These foreign credentials = shot at ivies?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am entering the equivalent of senior year in my country, doing the international baccalaureate. I'd say by any standards my stuff is good, but being isolated from the USA I'd like someone else's assessment if applying to the ivies is Realistic.</p>

<p>I will be applying to Harvard, Yale, UPenn, maybe princeton and maybe Stanford as well as a couple other ivies.</p>

<p>Will prob do SCEA for Yale which is my first choice!</p>

<p>As far as grades I am predicted a 43 (out of 45) right now, with a feasible aim of bumping to 44 or even 45. If this means nothing to you: I am (according to my current prediction) in the 98th percentile worldwide.</p>

<p>I also take quite demanding courses:</p>

<p>English A1 HL
French B HL
Economics HL
History HL
Mathematics SL
Ecosystems and Societies SL</p>

<p>I have a decent amount of fluff:
*student council rep in 7th-9th</p>

<p>*youth council rep (representing young people in my city district)</p>

<p>*Water polo player, have played for national team for boys 93+</p>

<p>*several international MUN conferences (one at university level)</p>

<p>*European Youth Parliament member, was chosen on a national level to represent my country at an itnernational session</p>

<p>*Recipient of an annual award from my compulsory school for embodying school spirit, being good role model, flufluff, etc :P</p>

<p>*Will be attending the Stanford onliune high school education program for gifted youth program this fall (taking political philosophy)</p>

<p>*active sea cadet, just got home from the summer school/camp with a statement by a lieutenant and lieutenant-colonel saying good things about my leadership skills</p>

<p>*will get stellar recommendations. already had one for the above stanford thing and it was gold, albeit very polished by my teacher ^^</p>

<p>My SAT was 2200 (730/740/730), and im unsure whether i should try a retake or setlle for what is undeniably a good score. satII's i will take in the fall, prob french w/ listening, eng lit, math 1</p>

<p>Would you CC people say I have a good shot at the above schools? Or am i deluding myself? Considering that admissions officers will be more used to american credentials, what will they think of the above?= (i have more fluff but im writing this off the top of my head and cant think of more)</p>

<p>Thanks for your comments!</p>

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<p>I’ll be honest with you, your course load is not that rigorous in my opinion. That being said, your IB predicted scores are great! The only thing is… they’re not nearly as important for US colleges than UK and international colleges. You are definitely a highly qualified applicant.</p>

<p>If I were you I would try and get in to Yale with any tools you have. Even the most qualified applicants get rejected. If there is a water polo team, I strongly recommend you try and get recruited for their squad. </p>

<p>All in all, though, your stats are great and your ECs are equally great so you should probably get in to one of HYP, definitely Penn, probably not Stanford.</p>

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<p>Hmm yeah i know it doesnt feel all that rigorous either (dont mean this in the arrogant sense but rather in the “there must be so many doing so much more” sense)… </p>

<p>are you in/familiar with the IB? either way, at my school, if you’re doing a more social science tweak to your subjhect choices this is basically as good as it gets (admittedly, you could add a seventh subject).</p>

<p>You say i have a decent shot at HYP but prob not Stanford. would you say stanford is more competitive than the ivies? the thing is i suspect i may get preliminary acceptance right off the bat if i do well in their online program.</p>

<p>thanks for responding btw!</p>

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<p>Your chances are rather low at these schools, though it depends to some extent on what country you’re from - you might have a chance if you are applying from, say, Uzbekistan, but if you’re from China you can forget about it. Similarly, your chances at Penn and Stanford are better if you do not apply for financial aid, but that does not matter at HYP. Where are you from?</p>

<p>Rather then doing an outright chancing, I will break down each segment of your application:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Grades — Your class grades and subjects are fine, though not exceptional within the applicant pool. They won’t kill you, but will not get you in either on their own. Regarding the IB program, yes, American schools are familiar with the system. To have your grades really help your application, you must be well beyond a classic high-school level curriculum (IE high level college classes in high school signifying superior intellect).</p></li>
<li><p>Test scores — A 2200 is a little low for an unhooked applicant applying to these schools, doubly so for an international. To really be “fine” in this business, you must be at 2300+, and to have a “good” score, IE one that helps your application, you must be either at or damn close to 2400.</p></li>
<li><p>Rec letters — Should be good, and if they are well written will help your candidacy a bit.</p></li>
<li><p>Extracurricular Activities — This seems to be your true weak point. American Universities are not looking for “fluff”, as you put it. They want long, sustained, passionate activities, or those that make the student a truly interesting human being. While you seem to have significant breadth in your activities, nothing truly stands out. This would probably kill you in the application process.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Overall, the schools you have listed are all very high reaches. It’s definitely worth applying as no formula for admission exists, but don’t get your hopes up.</p>

<p>Oh, one final thing - online/summer courses by American universities have no bearing whatsoever on undergraduate admissions. You will not get “preliminary acceptance” or any significant bump from your participation.</p>