<p>Hi everybody 
</p>
<p>I have been looking for such a place, where i can find souls troubled by admissions like mine, for a loooong time now :P</p>
<p>So here goes nothing,
9A<em>'s 1A in my O Levels
All A’s and A</em>'s in A Level transcript
2250 SAT score (M:800, W:750, R:700)
I’ll give SAT 2 in jan
6 medals on provincial level (Punjab Olympics)
Plenty of council posts
really good teacher recommendations
memeber of 2 NGO’s
Captain of 3 school sports teams (O and A Level both)
interned at a hospital, newspaper and wwf
a somewhat good personal essay
supplements that are killing me
and a penchant for stalking the likes of sherry sheikh, alibhai and hammad aslam on facebook :P</p>
<p>Applying to le ivies :P, stanford, duke, richmond, carleton, uchicago, mit (just gave the interview, went pretty well mashaaAllah :D)</p>
<p>so chances anybody? Perazziman?
And anybody who gave the MIT interview? How’d it go?</p>
<p>Hello duresham, and welcome to the forum.</p>
<p>You have impressive stats and grades and extra-curricular activities/job-experience. But the fact that is that no matter what your objective data sounds like, your chances depend, in the end, on you as a person. Especially for the colleges you have listed and are applying to, there is, and I’m sure you’ve heard this before, a holistic approach to admissions. Now some people will reply with answers like ‘Cornell-low reach, Drexel-safety’, but in the end there is so much more to your application than just your grades and scores. Essays go a long way in the admissions office as far as I think, though obviously I’m just a hopeful senior like you. I suggest just being yourself in the supplements you are having trouble with and focussing on the personal traits that set you apart. Once you start thinking about yourself and stop thinking what the reader is looking for, your writing will start to flow.
If you want, we could exchange essays for common universities after you have finished applying. Feel free to PM me/ post on my ‘wall’. Good luck, hopefully we’ll better last year’s results and get into our dream schools.</p>
<p>Also, no, I did not apply to MIT, hence no interview. Did have a friend who was interviewed though, she was quite happy with how it went.</p>
<p>What school are you from, btw?</p>
<p>Roots I9, Islamabad.</p>
<p>My application procedure is going fine, almost done now. Haha, won’t lie but I’m judging you for watching GA :p</p>
<p>Guys, should an international apply to Williams or Skidmore? I mean, at which place are there better admission chances? The financial aid is almost same at both places, so what really matters is the admission rate for internationals. I want to apply to any one of them so any help? Perraziman’s reply will specially be appreciated since he’s there in US so knows better :)</p>
<p>duresham, Your stats are pretty good, the schools should consider you academically qualified. Beyond that it is all about your essays etc. My son is not applying to MIT and has let the interview deadline slide. He has his heart set on attending the College of Engineering at A&M. There is a small possiblity he may apply to study philosophy at a couple of colleges because he is passionate about the subject. Otherwise, he is done :)</p>
<p>His reasons for selecting A&M:</p>
<p>Good reputation,
full-ride scholarship,
Choice of major,
Close to home,
High School friends will be there.
A&M has a college sports team that he may want to join.</p>
<p>Williams definitely sounds way better off the tongue than Skidmore. 
Sorry I can’t answer your question though, because I don’t know. I’d be inclined towards Williams though, for the nomelclature if nothing else :p</p>
<p>oldfashioned, both schools have a good reputation. Williams is probably among the most competitive LACs in the country. Skidmore is also verywell known. I had a friend from Pakistan who had a full ride at Skidmore who later went for graduate school to MIT. Personally, I would think Williams will be more generous, since it has a bigger endowment.</p>
<p>Hey Williams is i think need blind to both International students and US citizen while Skidmore is need aware. Think about it before applying.</p>
<p>Ahtesham, I’m pretty sure Williams isn’t need blind for internationals any more. If I remember correctly, it was quite famously in 2010 that they shifted to a need-aware policy for international students. But they do have a larger endowment than Skidmore and are full-need for international students. Hope that helps :)</p>
<p>EDIT: Found the link <a href=“http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/williams-college-ends-need-blind-admissions-for-international-students/21300[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/williams-college-ends-need-blind-admissions-for-international-students/21300</a></p>
<p>@duresham3 Grey’s Anatomy is awesome.</p>
<p>@perazziman that sounds wonderful. I am sure he will have a good time (close to home & and full ride at a well reputed school is fantastic!!). I took philosophy this semester and I am a science kid (Chem major and physics minor probably) and I absolutely loved it. Not enough to major in it though-too much writing in higher classes for my taste.</p>
<p>@PakiRootsian cut me some slack these supplements are depressing :P</p>
<p>@blulovexD i just started watching it and so far I LOVE IT :D</p>
<p>@ perazziman thanks for the advice best of luck to your son! i envy him! nothing like having a great college close to home :D</p>
<p>If you really want to watch a medical show, try House; it is the embodiment of all that you would look for in a television show. Keep a box of tissues close when you’re on the last season, though. :’) </p>
<p>Not that I cried or anything, no. Obviously not. Other people might is all I’m saying. Saying I would cry, what a lot of preposterous conjecture.</p>
<p>@PakiRootsian Hey! Thanks for providing this info. Appreciate that!</p>
<p>@PakiRootsian House is boring and predictable. I watched a few episodes.
HAHAAAA yea. No one said anything :D</p>
<p>@duresham3 I like Bones and Psych a lot too. maybe you should try them out :P</p>
<p>Please, we’re all friends here; call me PR. </p>
<p>Bluelovexd, boring and predictable? Coming from a Grey’s fan that’s even funnier Hugh Laurie put in the single greatest performance by a single actor in a TV show over the course of those 8 seasons and no matter what you think of the show and the script, there is no denying his talent.</p>
<p>Thanks alot for the advice Pakirootsian, Perazziman and ahtesham 
Yeah, Williams definitely has a larger endowment and hence more aid to give away…and i guess sounds better too, lol.</p>
<p>Hahahaha! well i guess we all have different choices and preferences, but PR, one thing that i can say for sure is that Grey is NOT boring! It has been pretty interesting so far </p>
<p>@bluelovexD sure! i’ll try them once i have this admissions thingy off my head</p>
<p>You Guys should definitely apply to Washington University in St Louis!
Just wanted to let you know that last year, I turned down 3 ivies for WashU. Washington University in St louis is a fantastic college and here are some of the pros:</p>
<p>1)Jan 15th deadline
2)JUST COMMON APP- NO SUPPLEMENTS
3) Great Financial aid!
4)Ranked among the top 3 in the nation for quality of life, food and dorms.</p>
<p>WashU is a hidden gem and most indian students don’t know about it. You can do your own research about the college and you’ll find out how great a place it is. It’s up there with JHU, Northwestern, Brown, Cornell and Vanderbilt.
The acceptance rate last year was 15.4 % and average sat scores ranged between 2120- 2280.</p>
<p>WashU is in the mid west and has one of the friendliest student bodies in the USA. It was ranked No. 1 in " Happiest Students" some time ago as well. Students have a great time at WashU!</p>
<p>No extra essays required!</p>
<p>Are any of you applying to Northwestern?</p>