Hello.International student from Azerbaijan.I’m interested in NYU, Trinity, Skidmore and Union (haven’t thought about it too much)
SAT: 1460 out of 1600 (might retake)
GPA: 4.0 Unweighted
Subject tests:Haven’t taken yet but i expect 750+ on both of them (Math 2 & Physics)
IELTS: 6.5 (really shitty i know, took it with no prep and was sick on test day.Will retake for a 7.5+)
Income: 7-10K
ECs:
2 years of Chess “club”
Founded a group at school that help out students with their English classes and generally speaking in English
(about 1.5-2 hours time spent on schooldays,been doing it for a while)
Founder of a group that analyzes previous exam questions and discusses how to best handle them.
Math “club” 2 years.
I guess my ECs are pretty weak but whatever.(no volunteering options available whatsoever)
NOTES: I need an insane amount of financial aid.
First in the family to go college.
Can provide more info if needed.
I think you have a chance. You’ve done extremely well considering the different circumstances than kids in the US.
You may even want to try applying to one or two “reach” schools (Harvard, etc) as they tend to appreciate applicants with unusual backstories and will give full financial aid! I’m not really sure how many students from Azerbaijan that colleges get, but it makes you unique already (which is good).
Glad to hear that! There are very very few applicants from this country and those do apply have had all sorts of help and private tutors and all that.Whatever i’ve done, i’ve done it on my own and at the end of the day i’ve achieved something :3 Definitely thinking of applying to some IVYs and thinking of increasing my SAT.I think i do have a chance because of my backstory and different obstacles i’ve had.
The Ivies and similarly elite schools are definitely worth applying to and will cover all of the aid you need (I believe), but they are very tough to get into, and even more ridiculously tough to get into if you are international. Not only that, but they will likely only accept 1 student or so from a country like yours each year.
Because of this, I strongly recommend that you study for the SAT some more and give it another shot – if the 1460 is your first test, you have plenty of room for improvement. Your EC’s are certainly not as developed as they could be, but if you are able to really explain what they meant to you and use your essays to describe your life in a country unlike nearly all other applicants’, you should be in a strong position. I’d also really recommend finding a leadership role in something you enjoy this summer or at the beginning of next year.
Based on what I know about students in the US, your list of schools – NYU, Trinity, Skidmore, and Union – seems great. Of course, it is a lot tougher for international students, so also add plenty of safety schools that you would love to attend while filling out the list with a few reaches. One thing you should really keep in mind is how much aid each school offers – there’s no point in applying to a school only to find out that you can’t pay for it even if you are accepted.
The fact that you are the first in your family to go to college should help, and it seems like you’re a very competitive applicant. It’s awesome that you’ve done so well and have given yourself the opportunity to study at many great schools – wherever you end up, I’m sure you’ll do well. Good luck!
Sorry to burst your bubble but requiring an insane amount of financial aid as an international is the kiss of death, unless you are one of the top students in your country. No national level awards from what you posted so it’s going to be tough.
Since you are from Azerbaijan, are you applying to any schools in the CIS? For example Moscow State University or St. Petersburg?
Actually that list of schools (except for NYU) are “safeties” (i guess?).My score corresponds to their 75th percentile SAT scores which means i have a decent chance of getting in.Also i didn’t just randomly stumble upon those schools.3 of them(trinity, skidmore,union) offer almost as much aid as IVYs to international students, so if i get in AID shouldn’t really be a problem for those 3.(Especially Trinity, as far as i know, they cover all financial needs of an applicant if they get it.) So i really can’t afford to add any “worse” schools because they simply won’t cover my needs.
My dream school was UCLA but i learned that they don’t offer aid to internationals.(Sucks to be an international student, doesn’t it?)
About SAT scores:
I took the SAT first time in January with no prep and pretty much went in blind
Got a 1190 (510 R/W 680 Math)
I prepped after that for about 35 hours in total got my 1460 in the May test
1460 (680 R/W 780 Math)
You can see that Math is almost perfect and i think with just a little bit more prepping i can get 800s consistently.
If i do find a capable tutor(That’s gonna be EXTEMERLY hard) that can help me out with English then i can probably increase my R/W score a good amount in the summer and retake in October.
I really don’t know what else there is i could possibly do to bolster my ECs.Work in the summer? I don’t know.
It’s almost unbelievable that i am able to compete with top applicants from the US and all over the world.I don’t necessarily need to go to an IVY(although it’d be nice) but still.
I would never consider schools with an acceptance rate in the 30s as safeties, especially since you are applying internationally. Moreover, having test scores in the 75th percentile range does not make a school a safety – for example, I got a 34 on the ACT, which is the 75th percentile for UPenn, but in no way do I consider UPenn a safety, nor should I.
I’m sure there are schools with lower acceptance rates (think around 50-70) that would offer the aid you need – you have the stats, but you just need to find the schools that are willing to offer such high amounts of aid to international students. I will admit I have very limited knowledge about this, but I’m sure you will find a few if you do a bit of research.
As for the SAT, a tutor is not necessary, nor is one worth your money – the only way for you to improve is to practice. Because you already have a 680 in R/W, there isn’t much information that you don’t know or understand, so practice is really the only thing that can help.
For EC’s, working in the summer would help – try looking for something that aligns with your major, and if you can tie in a volunteering aspect too, that’s even better.
(BTW – UCLA and many public state schools don’t provide aid to out of state applicants in general, not only international students. You should without a doubt avoid these schools.)