or BITS).
Also, I did not know about Early Decision, Early Action, etc. In general, I feel that professional help helps you navigate the maze of admissions. Also, kindly mention your city and whose help you took so people know whose help not to take.
And sorry, I did not see the post where PseudoGod says that he can’t afford professional help. I thought it costed around 30k-60k. If that’s not affordable, how is applying affordable?
The advantage of studying for the JEE(not for a rank, but for the subject) would be that it allows you to challenge yourself a lot.
Oh, I forgot to update my decisions.
In addition to the previous four (UA, UTD, UTA, UC), I was accepted at Seton Hall, Stevens and SMU. Rejected from Brown, Vanderbilt, Macalester, Colby and Trinity University. I'll attend UA. :)
:)) =))