I’m trying to assess my chances of getting into the Ivies and other selective colleges such as Stanford, MIT etc. Please let me know what you think. I’m an international student from India. I will be applying for aid.
My SAT score is 2130/2400(97th percentile). The break up is 780/800 in Math(99th percentile), 680/800 in Critical Reading(94th percentile) and 670/800 Writing(93rd percentile). My essay score was 8/12.
My SAT subject test scores were 800/800 in Math level 2(85th percentile). 780/800 in physics(84th percentile) and 750/800 in chemistry(73rd percentile).
My TOEFL iBT score is 116/120. The breakup is 30/30 reading, 30/30 speaking, 28/30 writing and 28/30 listening
My scores in my Secondary School Leaving examinations (Conducted by Indian government) were 97/100 in Math. 99/100 in English. 99/100 in Science. 96/100 in French. 90/100 in Social Studies.
My predicted scores for my Higher secondary leaving examinations are 197/200 in Math. 193/200 in Physics. 191/200 in chemistry. 189/200 in computer science. 191/200 in English and 191/200 in French.
A score above 65% in India is considered first class and according to www.foreignstudent.com a score above 65% in and Indian exam is equivalent to US grade A. So basically my GPA is approximately a 4.0 unweighted.
I want to study mechanical engineering. I interned at Times of India(journalism company) last year. I’ve been writing articles for their newspaper ever since. I’m confident that my recs will be really good. Students at my school are divided into 4 houses and I was captain of one of the houses. I’ve participated in and won theater competitions, debates, stand up comedy events and quizzes. Most of these were intra city events between students of many schools.
I want to know if these colleges will look past my poor SAT 1 critical reading and writing scores because of my Subject test scores ,TOEFL scores and Indian certificate scores. My main focus is on MIT, I applied to them early action. I wanna know what you think of my chances. Thanks.
Absolute zero chance for the schools you listed. Your SAT is awful and your extracurricular are unimpressive and mediocre at best. Being an international student seeking financial aid further kills your chances, although you probably wouldn’t have gotten in if you were a domestic applicant either. Your GPA and Subject tests scores are your only strengths, but that alone isn’t enough. You could probably get into schools like the University of Alabama, which has a full tuition scholarship you might qualify for.
The competition is very fierce for those schools even domestically, so unfortunately I have to agree with the above poster (though it might sound to you harsh)!
I agree with the above posters: HYPSM, Penn and other Ivies, etc. – the very elite schools – are high reaches for you. Regarding MIT, Stanford, Cornell, and Rice – all are quite strong in Engineering – just realize that you probably won’t get into one of them. It is possible, just not likely. So…
You might try some good state schools and solid private universities – that are not quite as selective as the schools mentioned above – like the following:
Some state schools w/strong Mech Eng:
Cal-Berkeley
Michigan
Virginia
Georgia Tech
UCLA
Wisconsin
Illinois
Purdue
Texas
Minnesota
Texas A&M
Some private schools w/ Mech Eng:
U of Rochester
Lehigh
Lafayette
Tufts
Boston University
Case Western Reserve U
Northeastern
George Washington U
Syracuse
Marquette
Those are all good US schools that offer Mechanical Engineering. I think you could gain admission to some of them.
Research them and find the ones you like best. Find out what the average test scores and GPAs are for international students at each school and rank the schools in order of difficulty. Then, I suggest you apply to the following:
MIT (your dream school – go for it)
Cornell and/or Rice
Three state schools
Three private schools
Hey man, don’t listen to these guys. NO ONE can tell you whether you have a chance at any of these schools. Personally, I think you’re alright. But what I would do if I were you would be to look at the average test scores for all the top rated US schools. It’s all going to come down to your essays. If you put in a crapton of effort into making the most stellar essays possible, then you have a chance.
These guys are being unnecessarily harsh. No one knows for sure where you’ll get in. Just try your best.
(@prezbucky, the OP needs financial aid so the UC’s will not work.)
If you need financial aid, do not apply to the UC schools since they will not provide financial aid to non-residents of California. The SAT score is very important in admissions so for the top schools, your scores will not work because the competition is outrageous.
Do some more research on which schools will give you financial aid for your current stats. If there is an EducationUSA near you, use their services.
^ In that case, many OOS state schools won’t work.
Some still might though, OP:
U of Virginia – very good financial aid for a state school. I’m not sure about financial aid for international students, but that’s worth researching.
U of Minnesota – Fairly low-priced for OOS/international students, in the neighborhood of $30k per year. That’s really a good deal when you consider Minnesota is a strong school with good academic rep, lots of research prestige and Nobel awards, etc. Their Mech Eng program is ranked in the top 25 by US News.
Finally, do check out the University of Alabama’s scholarship information.