What are my odds-two top choices. Will chance back.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I posted this already, but it was literally my first post here, so the format was probably utterly impossible to read. Not surprisingly, no responses. Hopefully this is a bit better. I’m not sure how I’d measure up, because most of the available data for college admissions doesn’t distinguish between US students and internationals (I’m the latter)

Basic info:
-HS junior
-GPA: 39/42 (taking full IB diploma), but only end-of-year grades will be sent. Last 2 years: 54/56 freshman, 62/63 sophomore
-SAT: 2330-that’s 800 CR, 800 M, 730 W with 8 on the essay. Only one sitting so far.
-SAT II: None yet. Expect 750+.
-Courses taken/currently underway:
–IB Biology, Geography, Economics, History and English HL.
–IB Math and French SL
-Last two years: IB Middle Years Programme
-No class ranking at my school

Major extracurriculars:
-Debate club (co-president)
-Math tutoring club (co-president)
-Soup kitchen club (co-president)
-Student council president
-In charge of fundraising for a small NGO’s regional branch
-Doing research for a subcommittee at a major international organization
-Brown belt in judo: mostly train at home now, not part of a dojo
-Decent piano player, not great
-Sing in an Estonian choir
-Work experience: 1 week in city government

Apart from that, a few other sports (only casual).

Awards/competitions:
-Placed in top 1/3 at two ISMTF math competitions.
-Top individual nationally in World Scholar’s Cup (small European nation)
-2nd nationally in History Bee&Bowl
-Multiple awards in debate/public speaking

Other:
-Intended majors: Political science and Economics
-School type: Small private school
-Gender: M
-Ethnicity: White (Slavic)

Wondering if these will help:
-Dual nationality (US/Estonia)
-Taking 5 HL IB subjects (and 7 overall) when most candidates take 3 HL and 3 SL subjects
-Speak 4 languages (3 fluently)
-Lead role in school play-but no long-term program at our school

Wondering if these will be a problem:
-8 on the SAT essay (don’t know why-thought I did well)
-Family income is well below average by area standards, but due to living in an city with a worldwide-top-10 cost of living income figures are still far above middle-class in US. Could this be a problem for financial aid?

I know these will be a problem:
-International applicant
-Not an URM

My two top choices are the University of Chicago and Northwestern. I know nobody’s ever a sure thing at these schools (or even a very likely thing), but what do you think my chances are?

2

Northwestern low reach
UC reach

Best of luck!
chance back please?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1729235-what-are-my-chances-will-chance-back-immediately-add-link.html#latest

3

Northwestern- High match
UChicago-low reach
Try for perfect on the SAT. Being from Estonia and speaking four languages will definitely look unique. Uchicago will be looking for you to show tons of passion about one topic so find out your passion and really flaunt it. Please chance back

4

I think you’re a pretty competitive applicant! I agree with the above, high match for Northwestern and low reach for UChicago. Good Luck!

I’m an IB student too:) Chance me?: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1740667-chapman-university-chances.html#latest

5

You seem to have a great profile. If you really need financial aid it lowers your chances though. But you are very competitive

6

UChicago - Med. reach

Northwestern - High match/Medium reach

Chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1742181-chance-a-junior-for-a-wide-range-of-schools-i-will-chance-you-back.html

7

It all depends on whether you need aid or not. If you don’t, I think that you can expect acceptances at both the schools provided you have written great essays. If you need aid, you would be lucky to get in at any one the places.

Best of luck!

Chance back?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1741917-chance-me-if-you-can.html#latest

8

@bboy219‌ @fightingillini97‌ @Dotsfrug‌ @meriks‌ @Anonymoose3‌ @scimathguy‌ -

Chanced all of you back. I forgot to mention a few things in my first post.

-Model United Nations: 2-time delegate (two different conferences), 2-time researcher at a conference organized by my school.
-Youth jury member at a major human rights film festival.
-Legacy at UChicago (mother and uncle attended).

Also, let me clarify a few things.

@fightingillini97‌ -If I had to pick one area that I’d really call my passion, it’s politics/government. Here’s why.
-Debating, MUN, and student council all fit with that.
-So does the research I mentioned above (it’s on a human-rights topic, for a body charged with enforcing a specific international convention).
-My country of residence recently passed an immigration law that I (and now 60-70% of the populace) strongly disagree with, and I expect to volunteer for a possible campaign to repeal the law.
-A large part of the reason that the University of Chicago is my top choice is their Institute of Politics, run by David Axelrod, which I may mention in the “Why UChicago?” essay supplement.

So that’s my passion.

With regards to financial aid, I don’t need aid. My parents’ employer will cover 20% of tuition, and I’ve got some money saved for college (though it’s barely a dent in $55-60,000 a year). My parents will chip in some, though with my brothers also heading to college in a few years their ability to help out will be limited. If I don’t get any aid (or not very much), then I’ll take out loans and work my rear off. Financial aid would be nice to have, because I’d prefer 50K in loans to 100K+ in loans when I graduate, but the cost of university won’t stop me from attending.

I may also be a national merit scholarship semifinalist or finalist. I scored a 225 in last October’s PSAT, and the cutoff for international students was 224 last year, so if the curve goes up 2 points I’ll be on the outside looking in. If I eventually get some sort of scholarship, that would help a bit, though the odds are against it.

How would the above affect my chances?

9

Your extracurriculars are strong and your SAT score is phenomenal. I agree with everyone by saying that Northwestern is a match, however I believe University of Chicago is a match because a friend of mines got into the University of Chicago but he was not in the top 5% (GPA was on the lower end of the smart kids). Plus he doesn’t do as much as you extracurricularly wise.

