Hi. I am a 17 year old girl and am an international. I am applying early decision to Rochester and it is definitely my top school. This is my situation:
I have a 4.0 GPA unweighted ( school does not calculate weighted )
I have gotten distinctions in my country’s national secondary exams
Pretty good extra curricular activities including journalism club secretary, founder of two clubs and being a member of the school council.
My awards include being student of the year for academics and extra curricular activities three years in a row in high school now. But there is a catch. I was diagnosed with a chronic illness a few months back and only had 3 months to prepare for the SAT. My family cannot afford tutoring for the exam so did it myself and I was hopeful that I’d get 1350+ but sadly I got my result today and it is a mere 1210. I had gotten sick before the exam but I do not think that will be taken into account while reviewing my application. I am gonna need a lot of financial aid as well possibly a full ride so I know the spot is pretty competitive. Rochester has a holistic review process and I do think the rest of my application is pretty strong. But will it affect me really negatively? I calculated my chances and still are 78% but what do you think?
I don’t think any of us are privy enough to know the answer with admissions, but it would surprise me if you scored a significant merit award with that score. Those are super competitive even for those with higher scores and similar ECs. I don’t know enough about UR to know how they handle need-based aid with international applicants.
There’s absolutely no harm in trying - only harm in getting your heart set on it. Try it to see if you’re pleasantly surprised, but have a Plan B you’re also happy with.
Hey and thanks for the answer. Rochester has a test flexible policy and my country’s national secondary exams can fulfill it. It is all on their website. I recently got that back and I have all A’s and a perfect GPA as well. Do you think submitting that along with the SAT score might help? I know you don’t and cannot really have an insider’s opinion but I have been thinking about it and Rochester does say that that it likes to see applicants challenging themselves.
DEFINITELY submit your national secondary exams. From what I know about admissions there (D is a senior there) that is exactly the kind of supporting documentation that Rochester says they are looking for. Good luck!
@EllieMom Thank you! I most certainly will.
@EllieMom Also should I send my SAT scores too? Or should I withhold them?
OP, you need to look into U of R’s policies regarding international applicants who need financial aid. I looked at the school website and found the following:
“If you are unable to meet the full cost of attendance for Rochester without need-based aid or sponsorship from the University, you must submit the CSS Profile.
The CSS Profile is used to determine your potential eligibility for need-based University of Rochester grant funding and must be completed each year of attendance.
Due to limited resources, only a small number of international applicants will qualify for need-based financial aid from the University.
Applicants unable to secure the needed funding to cover the cost of attendance either through private funds or sponsorship cannot be admitted to the University.”
@TheBigChef I have and since the rest of my stats are good including the whole application ( apart from my unfortunate SAT score ) I’m hopefully that I might get admitted. Also as I said my country’s national secondary exams can fulfill their testing policy , so I’m gonna send those as well. I do want to apply early decision that’s why I’m not pushing it back or else I’m taking the sat in December again as well. So let’s see. 
So basically, it’s going to come down to whether the school determines that you qualify for need-based financial aid. Given the fact that the school says only a small number of international applicants will qualify, I think your 78% chance of getting in calculation is overly optimistic. I’m not saying you shouldn’t try, but you need to have a backup plan, which means don’t wait until hearing from U of R in mid December to start working on your RD applications. In any event, I wish you luck hope you find success wherever you end up.
I would definitely submit your national exams, but I think I’d seriously consider not submitting the SAT, esp since you don’t think it shows off your true ability.
Best wishes to you! You sound like you’d be a nice asset to the school…
@Creekland thank you! I talked to my counselor today and since my essay scores were released yesterday so she’s already sent my score to Rochester. From what I know , college board doesn’t allow you to change your score report recipients afterwards. I definitely don’t think that it represents my true abilities but since what’s done is done , I’m just hoping that Rochester will overlook my sat scores in favor of the national secondary exam ones
@si890 Congrats!!! You made it!
@Waleednadeem thanks!! You did as well so congrats!