Where to go? All the way from New Zealand

Elvito · 07-10-2008, 12:32 AM

But I was just wondering what would be some good reach schools, good match schools and good safeties for me.

Here are my stats:

New Zealand citizen, Asian Male, international applicant
Major: Economics/Finance or Environmental Science
GPA: 3.96 UW
All IB courses and therefore should be weighted by no weighting done by my school
Rank: 1/120
School: Highly Competitive Private School
Courseload: Most Rigourous
SAT: 730CR 780M 670W Essay 9 (2180) (1st time, will retake, hopefully over 2200)
SATiis: 800Maths 780Chem 800Chinese

Prizes:
Lots of 1st in country maths awards
perfect score in NLE
lots of 1st in subjects in school

Ec:

Table tennis (nationally ranked, 3rd in nationals team event)
Soccer (9 years)
Basketball (captain)
badminton (captain)
Squash
Dragon boating
8 Ball pool
academic tutoring club
film appreciation (leader)
debating
yearbook editor
city council (executive)

Leadership:
School prefect (kind of like school leader)
Environmental club president
treasurer of habitat for humanity

Community service: 300+ hours

work experience:
restaurant for summer holidays 2006
plastic factory for summer holidays 2005

Recommendations: perfect
Essay: So-so

Financial Aid: need a lot

PLEASE ADVISE

right now I have a list but it's not very good I think

Elvito · 07-10-2008, 12:42 AM

my list:

Princeton - Reach
Dartmouth - High Match
Middlebury - Match
Colby - Safety?

Sidfromaus · 07-10-2008, 05:18 AM

firstly, u were grossly wrong about your predictions with me.

as per your chances...i visited one of your previous threads which had a much longer list of colleges.
Stanford - High Reach
MIT - High Reach
Princeton - High Reach
Caltech - Reach (if you can get your SAT scores over 2300, then you should be sweet)
Cornell - Reach
Columbia - dunno
Purdue - dunno
UC Berkeley - again, if you increase your SATs then you should be right
USC
Uni of michigan - ann arbor - possible match
Uni of washington st louis - match

Personally, the reason i think you have a high reach to the top unis is because nothing in your profile screams 'impressive'. In fact, if you have a look at some of the Australian applicants who are also looking at similar universities, you will see that you have similar academic stats. Your balance with sport is commendable, but then again, it depends on just how successful some of your teams were (i know you were nationally ranked for tt).
Also, the finanical aid wont help with Caltech and Stanford at all.

But the main hinderence is that you are an international applicant to schools with acceptance rates in single digits (<4% for MIT)...

Just keep working hard and hope for the best.

Elvito · 07-10-2008, 06:09 PM

that list of schools was before i decided my major and before I knew anything about US unis.

Before I was majoring in engineering.

where did u get in sid?

I have left out the impressive stuff, I just want a list of schools right now, haven't got to the stage where I want to be chanced for them.

With the SAT score, I'm not particularly worried about it. I think it's not hard to improve by 20 points and hit the 2200 and also with my IB score I think many colleges would be impressed. Equates to a 99.95 in Australia i think?

Swissas · 07-10-2008, 07:37 PM

You are a good applicant however your need for financial aid really hurts you.

TUOwls2011 · 07-10-2008, 08:08 PM

Not to mention Dartmouth isn't a match...

Sidfromaus · 07-10-2008, 09:56 PM

a 44 is only equivalent to a 99.90 in Australia. btw, a 2200+ score is good, but it isnt spectacular for colleges like Berkeley and Caltech (places a huge emphasis on SAT scores)

I wouldnt say a 44 will impress colleges, i mean it will definitely help you, but its not solely anything great.

So are you only applying to 4 colleges?

Elvito · 07-11-2008, 06:21 AM

I'm getting:

45 + another 7 in extra subject. and that equates to 99.95

Which only around 10 people in the world get each year. (80 people get 45 but not many of those people do 7 subjects and get 7 in that extra subject.)

The whole point of this thread is for me to find some suitable unis.

not actually for people to chance them, as I have left out much important information.

I need some good schools for my major.

also at sid: im not applying to berkley or caltech... im not doing engineering...

At TUOwls? why isn't dartmouth a high match? can you elaborate please?

anorexic_abe · 07-11-2008, 06:43 AM

I would suggest applying to UCLA.
Great school, and you have a strong shot of getting in.

slipper1234 · 07-11-2008, 03:54 PM

My guess:

Princeton - Reach
Dartmouth - Slight Reach/ Reach
Middlebury - Match/ High Match
Colby - Low Match

Knights09 · 07-11-2008, 05:06 PM

Your need for aid really hurts you. A lot of top unis aren't very generous with foreign aid.

Elvito · 07-11-2008, 07:12 PM

that's why my current list consists of mostly need blind schools

apart from ucla, any other schools?

Emorio · 07-12-2008, 11:14 AM

Elvito- just wondering (I'm from Melb and am doing IB too) since in the southern hemisphere we do the final IB exams in November, from your post 'I'm getting a 45' have you already taken the exams or are you referring to your predicted grades?

Sidfromaus · 07-12-2008, 11:41 AM

wooohoo a melburnian! where abts are u studying emorio?

Elvito · 07-13-2008, 05:55 AM

i do the ones in may

goes by northern hemisphere.

Although they are my predicted. I have only done one real IB exam with the result of a 7. Anticipated.

I'm just asking for some good schools for me, not actual chancing, that comes later