The main reason why I’m applying to these schools is to be able to study at a world-class school full of opportunities in a large city setting (with most of the schools I’m applying to) with lots to do compared to the small city (and in my opinion, a whole lot of nothing!) here in Nova Scotia, Canada. I’m applying expecting to get rejected (as it should be for high-reach schools realistically, especially when I need a full-ride need-based scholarship), but I’d rather know that I tried my best and got rejected rather than never apply and never know what could’ve happened. I’m currently a junior, and will be applying in senior year.
GPA: Isn’t used in Canada, but 98.5/100 mark average (Canadian public school). High school mark in any course never dropped below 96%, and most courses are 98%+/-. Have a couple 100% courses. These are the most rigorous courses offered, asides from IB.
Class rank: Also isn’t used, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I was near top or at the top in my class
SAT Score: None yet, but let’s assume 1500 SAT I, 780 to 800 SAT Math 2, 750 SAT Chemistry!
AP/IB classes: None (AP not offered, would’ve taken if offered. IB was offered, but limited courses didn’t attract me compared to the large variety of non-IB courses and wanted time for extracurriculars. ex. No Math HL offered, and heard many IB students here have time only for coursework and nothing else)
Classes: Taking academic and the few limited offered honor (called “advanced” by my school board) courses like Pre-Calculus.
Extracurriculars & Accomplishments:
Website designer of Dogecoin currency website. (Very huge in 2013-2014. Wouldn’t be surprised if the website got millions of visitors in its lifetime!): Cooperated with the Dogecoin community to build a new website that eventually replaced the old website by the creator of Dogecoin, was in Grade 9 writing HTML/CSS and coding Javascript for the website during this time
Amazon.com PL business owner (entrepreneurship): selling private-labeled products sourced from China on Amazon in USA. Financed from my phone and tablet repair business. All done by myself.
Own a local phone and tablet repair business (entrepreneurship): started in Grade 9 and ongoing to today. Also all done by myself.
Taught myself to code with Java, PHP, Javascript and make websites with HTML/CSS (around Grade 9, ongoing to now)
Taught myself Pre-Calculus with “For Dummies” books and YouTube videos (Grade 11, for SAT Math 2 next week. No tutor was hired, study materials only costed ~$30)
Canadian Lifesaving Society Bronze Cross Certification
** Work-to-Rule teacher protest ongoing at my province, so in-school extracurriculars are not possible at this moment.
** Will teach myself the equivalent of AP Chemistry(?) for the SAT Chemistry test, so I can add that on to my list of accomplishments later
Teacher Recommendations note: If Work-to-Rule is ongoing by the time I apply for the schools, I won’t be able to submit teacher recommendation letters as they are barred from writing these letters. Otherwise, I have teachers who are definitely able to write good things about me.
Other Info:
Gender: Male
Race: Asian
Country: Canada
Province: Nova Scotia
Awards: None
Financial Aid: Looking for full ride or almost-full ride need-based scholarship. Family’s income is low enough to qualify for full-ride at top schools. I cannot attend without full-ride scholarships as out-of-country tuition is too expensive.
Household Income: US$50,000+/-
Reaches (w/ generous need-based scholarship):
Harvard EA (need-blind)
Stanford (need-aware)
Yale (need-blind)
Columbia (need-aware)
University of Chicago (need-aware)
John Hopkins University (need-aware)
Safeties:
Public universities in my province (Dalhousie University and Saint’s Mary University)
As you know, need-aware schools are probably non-starters as an international student.
And there’s not a lot else that can be said without your SAT score. All of these places you’ve picked are reaches for everyone (below 10% chance), so while you’re competitive, it’s still a crapshoot.
@KingBibi Agreed, but the other three universities that offer need-blind full ride scholarships for internationals don’t interest me (Amherst and Princeton aren’t near bigger cities, MIT doesn’t offer the programs I want).
Great to hear I’m at least competitive! I’m realistically expecting to go to a school here, but I’m applying for the off chance that I do get accepted into any school abroad. And I can at least say with 100% certainty that I applied to Harvard, along with those other schools.
Why would you think you have a 14.5% chance at Harvard? I would say your application looks about average for their pool. And it is tougher for internationals to get in. Last year’s overall acceptance rate was 6.2%. I would not say your odds are any better than that. You might get in (maybe Nova Scotia is underrepresented).
@intparent I took the percentage off the EA acceptance rate for 2021. Either way, there’s not much difference between 14.5% and 6.2% or lower and it’s all based on luck in my opinion.
Am I average despite not taking the (albeit limited) IB courses that were offered at my school? I’m aware that there are countless of other students that will be applying with same or better marks than mine but with AP/IB courses.
