I am an international student of IGCSE board. I scored 5 A* and 3 A. I got a score of 1440 on my PSAT. I was not able to give the SATs this year due to covid 19 pandemic but you could predict my score by my PSAT scores. I live in India so i also didn’t give any AP.
My EC are -
I am a published author of three books. With my first book publishing at the age of 10 by an imprint of penguin publishers. All my books are available on amazon and have got 4+ stars. I did 2 internships in astrophysics and physics respectively. I also did an internship in creative writing. I did a certified course in Film making. I was the vice president of my school’s debating club. I won 2 competitions in debate. I came in 99 percentile in International benchmark test in English and logic reasoning. I also volunteered in the program JYEP in order to educate the students of moral values. I also volunteered to teach under privileged children.
In short- 3 internships, 3 books published. 2 voluntary work. Course in film making, won 2 competition in debate and got great marks in an international Olympiad. PSAT score- 1440. 5 A* and 3 A.
So with a great Essay and recommendation letter what are my chances of getting in Ivy league and other prestigious universities? Should i work harder and lower my expectations? It will be really wonderful to get help and advises from you people.
PS: I would apply to Physics or astrophysics major.
Congratulations on your achievements.
Ivy League schools will be a reach, international student acceptance rates are generally in the low single digits. Are you one of the top students in India?
Have you registered for the SAT? Of Ivy League schools, only Cornell will be test optional for 2021/22 app cycle (at least so far).
Have you taken TOEFL/IELTs? You will need one of those too.
What is your budget?
If you are sure you want to study in the US, you will need to broaden your list of colleges beyond the Ivy League and look at schools will higher acceptance rates.
Are Canadian, EU, or UK schools of interest, or options for you?
Thanks a lot for your reply. I have still not taken TOEFL but i will take them. Most probably i should qualify them as i got an A* in first language English. And yes i have registered for the SAT. And yes the colleges in Canada, EU and UK are of interest but i always had the dream to go to Harvard. Do you think i have to work more on my EC and profile or i should apply for all the prestigious universities dream to be in. I still have my 12th grade to pass but i should be able to pass them with great grades as i am one of the top students of my school. But somewhere i feel that all my achievements are not enough. I feel that they will not give me an upper hand among all those highly qualified people. I dont think i would stand out between them and be noticed among the crown. So thats why i came here to have a 3rd eye look into my profile. So it will be really helpful if you could give me a harsh overview of my profile. I am really grateful of you for replying to my question
Yahya
Work with someone (doesn’t need to be an expert, an English teacher works) to curate your extracurricular profile in a way that looks impressive. I’ve seen profiles just like yours but worded better that have made it to T20s. A lot of your ECs are really good (the astro internships, publishing at Penguin at 10) and you need to sell them.
I am also an international Indian applicant living in the US and I am applying (and hopefully entering) to the Ivy Leagues for the class of 2025! Your ECs seem pretty competitive for T20 schools, but be aware that since it’s India we are talking about, there may be 100s of students applying to Ivy Leagues with similar ECs/honors as you. One more thing to note is that although the fact that you published books at age 10 is highly impressive, only HS awards will be noted seriously in college apps. If I were you, I would try to see if I had any other shots at applying to any other international comps which matched my interests or try finding another major hook in an area of interest. This is the unfortunate reality of international Indian college admissions; it is simply too competitive! The path that you should take is to really develop a hook (or at least make an attempt given you have a pretty above average profile) and work on perfecting your essays and personal application theme.
Best of luck to you for next year!
Please do give feedback on a chance me that I recently posted 
@daunt18 thanks a lot for taking out the time to help me. I will surely work with someone to beautifully present those EC to sell them to the T20. Once again thanks a lot for helping me.
@STEMGeek16 Thanks a ton for taking out the time and replying to my query. Yes i will try to participate in more international competition and perfect my essay. And yeah i truly agree that its too competitive. And yes best of luck to you also. May you get in your dream college. Best of luck! And once again thank you.
Do you need financial aid? Only some of the ivy league schools are need blind for internationals. And with the looming financial crisis, many more will undoubtedly tighten their belts. So they will be looking for full pay internationals.
Also keep in mind that the visa situation to enter the US may be tough. It sounds like you are applying for 2021 fall entry. Hopefully things will be better by then.
Is it possible that you could also use this time to take more online courses? I think that the work that you have so far is really cool. Try to build it up and perhaps pursue an online passion project (ie. a blog, online literary tutoring, etc.) Not only this, but submit for more writing awards. I think that including the international honor you got would be of great help but, as you have many published works, see if you could submit those (or any of your other writing that you have) to local/international competitions.
A question to ask yourself is what makes you stand out from other applicants? Personally, being a writer myself, seeing that you published three books is outstanding (I was recently awarded a publication deal so I can visualize the hard work that goes into writing). Another question is: Did I take all of the opportunities given to me? Ivy leagues know that not everyone is privy to the same situation. Especially with the crisis we are in now, there is a disproportionate resource skew amongst potential applicants. Nonetheless, if you take all of the opportunities that you can and show resilience, you should be okay.