<p>GPA - N/A
GCE O' Levels - 8As ( I scored over 90% in five subjects)
GCE A' Levels - 4As ( I scored over 90% in three subjects)
SAT 1 - 2290
SAT 2 Math - 770
SAT 2 Physics - 760
SAT 2 Chemistry - 800
Toefl IBT - 115</p>
<p>Recommendations: All of them were excellent.</p>
<p>Essays: I worked on them for about two months, and they were reviewed by my school's best English Teacher. </p>
<p>I submitted a graded writing sample which made the school newsletter (that's quite rare).</p>
<p>ECAs:
1) Production of an award winning short film.
2) National Mathematics Olympiad.
3) National Chemistry Olympiad
4) Participation in national debate competitions.
5) Captain of the school soccer team.
6) Loads of community work.
7) Lots of articles in national newspapers and magazines. </p>
<p>Our high school does not have a ranking system, but it is the most competitive school in my country. I have the most challenging workload in my school. My school does not have a ranking system, but I am in the top 5% (350). I am an international student and I needed financial aid (I was willing to pay $15k per year).</p>
<p>I had applied to the following schools:
1) Cornell University
2) Northwestern University
3) Vanderbilt University
4) Reed College
5) Hamilton College
6) Oberlin College
7) Carleton College
8) Trinity College
9) Bucknell University
10) Brandeis University</p>
<p>I was waitlisted by Bucknell and Hamilton. However I was rejected by the rest of them. I am perplexed by their decision. What are the reasons behind my downfall? And can I appeal my decisions?</p>
<p>Acceptance rates for international students are a lot lower than for American citizens, especially if you need financial aid. Very few schools are need blind for internationals.</p>
<p>Agreed. Financial aid was probably a killer. ONly a few schools are fully need blind for internationals. Also, it depends on the country. For example there are far more qualified candidates from China than can be admitted to any college. This would work against you.</p>
<p>Honestly, this admissions season was particularly brutal. I’m shocked that you didn’t get into better schools, because you are certainly well-qualified for them. Remember that top schools are so selective that their admissions decisions can seem quite random, but that does not mean that you are any less valuable as a person if you don’t get in.</p>
<p>1) “I am an international student and I needed financial aid” = lowest consideration. </p>
<p>2) Just because your best english teacher reviewed your essays does not mean they were good. Essays at elite schools are the method for which the adcoms can attempt to connect with prospective students (and as silly as it sounds, with an overabundance of qualified applicants there is no other way for them to differentiate). IMO, if your essays were truely of the right stuff, you would have received several offers</p>
<p>3) Not getting into particular schools is not a downfall. Get over it. Take some time to vent, but then move on. Where you go to college has very little impact on your future.</p>
<p>I do not know who advised you on your college selection process, or whether you took their advice, bu the simple truth is that for an international applicant who needs financial aid, there is no such thing as a safety or match, only a whole lot of reaches. </p>
<p>Take another long hard look at the educational options in your home country, and in other countries where the universities might fall within your parents’ budget. You can get an affordable education somewhere.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Presently I have offers from UCL and Imperial College in UK. However my financial situation does not allow me to pursue my education there. I had hoped to get some merit scholarships, but with the present financial climate, there was little chance So I was thinking of giving a gap year and then reapplying next Fall. I don’t know if that will be the right move… At present I am working with a few of my fellow class mates in running an English-medium school for the under-privileged children of my country. So I was thinking of continuing that for a year, and then reapply. But is there any guarantee that I will get a good offer next year? I doubt so. </p>
<p>P.S. I did have horrible counseling advice. He was absolutely certain that I will receive an offer; but being pessimistic myself, I wasn’t that confident.</p>
<p>If you didn’t know that your odds at those schools were chancy at best with those hard-to-overcome handicaps and planned accordingly, it was yourself that led to the downfall.</p>
<p>I’m an international student who was accepted to Reed with a huge financial aid package, and my credentials seem to be much less impressive than yours… I can’t speak for the rest of your schools, but maybe you didn’t really come across as very scholarly and free-thinking in your application to Reed? Same goes for Oberlin, which is also slightly unconventional as far as school mission and identity go.</p>
<p>Schools like Cornell, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern are hard to get into for anyone. And while Carleton’s acceptance rate seems to be lagging behind those of its peer institutions, I’m sure that a lot of international students apply there because of its high ranking (US News & World Report=a sacred text for many international applicants), making it extremely competitive for internationals.</p>
<p>In response to the OP’s last question on his first post–no you cannot appeal any decision. ( U of California schools allow this, but not private universities.)</p>
<p>Obviously accept positions on the waitlists. </p>
<p>If you can swing $20K, then there are two inexpensive Public LAC college with good reputations that may still have openings</p>
<p>Truman State in Missouri: 2010-2011 Tuition+Fees+Room+Board: $19,167
University of Minnesota at Morris: 2010-2011 Tuition+Fees+Room+Board: $18,582</p>
<p>Around May 1, a list comes out of schools that are still accepting applicants, and some even offer financial aid. There may be an option for you there. </p>
<p>You might also look for schools in Canada. One of the benefits of Canadian schools is that as an international student, you can get a job and work. I believe that not all deadlines have passed and there are a lot of good schools there. </p>
<p>For example, at Mt Allison, it would cost around $21K-$22K Canadian, but you can probably get a job on campus to cover the difference. </p>
<p>I’m sure there are other Canadian universities whose deadlines have not passed and that also approach affordability. For example University of Alberta has a May 1 deadline. </p>
<p>*But is there any guarantee that I will get a good offer next year? I doubt so. *</p>
<p>No, there isn’t.</p>
<p>Frankly, int’ls with high stats and high need must target two groups of schools…top schools that give aid and lower ranked schools that give huge merit for stats.</p>
<p>I think UA-Huntsville does give big merit to int’ls, so send them a quick app…it’s really not too late - even for scholarship consideration for someone with high stats. The school is in a nice area - located in Cummings Research Park…good facilities/labs…int’l airport 10 minutes away…</p>
<p>I don’t know your major, but UA-Huntsville is strong in: Engineering, bio, chem, business, & nursing.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how many int’ls typically get accepted each year to schools that give big need based aid (ivies, etc)? What is the acceptance rate for these int’ls? 3%? higher? lower?</p>
<p>Hey Rahman, a fellow Pakistani applicant here. I too got rejected at a lot of places, albeit with less impressive stats. I may be able to help you a bit. PM me and maybe we can work something out for you.</p>
<p>I emailed the admin of this board, who recommended a woman on their staff who reviews essays and suggests colleges. She has been an admiissions counselor in the past. She charged by the hour, and made some great suggestions on tweaking our DD’s essay. I wonder if looking at your essay from the perspective of a US admissions person would be helpful. One other comment that we read and took to heart: an essay can be “too polished” and lose your voice completely. When we sent our DD’s essay to her, she could tell my daughter had a quirky sense of hurmor, and made the essay LESS formal and more chuckle inducing. Someone once told me that people imagine these people sitting in front of a fireplace with a pipe and silence, looking for intellectually stimulating material. In fact, you should picture them with a toddler grabbing at their leg, trying to read one more essay while stirring a pot on the stove. How can you catch their attention now???</p>
So I was thinking of giving a gap year and then reapplying next Fall. I don’t know if that will be the right move… At present I am working with a few of my fellow class mates in running an English-medium school for the under-privileged children of my country. So I was thinking of continuing that for a year, and then reapply. But is there any guarantee that I will get a good offer next year? I doubt so. </p>