<p>I came to US about four and a half years ago without any English. At this point i have my citizenship because i my stepfather adapted me. Some people are saying that i should be aiming high but with my scores i am not sure what to do. Any help would be appreciated. </p>
<p>Here is a list of colleges i am considering. I am also open to consider others:</p>
<p>NYU -
Rutgers - Safety
UPenn - Reach
Columbia Reach
If you could plz estimate in % what my chances for the schools are. Considering early admission for NYU, Upenn or Columbia. </p>
<p>SAT: (will retake this month. Will likely increases scores)
Math - 700
Reading - 540
Writing - 610</p>
<p>SAT II:
Chem 780
Hist 540 (was projected to get at least 700 according by my grade in class however as you can see that didnt happened.)</p>
<p>Extracurricular:
Tennis Team (JV 9-10, varsity 11,12)
Founder and president of Chess Club (11,12)
Table Tennis Club (9-12)
Future Leaders of Medicine (11,12)
School Newspaper (writer/layout 10-12)
Volunteering: Rescue Squad 4hr/week (gr.10-12)
Played NJ Team Tennis (9-12)
Taught Tennis (9-12, non-payed)
Science and Math Awareness Program (10-12)
AP Chemistry League (gr 11, Likely AP Bio league member for gr.12)
National Honor Society (11-12)
Played League Tennis (10-12)</p>
<p>AP classes taken or in progress so far:</p>
<p>AP Bio (In Progress)
AP Chem (5 on the exam)
AP Calc (In Progress)
AP Us Hist (3 on the exam)</p>
<p>-Our school doesnt offer that many APs - for exception of AP languages and AP physics and AP prop/stat and English these are basically it.</p>
<p>With the information you have given, all of your schools are unlikley reaches, in my opinion. I think you need to start looking at colleges where you LOWEST SAT section score is at the 25% mark to have a match. With NYU, because your grades are so outstanding, there is a chance that you could be placed in the school for general studies, but that is not a match. </p>
<p>Also, are you going to be applying for financial aid? Do you need money to go to college, and about how much? Will your family qualify for government aid?</p>
<p>Concerning the financial aid. My parents can afford paying for college however we will try to apply for financial aid. I thought the colleges on my list were need-blind so will this still affect my chances?</p>
<p>btw Thank You for your response cptofthehouse</p>
<p>Any overall outlooks anyone else? Looking for as many opinions as i can!
Thanks!</p>
<p>pray you get at least 1400+ on the sat math+reading and id say you have a fair shot
what kind of school do you go to?
if its really competitive and since your an immigrant you want your counselor to know as much about this asap
the higher your sats go i'd say the higher your chances are
realistically at this point id say you have almost no chance at penn and columbia but a possible shot at nyu. you never know until you apply. kill those SATs and i think you should be fine
good luck</p>
<p>Do you guys think that having that "immigrant" status will help me or hurt me? Since I haven’t been speaking English for all that long maybe it will help explain my reading score? I am fairly sure that SAT scores will improve. (I was really sick when I took those and according to practice tests that I have been taking, both, the math and CR should improve), but my math will still be higher than my reading.</p>
<p>It depends on the school. For the top schools there are so many in your category, that unless you have some true trauma overcome story, it is not going to make much difference. There are immigrants who have been here for 2 years, have little money, work to help support the family who still get top test scores and grades. In the top schools that is your competition. You are sitting pretty compared to them with a family that can pay for your education. Unless you are eligible for the TOEFL, you are not going to get a break for the the language, and you have been here to long. </p>
<p>Also NYC is like Immigrant Central, as you should know, and NYU is not going to be impressed with another immigrant. In Iowa or Minnesota, among other far flung areas, that is a different story. </p>
<p>Having said all of that, Valsorym, your stats are not bad at all, and the math is very, very good. Your gpa is outstanding. You will definitely get into most colleges in this country. The most selective ones are lottery tickets for a lot of kids. Throw a couple of dream schools on your list. Because of NYU's General Studies program, you may well get in there with that GPA as a driving factor. However, unless you are perfectly happy with Rutgers, you should look for some other schools that are not as selective. You may want some choices, come spring.
As for financial aid, if your family can afford it, you are not likely to get any financial aid. You and your family need to run through some of the calculators to see what your EFC is, which will tell you if you can expect to get any money. Applying for financial aid may affect your acceptance in those schools that are need aware, but usually only if the $$s need to accept you are very high, and you are not high on their list. All of the schools you listed are need blind so you do not have to worry about that. In fact, that you can pay those high costs probably puts you to a slight disadvantage because you are in a very privileged minority. Not that many families can afford to cough up $45K a year.</p>
<p>Thanks again cptofthehouse! However I think you have a wrong impression of my financial status. What i really meant to say in the first place is that we can afford college but it’s going to be very very tough financially without any aid. Originally what I was going for in my statement is that I wouldn’t have to go all the way on financial aid only. We are a middle class family and I suppose my parents can pay a part of the cost. I guess it worked the other way around though. </p>
<p>Then NYU isn't a good chocie. They are one of the worst for aid and as a lower scoring Asian candidate you probably wouldn't get much.</p>
<p>I agree that there are lots of good colleges you can get into, but Columbia and Penn are not realistic. Look at the numbers when choosing schools.</p>