Don’t forget that a lot of the EA applicants are athletes or legacies.
For these schools EVERYBODY is taking rigorous coursework, has great grades, and great test scores. If you didn’t take close to the most rigorous offerings at your school, that could be detrimental. But the distinction tends to come in additional accomplishments outside the classroom and generally outside the school setting once the academic credentials are established.
As I said, you may get in. Your application is very respectable. But the competition is very intense.
You don’t seem to have an idea of the fierce competition, including from Canada. And, what they look for. It’s not, eg, Amazon or self studying pre-calc or chem.
And Early is no special advantage if your app and supp don’t hit the mark.
Are you saying you skipped a rigorous courseload for those ECs?
Ah… we discuss this again and again. It is not cumulative. The thing that keeps you out of one may very well be the same thing that keeps you out of all. Say your course load is not most rigorous, or you have a lukewarm rec, or your essay is not up to snuff somehow. That will hurt a student at all of them.
I don’t think so. The majority of what you say about yourself is “taught myself this, will teach myself that.” It’s boring. Could you do something long term that contributes greatly to your community? Do you have some kind of talent that they are looking for? Web design/having an Amazon store isn’t it-- dime a dozen. Where’s the rest of the story, like your impact on your community? What are you doing with your income? Are you attached to any cause? What do you care about? Communicate that very clearly.
Don’t get me wrong, you seem like a great kid and a great candidate for lots of fantastic schools. But Harvard/Stanford/Yale. Strip away the “I’m gonna” and tell us in a better way how strong a candidate you are…
You can get “a world-class school full of opportunities in a large city setting” at many, many schools, not just ivies and other highly selective schools.
I agree. International applicants do NOT have the same odds as US applicants. Harvard (and all the schools on your list) limit the number of international students to about 10% to 11% of an incoming freshman class. That means that Harvard admits about 160 to 190 international students per year. To see how many students from Canada are currently attending Harvard, go to: http://www.hio.harvard.edu/statistics. From the pull-down menus, select STUDENTS, HARVARD COLLEGE (the undergraduate school) and CANADA. There are currently 137 students from Canada enrolled at Harvard who are freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors. That means that Harvard, on average, admits about 34 students a year from Canada.
Now Harvard doesn’t publish the number of applications from each country, but my guess would be several thousand (maybe more) Canadians apply each year for those limited slots. If 2,000 Canadians apply, a student from Canada has an overall chance of 1% to 2%. Those are terrible odds, no matter what your stats – so by all means apply, but understand the competition is tougher than you think. And, I suspect it’s the same at all the schools on your list.
Full Disclosure: My daughter had a roommate from Canada one year who was on Harvard’s ski team, so I suspect a number of Canadians are recruited athletes on the skiing and hockey teams, which further reduces the overall chances of a non-athlete from Canada.
@snarlatron I’ll keep that in mind. Although I prefer big cities, what’s keeping me from attending any school out-of-province is being able to afford a higher tuition cost (hence why I’m applying to those schools in particular, along with what they offer).
@gibby Thanks! I’ll still apply expecting to not get in, but now I know the stats behind it. I guess I’ll have a high-90%+ chance of framing my rejection letters from all of my reach schools realistically, and any acceptance (should that happen) even more surprising.
Make sure to apply to U Toronto, McGill and UBC. All first-rate institutions in nice cities! And, most importantly, you should get admitted to at least one, it seems.
Over $10,000 each in revenue? That’s pretty impressive! Are you registered as an official business/ do you file taxes for your business income?
I think your EC’s are in good standing, and just work hard on your scores/GPA. Harvard will be a crapshot for anyone, but I think you’re in the running.
@helpabro Thanks! Taxes are paid, and both businesses are run as a sole proprietorship.
The household income doesn’t include my business income. The amount I pay myself with the household income combined is still less than the limit for a need-based full ride since most of the revenue is going back into the businesses at this moment, however.
I was fairly impressed by your entrepreneurial activities and by the ways in which you teach yourself. I think colleges will be too. It is hard to tell if your grades are very high due to less challenging course work, but if you declined IB in order to do things outside of school, college may like that, even Harvard. I write from personal experience. Make sure to write a note explaining that, and have it included with your transcript, or have the counselor write it, either one.
Princeton isn’t too far from NYC or Philadelphia, and the Amherst area is hopping, with 5 colleges there (a consortium so you can take classes at the other 4) and Northampton is a nice little city. I wouldn’t limit yourself but understand your preference.
I would go ahead and apply to elite schools that you can afford, and like anyone, have no expectations. And make sure you have some safeties that are affordable.