Chance and match me intl student for humanities [I/GCSE and A-level courses; history, politics, English]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics
• US domestic or international student: International
• State/Location of residency: Hong Kong
• Type of high school: UK Boarding School (Private)

Cost Constraints / Budget
• None.

Intended Major(s)
• Major: History
• Minor: Politics or English

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
I/GCSE = Seven 9s (all humanities + bio and chinese), Two 8s (Maths and Physics), Two 7s (Chem and French)
Extended Project Qualifcation (5000 word research essay) = A (44/50)
No predicted grades yet, studying A-Level Religious Studies (might drop), History, Politics, English Literature. Might get predicted 3 a star and an A or if im lucky 4 a star.
No SAT - will be going test optional. idk for rest as my safeties will be in the UK. My main dream is get into oxford or cambridge anyway. any other suggestions for US colleges defo appreciated

Awards
• Multiple school prizes in Debating, English Literature, Public Speaking
• 11+ awards at Model UN (including an intl one affiliated to Hague Intl MUN)
• National Debating Finals qualifier (Cambridge & Manchester)
• Winner of a niche international environmental debate comp
• Gold and Silver, Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition
• British Biology & Physics Olympiad (GCSE level): 1x Gold, 1x Silver, 1x Commendation
• Published short story during COVID lockdown (age 12 tho)
• Award in poetry competition (not that prestigious)
Extracurriculars
• Executive board, HK-based youth social issue awareness org
• Debating captain, MUN leader, founder of History Club, leads Politics Society
• Philosophy reading group member
• Pride Society member
• Head of Eco Group: founded environment magazine, maintained green campus areas
• Tutored Syrian/Afghan refugees & underprivileged local children
• Former choir member (sang in abbey before sixth form)
Internships
• HSBC UK summer internship (selective; 5% acceptance)
• Two research internships in History with Hong Kong universities

Schools
Princeton (RD)
Columbia
UC Berkeley
UCLA
Haven’t decided on rest, super open to suggestions. Urban preferred, if its cheaper place that’s a +

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Please understand that as an international student, your chance of acceptance at all of these colleges is very low. They have very very low acceptance rates for international students.

Are you looking for colleges where you have a more likely chance of acceptance?

Tell us a little more. Size of school? Geographic location? Secular or religious? Ease of transport home for you?

IOW…what are you looking for in a college?

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Given the current ‘situation’ in the US even if I got accepted I’m not sure I’d go in the end. Im applying to ‘try my luck’ so to speak, my main focus in applications in the UK hopefully Oxbridge/london. Preferably secular, idm size of skl as long as its not tiny. Most important for me is always employability. Geographically I’d prefer a more open school (I.e. accepting and diverse) but name recognition is what wins me over rlly. as for transport home close to a big airport

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I would suggest you look at colleges in the greater Boston area, greater Washington DC area, maybe Chicago area. And the west coast cities (you already have some reaches on your list).

What about the DC schools…American University would be a strong probability if you show interest. George Washington is another. College of William and Mary is a possibility.

Boston University, Tufts, in Boston area.

@AustenNut might have some suggestions as well as @MYOS1634

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Boston sounds interesting and defo has plenty of name recognition, idk much about American University. W + M I’ve heard a little about as a undergrad heavy college. GW very little about I just know it exists. All my US’ will be ‘reaches’ my safeties will be in the Uk

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Well then if you are only interested in more reaches…Georgetown. Harvard, Yale, UPenn. What about Stanford?

If you are looking only for reaches, I would suggest you limit the number so that you can do a great job with each application/essays.

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yes tbh one of my main attraction to US applications is I like the essay format whereas the one in the UK is a bit more bland (I read this book about history which led me to critically thinking X which led me to read Y… etc) and I do like creative. However I’m applying test-optional so Harvard won’t work. Yale takes IB instead of SAT/ACT/AP butnot a levels sadly I think

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but I think ill apply to the UCs but no more than 5 colleges on Commonapp

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I am wondering whether you should consider universities in Canada such as Toronto, McGill, or the U. of British Columbia. Admissions will be far more predictable compared to top universities in the US, and getting a visa is less likely to be messed up by politics.

There are also some very good smaller universities in Canada such as Mount Allison University in New Brunswick. They are likely to be less expensive, but will however be far less well known in your home country compared to the larger schools. They are also less likely to be urban.

By the way, if you do attend a university in Canada, when flying there from Asia try to avoid stopping at an airport in the US. A few friends from Asia have told me stories about this not going well.

