While you have excellent stats, please keep in mind that acceptance rates for international students at these very high reach schools is VERY low…some single digits.
You don’t mention whether your family can pay for these schools or whether you are seeking financial aid. If you are seeking aid, UCB probably should be deleted from your list as the CA publics give little to no financial aid to students who are not CA residents.
Also, IIRC, Penn, Stanford and Northwestern are need aware for international students. This means your financial need will be considered when your application for admission is reviewed.
From the UPenn website:
“ Financial aid resources for international undergraduate students are limited, and Penn practices need-aware admissions for students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. International students who wish to apply for institutional need-based financial aid must do so at the same time they apply for admission to Penn. International students who are not admitted with financial aid in their first year are not eligible to apply for financial aid at a later point in their undergraduate program.”
From Stanford:
“ International Students
Stanford has a limited amount of financial aid for international students. International students needing assistance must make that indication on the admission application. Applicants who are admitted with eligibility for aid will be awarded assistance from institutional funds based on their family financial circumstances.”
Northwestern:
“ We have a need-aware admission review for international students, meaning that a request for financial aid and the amount of financial aid you require may factor into your admission decision.
Only first-year applicants are eligible for financial aid. Additionally, as part of the need-aware aid policy, you must apply for, and receive financial aid, for your first year if you plan to apply for assistance in later years.”
What does this mean? How much can your parents pay per year. Many of these top 20 schools are more than $70,000 a year. Can your parents pay that per year?
The International student admit rate for Fall 2022 at UC Berkeley was 5.5%. You look like a competitive applicant but UCB is test blind so your excellent SAT score will not be considered in their application review. With such a low admit rate, consider UCB a Reach school.
Most of the top private schools cost over $80k a year. Very few offer merit scholarships, and in very limited quantities (and these are harder to get than acceptance). You should be prepared to pay $320k+ over 4 years, plus cost of travel.
I cannot really comment on the other schools but realize as an International applicant, all will be tough admits. Being full pay could be an advantage and the Ivies/Stanford do not offer merit aid only need-based aid.
You can give yourself a boost by applying ED or REA to one of these schools if it’s indeed your top choice and it’s affordable. And make sure your essays are strong and provide helpful information about why you are a good fit at each school.
So how many years do you have before you apply?
Keep in mind these are all tough schools to get into for almost everybody, and harder still for international students. So give it your best shot but keep your expectations realistic.
None of these colleges give merit scholarships for undergrad study…well…there are a few at Northwestern. But not very many. And Cal has some very small merit awards for those who aren’t residents of CA…a drop in the bucket really.
If you are looking for merit aid, these schools shouldn’t be on your list at all.
And you will be required to complete a certificate of finances documenting that you HAVE this money at the ready. This cannot include future income, possible but not approved loans, possible gifts from family, etc. You need to have this to get your student visa to study here.
I agree that I can’t think there is much you can do to strengthen ECs while you are serving in your country Army. But that seems like a strong thing to be adding…although I suspect this is a requirement. Am I correct?
What can you do to get accepted to an affordable college in the U.S? You need to broaden your search to include places where you WOULD receive significant merit aid.
There are many many colleges in the U.S. where you can major in economics/business/math.
What is your career goal, and where do you plan to work. After undergrad, it’s highly likely you will be required to return to your home country.
Be prepared to pay all of the costs associated with attending a US university. Don’t rely on merit scholarships to help fund your education. A number of merit scholarships are designated for US citizens only.
The return on your investment of $320K may not be that great. Once you graduate, you are expected to return to your home country because your student visa will have expired.
Your stats and EC’s are as good as can be. Being full pay will also help you.
If being in the Army is mandatory for you, try to see how you can add those skills/badges/moments of leadership to your profile. It can also be what you learned about yourself or what it taught you about authority, etc.
Will you apply while being in the Army?
Look into 2-3 universities with good business programs you’d be interested in (since you’re full pay, what about NYU?)
If you have to serve in the army, you’d be surprised at how much that could strengthen your application. People who have to serve in the army, especially if they serve in armies that put very young people into positions of tremendous responsibility and leadership, supervising others, are light years ahead of their peers in maturity by the time that they come out.
I’d seriously consider waiting to apply until you only have one year left of military service. One of your recommendations could be from your commanding officer, assuming that you’ve done well, speaking of your maturity and leadership skills.
People who’ve served in their country’s military often wind up going to college in their country, since for them it’s often heavily subsidized there, but when they apply for grad schools in the US, they usually get in, because it’s so obvious how much more life experience and supervisory experience they have, compared to the other applicants. You’d do better to apply a year before the end of your service, than if you were to apply now and defer.
FYI for UC Berkeley. If you plan to apply to UCB this year and want to defer to complete your military service, you might want to wait since UCB rarely allows to deferrals. I also agree that your Military service would could enhance your application so I would apply after your service.