what are chance for international from germany?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi I am from germany (munich) and intend to go to college in the states</p>

<p>I’d like to major in something like IR, economics or politics</p>

<p>Schools of interest:
Columbia (ED)
Georgetown
McKenna
Rice
Cornell
Pomona
NYU</p>

<p>Sat scores 2020
Reading 620
Maths 770
Writing 630</p>

<p>But I can probably improve them a lot as I did only one practice test for preparation (no time for more  work)</p>

<p>Subjects test in maths II physics and US history should be between 700 -800</p>

<p>Class rank: ~ top 5% </p>

<p>ECs:
-I have been chosen to study part-time at the Technical University Munich (one of Germany’s best unis) for two semesters; discrete mathematics and numeric mathematics </p>

<p>-Have been successful at maths competitions in germany</p>

<p>-Will take part at observation program of the chinese academy of science for the solar eclipse july 2009
and do a research paper on it </p>

<p>-participated at the European youth parliament national selection conference 2009 as our schools team leader</p>

<p>-have installed the first MUN team from my german school ever with which I will attend LMUNA 2009</p>

<p>-active member of our local remembrance task force (Concentration Camp KZ-Dachau):
• International youth meeting 2008
• Volunteer work for liberation day
• In contact with my local mayor to improve the memorial site</p>

<p>Languages:
• German
• English (Certificate in Advanced English Grade A)
• Latin (5years)</p>

<p>-exchange student in Australia (Brisbane) for 6 months
• Age champion athletics
• Subject award winner (maths, chemistry physics)
• District athletics team
(we don’t have things like that in germany)</p>

<p>SOCIAL WORK
-volunteer member of local fire brigade for 5 years
-altar server (2000 – 2007)
-free private teaching for my disabled neighbor</p>

<p>WORK
-have had different jobs, since march 2008 bellboy at a first class hotel in munich , where I have met our former german president, for example</p>

<p>SPORT
-soccer for my local team for 13 years
-Scuba diving
-athletics
-climbing (last year Cotopaxi 5897m)</p>

<p>What do you think are my chances and what are the things that may make me stand out?
What are chances for Germans at large?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>… i almost forgot
i’m gonna attend the university of cambridge int. summer school 2009
taking economics and politcs/history courses</p>

3

<p>please guys have a look and give me your feedback
it’s really tough for internationals to estimate their chances…</p>

4

<p>The biggest thing that will affect your chances is money. Will you be applying for financial aid? Pomona has a very limited amount of financial aid for international students. I don’t know about the others.</p>

5

<p>Not sure if you’re a competitive app for Columbia – your scores are low but you do have some unique ECs. Write some unique essays and tell why you want to attend the schools that you do. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Your application looks very impressive. If you get your SAT reading and writing scores up into the score range of Columbia, I think you would have a decent chance of getting admitted. Same for the other colleges.</p>

<p>Just a few thoughts:</p>

<p>I assume that your local fire brigade is more of a social meeting place than a group that extinguishes fires. Colleges might be suspicious if you mention that you have been a member for 5 years. No organisation in their right mind would let a 13-year old do any of the work that people would call a real fire brigade for. Maybe say you joined when you were 16?</p>

<p>How did you do in the math classes at TUM? American colleges will request grades for those courses as well as your high school transcript. I know that German universities grade more harshly than American universities, but anything below a B would significantly hurt your chances at selective colleges in the US.</p>

<p>Make sure your high school teachers know what an American-style letter of recommendation looks like. Many German teachers have not written such letters before and are much more reserved than they should be. Something along the lines of, “bright student who actively participates in class and always turns his work in on time, pleasant to be around with” will do more harm than good. Your teachers will have to convince Columbia that you are an academic superstar: your work exceeds expectations, you frequently contribute insightful ideas to classroom discussions, you have had a positive impact on your school and the people around you. Columbia will be looking for a statement like “best student I have seen in x years.” </p>

<p>twomules made a good point that finances might be the deciding factor on whether or not you will be admitted. Colleges will be much more interested in an international applicant who is not asking for financial aid!</p>