10

If you are a US Citizen than most of the time you are not considered international. It depends on the school. This will work in your favor since you won’t be included in the quota a lot of schools have for internationals. This is also crucial if you are applying for aid.

11

@NotVerySmart - your screen name is something of a misnomer. Your seem to have no weaknesses, as long as you show some humility, I’d think you will have very good chances everywhere you apply, Look into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford if they interest you - I suspect you would get into at least one of them, if not more than one.

12

You are a US citizen, so these universities are need-blind for you.
I do not think that universities will consider your 8 in the essay as a weekness. Try some excellent essays and I am pretty sure that they will not even take that 8 as a weekness.
Both Universities are High matches
Chance me back :slight_smile:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/1736352/chance-me-please-updated-will-chance-back-if-you-want

13

“however I believe University of Chicago is a match”

Chicago admit rate: 8.9% last year
It is an automatic reach school.

Chicago: Reach
NW: Low Reach

14

NW: High Match
Chicago: Low reach

Chance back? {it is my most recent thread}

Good luck! :slight_smile:

15

Shouldn’t you be considered domestic if you have US nationality?
If so,
Uchicago would be a low-mid reach and Northwestern would be a high match ED or a low reach RD.

If not,
Uchicago would be a high reach and Northwestern a reach (lower reach ED).

Chance back?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1741178-predict-my-results-will-chance-back.html#latest

16

@ItsHydro‌ @theanaconda‌ Chanced both of you back.

I’m a US citizen, but I’m living abroad. My counselor has been a bit unclear on whether I’d be considered an international applicant-I think it may vary by university. Here’s what the U of C’s site has to say about it.

I read that as saying that I’m considered an international applicant despite my US citizenship but, unlike other internationals, I’m eligible for financial aid. In other words, being an international hurts me, but applying for financial aid won’t. I could be wrong-perhaps there’s information elsewhere that would contradict this view, or maybe I’m misunderstanding this passage. If you think that might be the case, feel free to point it out and explain why.

@bboy219‌ @fightingillini97‌ @Dotsfrug‌ @meriks‌ @Anonymoose3‌ @scimathguy‌ @xxteafanexx‌ @latoswitz‌ @BldrDad‌ @AKAKHALEDBEST‌ @20more‌ @ItsHydro‌ @theanaconda‌ -

Thanks for all your advice so far. How would this affect my chances?

@BldrDad‌ Do you really think I’d be competitive at HYPS? I’ve done well in general, but I haven’t cured cancer or won a Nobel prize yet, and I get the sense that most international applicants admitted to those schools (and even domestic applicants) have accomplishments that are barely below that tier.

I don’t want to apply SCEA, because that would mean giving up the opportunity to apply EA at UChicago, and any other schools I may apply to, in return for what is at most a 20% chance of admission (and probably far less, since I might be an international applicant for admissions purposes) instead of the 3-4% odds for RD applicants. I don’t want to stake my chances of getting into a top college on a gamble with a 4/5 chance of failing, because I’m simply not obsessed with Ivies to the point that even that 1/5 chance is worth any price.

Also, how would my awards (and lack of any major ones) be considered, given this context: I attend a small international school, in a country that really doesn’t have any national awards for academics outside of math olympiads (and I’m good at math, but not math-olympiad good). I know now that I probably should’ve entered various awards outside of my country (Is the Intel open to international students?), but I wasn’t really aware of them.

17

I think UofC’s accept rate is around 8% is NW’s is around 13%.
With that said,
NW: high match/low reach
UofC: mid-reach (but reachable in your case if you do write great essays)

18

Northwestern-match
UChicago-reach

I think you are an interesting applicant that UChicago will like if you write some amazing essays. UChicago admits a wide variety of students the key is that you have to have a love for learning and standout. Good luck! Btw, are you Slovakian? Sorry if it’s a dumb question but often people refer to Southern European countries as Slavic as you probably know. I am Croatian so I was wondering haha.

Chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1743472-chance-me-for-uchicago-georgetown-harvard-etc-and-i-will-chance-back-if-you-want.html

19

@bradybest‌ I know the overall rate, but I also know that the U of C fills about 1/2 its freshman class through early action. Meaning that the acceptance rate for RD applicants is actually only about half the overall rate (a bit more, as applicant totals include the ~1000 who are accepted EA). From what I know from a NY Times article I stumbled across some time ago, the situation is much the same at most Ivies (or equivalents).

I’m applying EA, but the point I was making was more in response to @BldrDad‌ -I was explaining why, if I apply to HYPS, it wouldn’t be single-choice EA.

@ellebelle332‌ -Chanced you back.

And no, I’m not Slovakian (haha). Estonian, actually. I know Estonia isn’t a Slavic country (it’s one of the Baltic states), but “Baltic” isn’t an ethnicity. Estonians aren’t, strictly speaking, Slavic, but neither are we Scandinavian or even Nordic. I’m not sure what label I’d use to describe us, but “Slavic” seems to fit best, especially with the similarities (which, if they are noted by others, we will categorically deny) between Estonians and Russians.

20

@NotVerySmart - One could argue an EA acceptance is wasted if one applies to a school that would accept your RD anyway. Likewise, an RD rejection at a school that would have accepted you SCEA is a missed opportunity (note: evidence suggest that SCEA applicants have much better chances of getting into HYP).

If your’e interested in HYP, the challenge will be determining whether you are possibly in one of these groups, and how maximize your odds of acceptance.

My gut feeling is that a US dual national living abroad with your academic credentials and english language skills is likely to get into at least one of HYPS - in fact I would be extremely surprised if you did not. If one of these schools appeals to you, then you might consider maximizing your chances by applying SCEA.