What are my chances of getting into the University of Washington as an international student?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Washington
1

I will apply to the University of Washington Fall 2017 as an international student coming from Russia. I have a few things concerning me so far.

TOEFL. First off, I have taken TOEFL and scored 85 (almost perfect for the Writing section). While U of Washington asks for the minimum of 76, it is recommended to have an overall score of 92. So, what are my chances at this point? Is 85 enough or should I retake the test? I will definitely try to retake it, but I have no clue if I can score more than that. Hope dies last, anyway. What should I do at this point?
SAT. I had a hard time with this test; it turned out to be relatively hard and hectic for me. Good thing is that UW does not require submitting SAT for international students. What does it mean? I have scored just around U.S. National Average Score – I believe that is very bad for U of Washington. It says that 50 percent of incoming freshmen have 1200+ SAT score. But I am convinced that it is mostly in-state students which means they do not need to score as high as their out-of-state or international peers. With all that said, what should I do? Submit or not? I am taking the test again in October hoping to increase my score by 100 or something around that. Huh, probably, I will not be able to do that.
GPA and grades. I am graduating from High School located in Russia. We have 11 grades, not 12. However, technically, I studied 12 years because most of students attend pre-first grade (this is not official and, thus, not required by the law), hoping to prepare themselves better for their first grade of school. I am going to submit 8–11 grades (which is basically equal to 4 years of HS in the United States). I believe I have around 4.5.-4.8./5.0 GPA throughout these 4 years, making my cumulative GPA is around 4.7. Is it good enough for the colleges like UW?
Extracurricular activities. This may sound extremely vague for most U.S. students, but we do not have such things as clubs, societies, etc. I can speak only for Russian schools, not universities, though. So, what can I state specifically on this step? I mean, I have participated in a few things in my life, such as Olympiads (linguistics), athletics, clubs outside the school. However, I cannot really say anything cool about it. Unfortunately, it is not outstanding or prestigious.
Diversity. Hopefully, it will pay a great role in the admission process as U of Washington does not really have a lot of students of Russian ancestry. What do you think of it in terms of my situation?
International experience. I went to US private boarding High School located in Vermont for one semester this year. It was my first international experience. I was totally shocked with the whole situation because it was so hard to leave all your loved ones and go to another country by yourself and study in a completely different environment. I had plenty of problems I had to face with, including homesickness, boringness (yeah, it happened), shock, but afterwards it got better and better day by day. I think I should tell the college about this experience in my essay part as it shows that my maturity. What do you think? Is it worth mentioning in the essays?
Essays. It is time to apply soon, but I feel like I am completely stuck with this part as U of Washington requires a lot of essays to write. And I have no idea how to write them. I have no clue about the topic I should choose in my case.
That being said, I would like to major in International Relations at Henry Jackson School of International Studies. As far as I am concerned, it is fairly easy to get into this school as it is not as competitive as other programs, like Computer Science, Nursing, etc.

I really appreciate any help by current UW students (especially international ones) and educational experts.

2

A key issue for international students is budget. Do your parents have about $45,000 per year of college?
What were your grades at boarding school?
Any reason you spent one semester rather than one year there?

3

Yes, my parents have money to pay me for a college. However, I would like to consider these universities that provide some financial aid for international students. I have already applied to University of Wyoming, giving up to $5K off tuition (25K) for a good GPA in High School. Should I consider private colleges as they usually give away a lot of money regardless of your citizenship?

Speaking of my experience in the US, I went there for one semester because I just wanted to see what it is like to be a student in high school. It would be ridiculously hard to make up my year curriculum for my Russian school if I went to the US for one year. It is just because you cannot show them American grades to get your stuff credited. I did fairly well (Bs) at the school providing that I struggled much with social aspect of my life there: homesickness, few friends, etc.

4

Here is what I have found on UW’s website.

The SAT and ACT exams are not required for international students, but we recommend applicants interested in an Engineering or other STEM-related major (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) to submit SAT or ACT math scores.

So I suppose I am totally fine if I do not submit SAT.

5

I’m not sure B’s will be considered sufficient, but if you’re not applying for STEM and are full pay, your odds are decent. In addition, you could try and apply to the Honors college and hope for the best.

6

@MYOS1634, I am not applying for STEM. They do not provide any financial aid for international students, so I believe I will not receive anything anyway. As for Bs, well, it is not really a big deal because I am going to send my American transcript along with my Russian one. I am sending American grades just because it is necessary to fulfill requirements of “honesty” (providing every High School attended).

7

They do have merit aid but you’re right no financial aid.
The B’s may be a problem since you won’t have SAT subject tests nor ACT/SAT results to show you’re able of better mastery when taught in English. (Your Russian grades will indicate mastery when taught in Russian, your TOEFL ability to learn English.)
Where else are you applying?
(WWU is also a very good school, as is UPuget Sound.)

8

@MYOS1634, I am applying to a lot of schools. I am not sure if I am going to consider the colleges you listed. I believe that having TOEFL score 85 is pretty much fine to show them that I am proficient in English enough to study in English.

9

That’s not how it works. For instance UWash prefers 92 so you’re below what they want, although you’re above the threshold for consideration. The B’s are decent but UWash typically wants As and based on your profile they don’t have other elements indicating that within a US context you can be an A student.

Can you take subject tests in two subjects you’re strong at? That may be better than the SAT. If you’re registered for the October SAT, you can switch to subject tests with no penalty I believe, and if you take subjects you’re really good at, you’d have a better chance of scoring high and thus show mastery in American terms.

Which other Universities are you considering?
Both WWU and UPuget Sound would be considered matches for your stats (without your SAT score.)

10

I am seriously considering University of Texas at Austin, University of California (any of them), University of Vermont, Michigan State University and some other colleges. I do not think UPudge Sound and WWU should be my choices, but you can disagree.

11

You don’t stand a chance at UT, they admit VERY few internationals.
You’re good for UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, and Michigan State; at UVermont you’ll be required to participate in a Getway program due to your TOEFL score.

I suggested WWU and UPuget Sound because they’re very good universities in the State of Washington, thinking you were interested in that State. While these universites have less of a “party” reputation and can be seen as “less fun” than some you listed, and are definitely lacking in any significant national or even regional presence in terms of spectactor sports, they earned their reputations due to academics. I understand that if Greek Life and football and/or hockey and/or basketball are important to you, those wouldn’t really be your cup of tea. :slight_smile:

12

Well, I do not really know what to do. I will try to apply to UT anyway, just for fun. What about Purdue University? Also, I don’t think that it is a big deal for U of Vermont (I have 5 points less), but I am going to retake the test anyway. Any other colleges?

13

^It is a big deal because they have a special program where you must enroll - it’s not optional and it’s another business venture for them. Also, 5 points less is a lot less (usually there MAY be an exception made, and not always, for 1 point. But in the US, even 0.5 is seen as a difference. If you need 84 for a B and you have 83.5 you will not get a B.)
Purdue is an engineering school -is that what you’re interested in?

14

No. What do you mean by engineering school? They have a lot of programs.

15

Purdue is strong in engineering and known nationally for its engineering programs, math and CS to a lesser extent. For other subjects, especially business and international relations, IU is much better.

16

Yeah, I am applying to IU as well.

17

Perhaps post in “college selection” because this is the UWash-specific forum. There are more people on the “college selection” forum. Just list your stats and the colleges you intend to apply to, and ask for advice. (If you want to be “chanced”, use the “chance” forum.)