For all posters from US out here, I just want to clarify.
A 75-80 % is not a C grade by any means. It is not exactly top of the pile, but it is not too bad either. And looking at his class rank, I suspect there might be grade deflation in the school.
@RaviGopal
You have quite a few good things going for you. International paying full freight, very high SAT scores, Great class rank.
But MIT is a different proposition for Indian students. Out of n students admitted every year (Indians), (n-1) atleast have International Olympiad medals. There have been only 1 or 2 exceptional cases every year. Also, MIT does not care whether you apply for aid or not (need blind)
97 % in 12th - First of all, boards don’t count. Your decisions are out way before board results. Conc. on your midterms and do well. Also, its not as easy as you think it is.
Your participation in the Olympiad does not count. You have to get into Indian team or OCSC.
Your extracurriculars are pretty routine for an Indian applicant (app development, music). Try to focus on something different.
Also, no. of certificates does not indicate anything.
“Have won and participated in many national comp.” - Which field? What?
@"aunt bea" Thank you!
@NoVADad99 Pretty much, but they’re a little more open minded than Indians.
@hezekiel A 75% is a high B if I remember correctly, but it isn’t good enough, since most Indians who actually get in have a percentage of 90+ from classes 9-12. His 11th grade is still a disadvantage. I agree with your other statements.
@DarkEclipse- A 75-80% might be numerically lower when compared to other fellow applicants, but because of grade deflation/ rigorous papers / different boards, I feel the rank of 2/180 is a better indicator of how other classmates from the same school are faring.
@hezekiel You’re right, but it also depends on whether the actual class studied. Who knows, the person who ranked first might have gotten and 85+. Plus, the OP says he slacked off during the 11th grade. So the percentage difference between the first and second rank might be big.
Oh and by the way, I just got my final exam results. I got 83% ! Much higher than what I expected. I am so happy right now. What do you think of my chances right now?
@RaviGopal- Are you taking a Gap year?? because applications for Fall 15 are closed for most of the top colleges.You are studying in State Board.Most Indian Schools give out their final results by May.How did you get yours already?? Are you trolling btw??
That’s a difference of 12. Which makes me think that either your class isn’t very competitive, or no one study at all in the eleventh grade. What did the person below you (the person who ranked third) score?
@RaviGopal If all that you are saying is true, then you have pretty good shot. 11th grades of most of the Indian students are a bit low. And try to broaden your perspective a bit. Berkley, GeorgiaTech, Stanford are good schools, no doubt about, but there are a lot of smaller schools which are as rigorous and awesome as them. And when you say Olympiads, do you mean the stuff organized by IAPT or by SOF??
RaviGopal.You are only in 11th I guess.So you have one year to work on your application.Do well in 12th and maintain good grades.show passion in the major you intend to do
@auntbea DarkEclipse has some nice points, presumably as a reaction to RaviGopal’s post but to be fair, there are many, many Indians and thus(!) many many studying in India who can contrast Ivies, Michigan/UNC (North Dakota or South Carolina), CMU, UCI vs UCB and so on. {Many can’t, as DE observed.}
That said, the IITs are (see posting from texaspg) are still up there and (see other threads on IIT vs XXX) a very very solid alternative to US schools from an academic perspective. Throw in finance, and it is a no brainer to go to the older IITs if all you care for is (knowledge/money) ratio.
@antialias Thank you. Of course, many Indians can contrast, but I’m just generalizing.
The older IITs are good, great even, but not as great as they once were. IITs no longer spark interest or encourage creativity among students, they only accommodate those who perform well in exams, with a few exceptions.
Anyway, if a person studies from IIT and goes to the US for a job or grad school, then he/she won’t face any problem.
US colleges are not likely to see, or give much weight to your 12th grade marks…your 11th grade marks makes it very unlikely to get into most or all of your schools. That being said, if you are a full pay student, you may have a small chance at perdue. There are MANY good schools that you can go to…you need to broaden your list.
@DarkEclipse I agree with you. Can you talk me through the difference in job opportunities after graduation? There are MANY good unis. Yes, but how do they rank in terms of jobs?
@harishgunner That depends on which field you’re talking about, and which region. I can’t provide any info on this topic, because I’m not too familiar with it. In the long run, say, 4 or 5 years later, it won’t matter which uni you went to. I’d ask some of the older members on CC for advice.