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tbh I think I’ll get into UCL (idk about the others - Oxbridge is a pie in the sky and unpredictable, LSE too) and I think that triumphs some of these at least I think it would if I decide to work in Hong Kong or UK. I’m only rlly looking at unis in HK, UK and US

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I would consider UChicago, William&Mary (superb for history), Brown (the open curriculum should be a strong enough difference from the UK), Columbia, and Williams. Of course all of these are reaches for everyone but with your record your safety in the UK is likely UCL so you don’t have much to lose.

In the US, undergraduate-focused institutions are the closest you’ll get to the Oxford/Cambridge style tutorials (because the professors work closely and in small seminars/tutorials with undergraduate students), that’s why https://www.williams.edu/about/
I would include Williams.

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In your home country, or somewhere else?
Which of these schools is best known to employers there?

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Three potentially useful background concepts:

The UK A-Level system can be problematic for the most selective US colleges because in the A-Level system you tend to choose your A Levels based on your intended course, and in the US, at the most selective colleges, you are usually expected to continue with the most rigorous courses available in all five “core” areas (Math, Natural Sciences, English, History/Social Science, and non-native Languages). A-Level students can at least partially compensate by taking the SAT or ACT, but obviously you have decided not to do that either.

In a related concept, those US colleges are maybe not so interested in Internationals who are primarily interested in them because they have a famous name. They really want Internationals who understand how the US “liberal arts tradition” is different from, say, the UK undergrad experience, and that particularly value the US way of doing things.

On the positive side, looking closely at the data available I have started to come to the conclusion that if you are a full pay International with good US-style qualifications and a sincere understanding of the US undergrad system with appropriate shared values, then at most US colleges you may be just as competitive as a US applicant with equivalent qualifications (or out of state applicant at a public US college).

The twist is that the exceptions to this rule seem to include the “meets need” + “need blind” for International colleges, a very short list which includes Princeton. Meaning one of the side effects of those need blind policies is that admissions then seem to become harder for full pay Internationals to compensate.

OK, so the first couple issues might be a problem for you everywhere that is going to meet your requirement that the university is very Internationally famous. Those colleges just get flooded with International applicants these days, and even if they don’t have any particular bias against full pay Internationals, they can still choose just the ones that have the best understanding of and preparation for the US undergrad experience as they see it.

But to maximize your chances, it probably would make sense to replace at least Princeton with a need aware college, and there are no shortage of top Humanities/History colleges in major US cities which are need aware for Internationals. Like I think the University of Chicago would be a good choice. Also NYU if it meets your criteria–they are very strong in Humanities including History. Possibly also Penn (in Philadelphia)–Wharton is most famous, but Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), which houses Humanities like History, is very good.

I also agree you could consider William & Mary. In fact, I wonder if you might be interested in their joint program with St Andrews:

Really cool program, and History is one of the six majors you can do:

Of course some people end up just preferring either William & Mary or St Andrews for the full four years.

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Based off the information you’ve provided, I think many of the big names have already been provided. That said, you may want to consider:

  • Wellesley (if you identify as female) has a strong alumni network, and is in the Boston area

  • Barnard (if you identify as female) is the sister college to Columbia, and is much more integrated with Columbia (classes are generally all coed)

Seconding UPenn and Georgetown, if your A-levels will count.

Another European option to consider would be Trinity College in Dublin.

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I would also nuance the A Level comment, in that US colleges know you don’t have a choice and also know to evaluate I GCSEs or GCSEs in addition to ALevels. They would expect A-C or 5+ in a variety of academic subjects, with no D-E/4 and below, and for highly selective schools such as those on your list, realistically, mostly A*/A or 7+ with no more than a couple 6/Bs. So in your case, considering the breadth of academic choices and the extremely high level of achievement displayed, I think US colleges would be reassured when it comes to your general education as well as your advanced, specialized academic interests.

Your EPQ will matter to a certain extent (topic, references, etc) if you can match that to professors at each college that would help you dig deeper into that topic.

Seconding adding Trinity Dublin (and UCD, some of their innovative Humanities majors are really excellent).

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Radcliffe was Harvard’s sister school and was fully incorporated into Harvard in 1999. Its legacy is maintained as a Harvard institute. Wellesley was never a sister school to Harvard or any (former) men’s college.

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Thanks…I’ve corrected my post.

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But the “7 sisters” colleges were meant for the sisters of the boys who went to Ivies and NESCAC. :wink:

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I am not aware of a single “most selective” college which excpects this of A level students, given that 3 a levels is considered a full courseload.

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They don’t expect more than 3 but do look at GCSEs/IGCSEs, which must include subjects and solid grades in all 5 core areas.