My primary focus is completing a masters or a doctorate after undergrad, and I plan on getting that part of my education from Europe or the US - wherever I find a better opportunity.
Often the best way to do this is to get a very good degree (grades-wise) in your home country and then apply abroad for grad school. This is the way most people from developing countries (including my home country) get themselves to top colleges overseas. (Myself included in that.)
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Check out similar thread for colleges. Would need to check if financial aid available.
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bump
All of your listed schools place within the top two dozen nationally by Student Selectivity Rank in this analysis:
If you would like to study in the U.S., I recommend you add potential choices beyond this narrow zone.
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bump
@sntt you have bumped this thread a couple of times.
What additional information do you want?
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Are you applying to British universities as well?
i am looking for a wider variety of perspectives
no, because they dont give financial aid and hardly any full ride scholarships
Well, top 20 or bust is a risky strategy for an international who needs aid unfortunately. Almost all of D19ās international classmates were full pay (she assumesā¦they were clearly all from wealthy families), though there was one who got close to a full ride, so it does happen. (t30 not t20 though.) unfortunately, there are many very smart students around the world who just donāt have the means to go to colleges in the US that they can well succeed at. Whatās your back-up plan?
To be blunt: hope is not a strategy. Youāre looking for someone to tell you it will all work out. Well, it might, but the chances are small, and posters here will be realistic. You need a good plan B.
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Thatās becoming truer of the U.S. schools as well.
Different perspectives? I agree with @SJ2727 that you hope to find a poster here who will tell you differently.
We cant tell you what you want to hear, if it is not actually happening. In fact, itās getting worse.
Even domestic students are having difficulty getting funded by their parents and/or the universities. Itās expensive and extremely academically competitive.
Plus, there are thousands of college graduates applying for jobs and competing with others who have been laid off or fired from jobs in the public and private sectors. The current outlook isnāt good.
If you want a slim chance of getting into a US university, then you are going to have to start looking at schools that MIGHT fund you, but wonāt be top 20. We have <4000 universities in the US. They all have to meet educational standards of their states, if they want tax dollars to supplement their colleges.
Start googling schools who still have āscholarships for international studentsā.
Edited to add: youāre a 2-year gap student, it will at some point be detrimental and more competitive if you continue to target those schools with thousands of international applicants seeking seats at those small schools.
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no no, i am not looking for someone to tell me what I want to hear. Iām on a gap since 2 years and trust me when I say its been a long time since I last heard that. What I am looking for is ways to better the little to no chance I have, which we all agree upon. Maybe some competition or EC suggestions, or angles I could pitch myself from in supplementals. Even pin point university recommendations.
The discussion here has been helpful.
Also to clarify, I did not submit applications last year. Pretty bad move I know, but I didnāt think till then that I had significant improvements to my profile that would warrant applying again. So in short, no I havenāt been rejected by these universities, except for 2-3 and that too 2 years back.
International applicants may enhance their chances of a successful outcome by emphasizing colleges at which their academic profile, including standardized testing results, would place them at or above the 75th percentile for attending students. A school such as Union College would meet this criterion, although there are many others. For further ideas, perhaps go through the two sites naming schools with strong programs in geology and environmental studies, which were posted earlier. Most of the public universities you come across may not be affordable, but some of the private colleges that appear might be.
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Have you not been spending the last 2 years already doing those kind of things? Top colleges will look at those gap years and want to know what you did in them.
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I have spent those years doing that, but there are still 5-6 months remaining till the deadlines, so I really want to do a last push strategically according to whats missing
I understand what youāre looking for, but unfortunately, thereās no magic formula. No one can say, āStart doing Xā or āDo more of Yā and guarantee a significant improvement in your chances. Many of the schools on your list have acceptance rates for international applicants in the 2ā3% range (sometimes even lower), so even a dramatic 50% improvement still only brings your chances to around 3ā4.5%.
Remember, youāre not only competing based on your own credentials but also against a very strong pool of international applicants (especially from China and India) many of whom are highly competitive and often full-pay.
My advice: keep excelling in your extracurriculars, write the best essays you can, and secure strong letters of recommendation. And yes, make sure you have a solid backup plan in your home country, and consider applying for a Masterās or PhD in the US after you graduate.
Wishing you all the best.
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If you havenāt done something by nowā¦please donāt think you can cram it into the next six months. Concentrate on what you have doneā¦not on wishful thinking about things you have not done.
What you have been doing for the last 1 1/2 years of your gap time should be enough.
The best way to maximize acceptances is to choose colleges where you have a decent chance of acceptance. The best way to maximize affordable options is to apply to affordable colleges.
Iām not sure you can do anything additional now to maximize acceptances to T 20 colleges here. BUT you can spend some time looking for affordable and realistic colleges in terms of acceptance.
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