pozexis

Hi! This is my first post in these forum. I am an international student from Cyprus who is planning to apply to some of the top bioengineering(including biological engineering) schools this year and I wanted to learn if ı stand a chance for getting accepted to MIT. I have not applied early decision to Upenn just because I was wondering if I could get into MIT- the most charismatic school in the world. Before giving some info about myself, I should state the fact that MIT accepts 1-2 students once every two years from my country. I talked with an alumni and he told me that last year they didnt take any Cypriots so I could stand a good chance.
-Rank: 1/122 most competitive school in the region
-GPA: 9,94/10
-SAT I: maths 800 two times repetitively, verbal 520(my weakest point), writing 560
-TOEFL: 653, TWE: 5.0
-SAT II: Maths Ic 770, physics 660(ı have taken physics without any preparation)
-10 GCE O levels- all A(got the highest marks in north cyprus except physics and english)
-Taking Maths A level and Physics AS level this year.
-I have been awarded a special scholarship of $28,500 annualy from Fulbright commision for my academic excellence and leadership qualities.
-ECs:
*Doing scuba diving for the last 3 year.
*Editor of school newspaper(TMK times).
*The chairman of the honorary council of my school for the last 2 years.
*Latin dancing for the last 3 years, represented my school at two competitions.
*Attended mediation programmes for reducing violence in schools.
*Participated in some bicommunal activities, one in Vermont-USA one in Cyprus about conflict resolution.
*Active member of a Cancer Organization
*Became 1st at a national Maths competition with the school team.
*Represented 9th forms in the school exhibition with my research.
*Representing my country in the EU parliament at a conference about the future of science at european union.
-Excellent recommendations expected from maths and english teacher

Thanks for instance.

Damaris

My gut feel is that you won't get into MIT early action. There are just too many internationals that are as strong as you. However, you have a really good chance ED at Penn, assuming you can get a waiver to apply early if the deadline has passed. You will also make some good connections among Penn's huge international student population who may help you professionally in the future. You seem a little weak in terms of your writing score. Ask knowledgeable people to review your application essays.

Jsn88

Note that MIT doesn't allow early action for international students.

I really shouldn't judge your chances at MIT, because such exercises are utterly futile in the vast majority of cases, but having said that I do think that your SAT critical reading and writing scores are too low, especially for an applicant in the ridiculously competitive international pool.

taj

pozexis,

use the fact that you're from cyprus to your advantage...i think that you have a great chance at Penn..
as for other great Bioengg schools you should look at

1. Johns Hopkins
2. Duke
3. UCSD
4. U Washington
5. Ga Tech
6. U Michigan-Ann Arbor
7. Stanford
8. UT-Austin

smartmind

Does it make any diff if u get 800 twice.........

And ur citizenship is a gr8 boon in ur favor....... yet sat too low...... but u can still getin

smartmind

And why gr8 chance at Penn ..state reasons for ur belief dude....... ALso why not others

taj

smartmind,
well generally Penn tends to place a great emphasis on ethnic diversity and I doubt that there are a lot of students from Cyprus. If you look at Penn's int'l percentage its about 11% which is pretty high. Also among the 11% there's probably like 1-5 students from Cyprus. Therefore, given the above facts, pozexis has a decent chance of getting into UPenn although he could benefit from a higher CR and WRT score.

pozexis,
you do have a good chance at MIT provided no one else applies from Cyprus. I am basing this on what you said about MIT accepting 1-2 students from you country.

NoFX

Where's cyprus? didn't they have miss universe hosted there like 2 years back? If they did, cyprus is very pretty.

MIT - pretty much a lottery draw. I'd say that you have a normal chance.. normal being, you are in the middle range - not a fantabulous candidate but not a dull/automatic reject either.

Plus, coming from an underrepresented country doesn't have a big impact as one might think. It wouldn't be called a 'hook' at all. It'd be something interesting that adcoms might slightly consider when looking at you. If you think you are one of the solid applicants from your country, you will have a ok/good chance at the prestige schools, eg mit.
Ditto.

What grade are you in? If you are in your senior year, it kinda sucks for you as you've only done 1 A level. Hope you are in grade 12..

DO you need fin aid? Prob not since you got your scholarship? (congrats btw). If you do need fin aid, it will affect your outcome in all schools except HYPM (williams). well, if you need fin aid, atleast you won't need a full one!

pozexis

Thanks for all of your replies.
NOFX: I am in grade 11 and it's my senior year because we have a different kind of system here which means that I'll be 16 when I go to university. Generally students don't do their A levels as we dont have an upper 6 class in my school. I am one of the strongest candidates(if not the strongest) from cyprus who is applying to mit this year as far as I know. And unfortunately fulbright commision enforces me to apply for financial aid but my parents can afford to pay about $10,000 per year for room&board.

taj

pozexis,
if financial support is major concern of yours, why dont you look at some other great BioEngg schools that are less pricey. After all where you do ur UG isnt as important as where you go to Grad school.
GaTech's UG Bioengg program is ranked 6th and it Grad Bioengg program is ranked 2nd. Also GaTech is ranked 6th for best UG engg programs. If I'm not mistaked GaTech's total expenses are about 25k. Another noteworthy fact about GaTech is that it has one of the best (if not the best) Co-ops/Internships programs. This will enable you to study and work and thus assist you financially.