An anxious international student looking for help in choosing EDII

Demographics: Male, Middle Eastern

Intended major: NEUROSCIENCE

Academics

SAT score: test got cancelled 5 times, so applying test-optional

Class rank: N/A (school do not offer it), but probably top 10%

Coursework: Honor and regular classes

UW/W GPA: 4.0 out of 4.0 (unweighted)

*ECs*
  • Intern at the Center Of Excellence in Molecular and Cellular Biology:
    Conducted step-by-step independent project about GBM patients, attended lab meetings and lectures, collaborated with fellows and graduate students.

  • Founder STEM Neuroscience Club:
    Recruiting club members, creating social media posts about various neuroscience topics and orchestrating virtual events and workshops.

  • YouTube Channel:
    Researched emotional and neuro-scientific bases of various mental disorders, synthesized information, wrote scripts, and edited videos

  • Head of Vega Biology Team: (the team was run and funded by a local university):
    Led more than 70 members from different educational backgrounds (high school students and even Undergraduate students), organized online weekly study-groups, and recruited professors for developing curriculum and evaluating members’ final projects.

  • Brain BEE Content Creator & AND IYNA Ambassador :
    Develop (>110) practice questions for Brain Bee competitors on the local, national and international levels, translate questions to Arabic and French, and brainstormed and pictured questions into visual media posts.

  • Co-founder and director of content writing Gazette Club:
    Contribute to founding the first gazette club in the Country. Write articles that spots the school alumnus achievements and its daily news.

  • Member of school’s Biology Group:
    Hosted weekly sessions and orientations, served as a semester round leader, mentored and instructed concepts in Biology to freshmen.

  • Co-Founder of my villages ’ COVID-19 awareness Team:
    Created and distributed posters about complications of COVID-19 to the local community. Raised $900 funds for weekly free spray and sanitizers. Reached medical labs to offer discounts.

    Honors

  • Top 10 national finalists at Brain Bee Competition (the Final stage was cancelled due to corona)

  • Earned an Official College Credit course In neuroscience from Tulane University (GPA 4.0 out of 4.0)

  • 9th place (national) and top 5% (global) on Avogadro Annual exam organized by Waterloo University.

  • 6the place at YouthBrainSummit organized by IYNA (international Youth Neuroscience association)

  • STEM Merit-Based Scholarship

Supplemental materials:

I will be providing a couple of different materials that, I think, will help a lot since i am a neuroscience major:

1- A portfolio of some of the projects that i worked on (including my school capstone projects and other independent projects)

2- A PDF of Research Abstracts: I will include an abstract of a review paper I worked on, the paper was about the neurological complications of COVID-19 (i got a recommendation letter from my mentor on this paper), an abstract of a research paper I wrote as a part of the Tulane summer program I attended this summer, and an abstract of an article I wrote for the International Neuroethics Essay Contest. the article was selected to be presented at the IYNA journal.

Recommendation letters :
-Counsellor
-Biology teacher
-Chemistry teacher
-Internship supervisor
-Research paper mentor

Final Thought:

I was very disappointed after getting rejected from Colgate University (my EDI choice), but I think that was due to the unorganized shape that appeared in my file (the additional materials was chaotic and supplemental essays were kinda weak). Now I feel very confused and I cannot determine my choices for the EDII, so I hope there is someone here to help or suggest some universities that i will have a chance at.

THANKS IN ADVANCE

NOTE
A friend of mine has suggested POMONA COLLEGE, and actually, their neuroscience program appeals to me, so do you think I have a chance ?!

Sorry if the thread was too long

Colgate had a huge increase in ED apps this year so competition was a lot tougher. You don’t mention if you need financial aid but most schools are need-aware and don’t offer a lot to international students. If you already have a course from Tulane, maybe you should consider ED2 there. Another school that shares some similarities with Colgate and has a good neuroscience program is Union College.

Thank you for your reply. Yeah, I need financial aid and that’s why I do not consider Tulane as an EDII option (bc they do not meet 100% of demonstrated need and their Merit-based scholarships are extremely competitive). Also, I will have a look at Union College, but, regarding Pomona, do you think I have a chance?

I’m not as familiar with colleges in the western part of the country so I can’t really say anything about your chances at Pomona. International students who need financial aid are always more difficult to predict since there are so few schools, so few seats, and so many qualified applicants.

okay, thank you. Also, if you have any other suggestions, please tell me!