Chance International Student Econ/Finance; Need Financial Aid (looking for full ride)

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics: South American, Latina

Academics:

  • GPA: 96.3/100 unweighted

  • IGCSE ICE Distinction: English (A*), Spanish (A*), Business Studies (A*), Math (A), Physics (A), Global Perspectives (B), Chemistry (B)

  • Predicted 41/45 IB Score → HL: Math AA, English A Lang & Lit, Spanish A Lang & Lit, Business Management // SL: Economics, Environmental Studies & Societies

  • SAT: 1540

Class Rank: 2/50

Awards:

Duke Of Edinburgh Bronze (Y8), Silver (Y9) and Gold (Y11-12) Awards

Recipient of the Academic Merit Scholarship, awarded to the top 5% of students for exceptional academic achievement and intellect promise (Y8-12)

National Math Olympiad Semifinalist (Y11), Finalist (Y12)

Second place sustainability regional competition (Y11)

Piano Merit Distinguishment with Yamaha Piano Conservatory (Y10, Y12)

Elected national flag bearer for my school, representing school and national values and principles (Y12).

Activities:

Elected school Head Girl, representing the student body, and coordinating school-wide events and assemblies (Y12)

Student Council/Class Delegate, elected by my peers for 7 consecutive years. Through this role, I advocated for student needs, planned events, and served as liaison to school administration (Y6-12)

MUN President and Secretary General, leading club of 50+ members, organizing conferences, training delegates, and chairing + participating in national and international level debates. (Y8-12)

Theater Club member and financial administrator, where I held lead roles in school plays (Y8–9), and later managed budgets, props, and backstage production as treasurer (Y12).

Volunteered at a retirement home, where I organized weekly visits and engaged with the senior residents through music and activities to combat isolation and loneliness. (Y9)

Completed 9 years of classical piano training, obtaining a teaching degree and performing in recitals, where I’ve been awarded with merits and distinctions. (Y3-12)

Tutored 10 peers and underclassmen in Math, English, and Economics, improving their scores by an avg. of 38% (Y7-12)

Elected School Sports ‘House’ Vice-President, where I coordinated inter-house events, and increased student participation and team spirit across grades (Y11-12)

Played handball competitively, then joining the varsity team where I trained weekly to help my team attain win over 20 matches and obtain second place at a State Championship. (Y5-10)

Founder and President of my school’s investment club; led mock portfolios and developed an investment fund, with profits reinvested in financial literacy programs and social initiatives (Y10-12)

Internship shadowed the co-founder and managing partner at a $40M AUM private equity firm, where I analyzed multiple investments and learned about fund structuring and entrepreneurship. (Y11)

Participated in Yale Young Global Scholars (Politics, Law & Econ) program (Y11)

Internship at a microfinance firm with headquarters in NYC, where I led social impact projects under the guidance of the CEO; securing $100K funding for various women’s programs in Latin America. (Y10)

Founder and editor in chief of school’s first newspaper, striving to achieve a greater connection between school officials, values, and the student body, creating a greater sense of belonging through the publication of 4 Newspaper Editions (Y12).

Published research paper alongside an Economics minister for the country on Financial Statistics, published by the top university in the nation (Y11)

President of school Math Olympics Club, selected for the national Olympic team to compete for international tournaments across Latin America (Y11-12)

Founded non-profit initiative teaching financial literacy to 300+ underserved youth; improved knowledge by 42% via workshops, videos & local partnerships. (Y11-12)

Universities: Brown, Yale, UPenn, Columbia, Princeton, Duke, Northwestern, NYU, LSE, King’s College London, Imperial College London, London Business School, University College London, Bocconi University, IE University, HEC University

2

The schools get to determine if they will give a full ride. It’s by calculatin so you can get accepted but have to pay. Add W&L.

Good luck but full rides are highly unlikely, moreso internationally.

3

For the private universities in the US you might want to check whether they all meet full need for international students, and if they do then run the Net Price Calculator for a few of them (or have your parents do this) and see whether they compute that your “need” is the same as what you and your parents think that your need is. I am pretty sure that Princeton does meet full need, although I am not sure about some of the other schools on your list.

For the universities in the UK and elsewhere in Europe I have no idea whether they have full scholarships for international students.

You are clearly a competitive applicant anywhere. The universities in the US that meet full need for international students are all very competitive for admissions, particularly for international students, so it is hard to know whether you will get in. However, it does seem worth applying.

You have a long list and it does take effort to fill out each application. Thus it is not clear if you should add any other schools. If you do want to add more reach schools I am wondering why Harvard is not on the list. There are also some very good small “liberal arts colleges” in the US that meet full need for international students. As far as I know there is only one opportunity to get a full ride to universities in Canada. That is the Lester B. Pearson scholarship at the University of Toronto. While admission to Toronto is very likely with your stats, getting the full ride scholarship is a reach (just like the rest of your list) and you need to get your high school to nominate you to even be allowed to apply. However, I do not think that this scholarship is significantly more or less likely compared to admissions to universities in the US that meet full need for international students – they are all reaches.

You look like a student who is likely to do well wherever you end up. Best wishes.

4

But what do you think are my chances of getting in to these universities?

5

Thank you! I didn’t include harvard cause i didnt really think i would get in, but i could definetly try if you believe i have a chance.

6

For the universities in the USA the issue is that there are so many applicants who are very strong applicants. You are going to be a competitive applicant at any university. You have superb grades and very good ECs. However, this would be true for somewhere close to 80% of the other students applying. Who gets in is likely to come down to things such as your letters of reference and essays. I do think that your chances may be better compared to for example an equally excellent student from India, simply because the top universities in the US get so many very strong applications from India, and they want to have international students from a range of countries and a range of cultures.

One thing that you might want to do is to put some effort into finding out as much as you reasonably can about each school that you will apply to. Think about what you want to study and what you want in a university, and how each school fits into that. Look at the required classes to graduate in your likely major, including both major-specific requirements and overall requirements, and think about how this fits into what you want to study.

If we add Harvard to the list, this gives you 9 universities in the USA. Your chances of getting one single acceptance with a full ride to just one of the 9 universities I think is significantly less than 50%. However, you are a very strong student and will be considered a strong applicant to any of these schools, particularly if your essays make it look like you are genuine and you understand what makes this particular school a good fit for you. This is assuming very strong letters of reference but I expect that you will get these.

Unfortunately I am really only guessing at your chances. I am however impressed by what you have accomplished up to now and do wish you the best.

7

I think you should add W&L and Georgetown - they are need blind for intl so they won’t consider your finances. NYU and Penn, as examples, can factor finances into their decision. If a school on your list sees you do need full aid, it’s reason enough to say no but not those below so I don’t think you get in anywhere in the U.S. not listed below but apply and see others like F&M and Denison are easier admits that meet need .

What if you get in but they require payment ?

Good luck

But these won’t -

  • Harvard University

  • Amherst College

  • Bowdoin College

  • Brown

  • Dartmouth College

  • Gtown

  • The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

  • Princeton University

  • W&L

  • Yale University