What are my chances at Boston U, NYU, Berkeley?

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>Hi, everybody.
I live in Canada, but I'm enrolled in a special program (mini school), so some of the courses I'm taking are enriched. </p>

<p>I just took the old SAT I and got 1240 (650-Math, 590-Verbal), but I'm planning to take the new ones in May. </p>

<p>My average is 92, so far.</p>

<p>I don't really have a lot of EC's:
Tutoring grade 4-8 kids
Facilitating Birthday Parties for kids
Work at Harvey's restaurant (don't know if that's gonna help me, lol)
Lots of volunteering
Musical Theatre
Newspaper club member
Maybe something else, but I don't remember right now...</p>

<p>Courses:
Junior year:
Mini Math
Mini English
Mini French
Mini Social Studies
Psychology
Physics
Chemistry
Musical Theatre</p>

<p>Senior Year (I think):
Mini Math
Mini English
French
History
Chemistry
Physics
Calculus
Economics</p>

<p>Would it benefit me if I take Biology instead of economics, if I'm not planning to go into sciences?</p>

<p>Yeah, also, I'm originally from Russia, and I came to Canada only a year and a half ago, so should I mention it in my application essay (it might look good, cause i managed to learn English and get myself into enriched program) or would it just increase the chances for some kind of prejudice?</p>

<p>I would really appreciate an honest response, plus your opinions about which universities are my matches, reaches, safeties...</p>

<p>Thanks.
Natalia.</p>

2

<p>Do mention your immigration experience in your essay, since it shows your "ability to overcome obstacles."
Bio or economics...it really depends on your situation. Which subject interests you the most? Which teacher has a better reputation?
Your extracurriculars are pretty solid.
But you probably should work on that SAT score. I know it's hard since you are probably still adjusting to the educational system and the language.
Just make sure that colleges will understand your situation.</p>

3

<p>Thanks!
Yeah, I'm gonna take Kaplan courses to improve my SAT's... And I decided to take Economics, I might choose it as a major at the university.</p>

4

<p>I dont recommend Kaplan. Well, at least in my case I found this book useless while studying for SAT II physics - Barron is much better (or PR)</p>