hasanpak123

Hey, I hate starting a chance thread but I'm really anxious... I really want to go to Grinnell.

I'm an International student applying for financial aid.
SAT 1 Scores: CR: 650, WR: 640, MA:770 (2060 total)
SAT 2 Scores: Physics: 800, Math 2: 750

I have the following A-Level courses:
Economics
Physics
Mathematics
Further Mathematics
Accounts
English General

We don't really have GPA or class ranks in my school but i do well (not sure about Grinnell well though). I get As and Bs so i guess that's 3.5. I am an honor roll student (top 10 from a class of 87 students).

Good Teacher Recommendations
I loved my essay (hopefully Grinnell will too)

ECAs:
Member of Debate team
Vice-President of our organization for Social reform (I'm from a developing country)
Writer for School Newspaper
Editor of School Magazine
Won Creative writing competitions
Member of the Film Society - We've produced a couple of films one of which was runner up in an international film festival.
Participated in 2 Polio Immunization drives
Interned at an NGO school as a teacher
Interned at a Government school as a teacher
Won 3rd place in the city in a Math Competition ( out of 700something people)

I know getting into Grinnell would be a push but do I have a shot?
I can apply for early decision round 2 but if I were to do that they wouldn't get to see my retake SAT 1 scores for Jan (I'm actually ok with my score i just want to give it another try because everyone who gives it twice does better on their second try). Should I apply early?

Thank you in advance!

_Silence

Your stats look good, but depending on where you are from you might be judged differently.

hasanpak123

Hey... Thank you so much for replying... I really appreciate it. I'm from Pakistan... I think that really does hurt my chances because there are so many super geniuses here who apply to top schools. But also I don't need as significant aid as many of the other aid applicants... Well... I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

_Silence

Random question, are you from Karachi Grammar School?

Because I think every Pakistani I've met on Campus attended Karachi Grammar School. I think Grinnell accepts about 2 from there each year. That being said if you attend a different school it probably increases your chances by a lot (because of diversity).

hasanpak123

I'm not... So yay!!!!

_Silence

Also one piece of advice I can give to any prospective student: Do not only make your accomplishments stand out but also make it clear how these made you become an individual. From my experience Grinnell likes to admit students that are not only well accomplished but also unique in some factor. Grinnell seems to prefer admitting students they think will contribute something to the overall diversity.

At least this hold true for me and my year in general.

Kudryavka

Pretty good chance, I'd say. Are you top 10%? Top 10% can be a big deal because the percentage of students from top 10% gets reported in so many places.

Merope

I would say you have a strong shot.

Remember, Grinnell does not look at writing SAT scores. Try to bring up your CR in a retake and you should be good.

Good Luck

hasanpak123

Thank you guys for all the feedback. I really appreciate it.

We don't really have a 'top ten percent' but if we did i guess i would be on it :P

THANKS AGAIN GUYS!!!