rew2402

Hey Pton2017.
I am not from a feeder shool in India, and will one of the first kids who'll apply to US colleges.

I need lotsa ( like seriously- LOTS) FA, hence as i said earlier, am applying to need blinds.

My EC are mostly education for the underprivileged based and I have helped opening a school for the same in rural Rajasthan ( which is miles away from my hometown!)
I also am in a lot of dramatics, and a
National level sports (tennis) player and hope that These will somehow increase my chances!
I have lots of others such as MUNs and journalism stuff, good ones, but I have shown in-depth involvement in the above mentioned activities.

So, which school are you from?

Princeton2017

oh ok, that sounds good! I'm also in the school tennis team, never have had time to enter national tournaments regularly though. :/

You could say I'm from a feeder school in Pakistan.

rew2402

Pton2017, so, how is your essays coming along? Did you start writing any?

Princeton2017

hmm, I've written a rough draft of the commonapp but not much else.

pkteen

@princeton2017 I'm from Pakistan. hence, the 'Pakistani forums'

Princeton2017

clearly, but I meant which city?

pkteen

Lahore.
10 char

Princeton2017

oh I see.

10char

Ppaayas

Hello Hello!!
Indian here but I am in a similar boat with you, I am doing CIE exams as well.

11041994

Hey, can someone post some of the stats for students who got into Harvard, Columbia, UChic, UPenn, Duke, Northwestern, and Brown. (From Pakistan)

Also, which 'top' universities care the least about ECs...'cause I'm a bit weak there!

perazziman

I don´t know of any `top´ university that does not give considerable weight to ECs. I think that is why they are known as top universities. Some top state universities such as Texas A&M might auto admit applicants with great scores, without consideration to ECs. Otherwise, your grades and test scores will guarantee serious consideration to your application and that is it. Please look at the 2016 thread for examples of kids with great stats who were not accepted to top schools.

junaid123

Hello everyone,

I am currently contemplating taking a gap year and applying to USA. My intended majors are Physics and/or Economics.

Could anyone please help me get started with the college short-listing process?

perazziman

Junaid, Will you need financial aid? Is there a particular part of the US you want to live in? Have you taken the SAT, SAT subject tests? How are your grades/ class rank? What are you doing during the gap year?

junaid123

perazziman,


O' Level Grades: Nine A*s, one A and a B;
AS Level Grades: 4As
A2 Level Predicated Grades: 5 A*s - I think my exams went well; I put up a much more consistent performance in this session. Fingers crossed.

Intended major(s): Physics and/or Economics

Is there a particular part of the US you want to live in?
Umm...not really.

SATs: I have started my self-preparation drill for the SAT I. I have done a couple of practice tests on the Princeton Review. Math is easy; the writing section, excluding the essay, can be mastered easily with sufficient practice (or so I think); and Criticial Reading's a bit tough - I am currently scoring in mid 600s range.

Financial aid: A big yes to that!

perazziman

Junaid, in your case, the most important factor will be what you did during your gap year and why you did not apply to any colleges last year? Generally, kids take a gap year after getting accepted. This makes it easier to get accepted after a gap year.

I am not going to say it is impossible but I think most people on cc will agree, it is not easy getting accepted after a gap year at top universities. Remember most top universities don´t accept SAT scores from transfer applicants (who have finished high school). So, you will effectively have to be seen as someone who decided to repeat a year of high school, when they look at your standardized test scores. Therefore, make sure you have a powerful and compelling explanation for why you took the gap year. It is too bad, in my opinion, that you did not apply or atleast take the SAT last year.