7

<p>thanks a lot for your anwers</p>

<p>i was already aware of the financial problem but i didn’t know it would be that important</p>

<p>my financial situation is a little bit complicated as my parents are very very parsimonious, which is typically german^^</p>

<p>i had to pay for all my ECs myself whether it be cambridge summer school or the european youth parliament, by working a lot at the hotel. only exception my student exchange for which i got a partial scholarship and the rest from my parents and me.</p>

<p>my family is actually well-off but they complain why they should pay tenthousands of euros for the usa when i can go to uni for 1000euros a year in germany.</p>

<p>so rice might be a better choice as they are more generous with FA</p>

<p>what do you think about my chances there aswell as the other ones, if i apply for FA?</p>

8

<p>FA is gonna bone you. Internationals with FA is like American students with no EC, very very very very low chances. DO not apply FA if you want a serious shot although you may regret it. So so SAT scores. My concern is that you will have to compete against other internations from China and South Korea(<em>shiver</em> highest matriculation rate into HYP in the world- even compared to American high schools- from its top 10 HS).</p>

9

<p>i don’t think the sat will be my biggest problem as i will retake it and hopefully get a score around 2200 and i think they are looking for ECs anyway…</p>

<p>ok i probably won’t reach the perfect scores of some asian do but i think my hook will be my ECs and i think their ECs won’t be as individual
furthermore i heard that usually internationals are competing only within their country, but i’m not sure about that, does anyone know more?</p>

<p>and concerning FA, what if i don’t apply for it can i pay may fees with loans or how does it work?</p>

10

<p>You can pay with loans, but most U.S. student loan programs don’t loan to internationals, so you would have to get the loans from somewhere else.</p>

11

<p>thanks
coming back to rice, what do you think are my chances there ?
maybe you can just refer to my college choices with match/reach/etc</p>

12

<p>If you don’t have $60,000 a year, you should take NYU off your list. They don’t have any financial aid for internationals…</p>

<p>If your parents <em>technically</em> have enough money to pay for college but are unwilling to do so, your prospects of getting need-based financial aid are close to none. Colleges will look at a list of your and your parents’ income, savings, investments, etc, and will come up with a number which they think you can contribute. And colleges generally think that families can contribute more than the families think they can. Many families have to take out extra loans (in addition to the loans in the financial aid package!) to cover part of their family contribution! Unfortunately, all of the colleges on your list either don’t have any financial aid for international students or only need-based aid.</p>

<p>You really have to talk to your parents about finances. Ask them for a precise number of what they would be willing to contribute towards your college expenses and go from there. You can use the financial aid calculators on Collegeboard’s website to get a rough idea where you stand with a need-based approach (you want to use the institutional methodology). If that is not enough, there are other options to consider. If the gap is only a few thousand dollars, getting extra loans might work, but no college is worth getting into $200,000 worth of debt for. </p>

<p>If you can get $20,000 a year through some means, there are a number of very good (public) universities you could attend that charge significantly less tuition than their private counterparts. If you can cover at least your living expenses, you could also compete for merit-based scholarships. (There are scholarships out there that would cover room and board as well, but you would be better off at a German university.) However, you would have to look at universities that are lower ranked than Columbia or Rice, and you would need higher test scores to be competitive for scholarships at decent colleges.</p>

<p>Also, don’t think you can work your way through college. That works in Germany but not the US. Visa restrictions don’t allow you to work off-campus while classes are in session, and on-campus employment is rare and doesn’t pay very well. In your first year or two (while you are not qualified to do academic work), you are lucky to get get a job that pays $8 an hour with 8 hours a week. In subsequent years you might get more hours but you probably won’t be paid much more either. And colleges might charge over $1,000 a month for room and board… </p>

<p>Getting back to Rice: if you cannot afford it, your chances of attending are close to zero. What good is an acceptance letter when you cannot pay the tuition bill? Need-based aid from Rice will only help you if your parents are willing to support you to the fullest extend possible.</p>