Reopening thread for OP to update stats/credentials.
I canât update it.
Can you note what has changed - statistically and budget wise ?
Have you applied and gotten any decisions ? If so where and who else remains?
- (Semi-Official) Top 300 In The William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition (Best Canadian High-School Result in History)
2)4.0 GPA, 90% average in Alberta, Class Rank: 9/210
3)Only High-School student to be selected for the William Lowell Putnam Math Competition at the University of Alberta
4)Research on creating a spacecraft flightpath equation/algorithm with less variables than NASA (96.58% accuracy) verified by NASA JPL scientists (under review by AIAA and being considered by DARPA)
Research on applying Putnam Math Competition problems to Astrodynamics flight path plans
Candidate For DARPA Research Grant
Invited to Putnam Math Camp (training with my university team)
Essays and LoRs:
Math Teacher: Spoke about my mathematics ability (studying 3rd year university math whilst in 10th grade) as well as my tutoring of GCSE maths classes [9/10]
Research Mentor: Spoke about my research ability and my research equation. Also mentioned my application of Putnam Math Competition problems to astrodynamics research [9/10]
Physics Teacher: Spoke about my impressive results and my engineering mindset [8/10]
Essays: Spoke about growing up in an underpriviledged environment as well as having autism. Spoke about Putnam and scientific research lessons it taught me, also about collaboration for research and the NASA Hackathon [9/10]
My parents donât need to pay for MIT.
1 Like
The above are my updates.
Here are my updates:
- (Semi-Official) Top 300 In The William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition (Best Canadian High-School Result in History)
2)4.0 GPA, 90% average in Alberta, Class Rank: 9/210
3)Only High-School student to be selected for the William Lowell Putnam Math Competition at the University of Alberta
4)Research on creating a spacecraft flightpath equation/algorithm with less variables than NASA (96.58% accuracy) verified by NASA JPL scientists (under review by AIAA and being considered by DARPA)
Research on applying Putnam Math Competition problems to Astrodynamics flight path plans
Candidate For DARPA Research Grant
Invited to Putnam Math Camp (training with my university team)
Essays and LoRs:
Math Teacher: Spoke about my mathematics ability (studying 3rd year university math whilst in 10th grade) as well as my tutoring of GCSE maths classes [9/10]
Research Mentor: Spoke about my research ability and my research equation. Also mentioned my application of Putnam Math Competition problems to astrodynamics research [9/10]
Physics Teacher: Spoke about my impressive results and my engineering mindset [8/10]
Essays: Spoke about growing up in an underpriviledged environment as well as having autism. Spoke about Putnam and scientific research lessons it taught me, also about collaboration for research and the NASA Hackathon [9/10]
My parents donât need to pay for MIT.
What do you mean your parents donât need to pay for MIT.
Where have you applied? Has anyone responded ?
Youâll know in due time if you can get in.
Last time your budget was $19k Canadian. Is it the same ?
Good luck
1 Like
Itâs because they make less than $100,000 so theyâre eligible for full aid.
Iâve applied to MIT, UofT, Purdue, etc.
The budget is the same. If I get into MIT, my parents donât need to pay anything.
Thatâs not how it works. Itâs <100k with typical assets. And MIT determines your need, not you.
But all of this is moot unless you get in.
4 Likes
Maybe. Maybe not. Those always have caveats. As they say, it depends on assets.
âBeginning with the 2025â2026 academic year, for families whose total income is less than $100,000 (with typical assets), parents are not expected to contribute toward their studentâs MIT education.â
Has your SAT gone up ? A 1460 is highly unlikely to get you in. But I wish you luck.
How will you pay for Purdue ?
So you applied to three but Purdue isnât affordable. So thatâs an app wasted.
I donât know if UOT is safe or affordable but I hope it is. I donât see you having an opportunity at the other two. Maybe you get into Purdue but you canât afford it.
You were told up front to apply to schools closer to budget. NASA engineers come from a full range of schools - non selective to selective.
I hope you find an affordable home. Yiu still can get, maybe to $18-$25k US at fine schools.
When one has a budget, they need to find schools to meet the budget. If UOT does, great. If not, I hope you have a back up plan.
Good luck.
Theyâre also U.S. citizens, which OP is not, and that will affect eligibility for most US-based aerospace engineering roles. OP has already been made aware of this in his original thread, and I hope heâs had a chance to look into options in Canada as well.
7 Likes
But you do - expected student contribution is around $5400 a year. I know you mentioned working before, so hopefully thatâs an achievable amount for you. Obviously as an international youâre not Pell grant eligible and youâll be limited to the work you can do during your stay in the US.
Iâm puzzled by the Purdue application if your parents wonât pay. They donât give aid to internationals . International Students
4 Likes
If you, as a high school senior, are indeed among the top 300 in Putnam finishing ahead of 3500+ college students including many from MIT/Harvard/Stanford/CMU/etc., that would be absolutely incredible.
But how did you find out? The winners for the December 2025 Putnam (which I assume was the one you entered) wonât be announced until April 2026. Did you compare your answers with the solutions posted on Putnam Archive, make a guess on how many points you would get for each problem, and convert your estimated total points into a rank using historical data?
If so, Iâm not sure if you can claim this achievement on your college applications just yet. This is akin to self-reporting an SAT/ACT score before it is officially released because you checked your answers with posts on Reddit. I hope Iâm wrong.
Also, MIT and many other schools will release their RD results in late March and early April, before your top 300 Putnam achievement becomes official. So the timing does not seem to work in your favor.
Lastly, SAT math is a piece of cake for anyone who is thinking about Putnam. Your 770 will hold you back significantly at places like MIT.
4 Likes
Timing cooked me, I only made 1 mistake thoughâŠ
Anyways, Iâm getting my results from my Putnam organiser/teacher who is verifiably able to mark this.
All this is great - but you applied to 3 schools?
- You canât afford Purdue
- Can you afford UOT?
If not, whatâs your plan?
Did you apply to other aero schools, like Embry Riddle (Arizona and Florida), Florida Tech (lots of internationals), U of Alabama,Huntsville? These schools have school funds, but also may have info on other scholarships. The probably may be, on the âotherâ scholarships, they may require US citizenship to qualify.
My nephew (ME) works for Northrup and it was originally in the aerospace group. His security clearance was very thorough, with them interviewing old neighbors and employers (like youth sports jobs he had at 16). When my daughter was playing on a Chinese international team, he was concerned heâd have to report that to his HR department as the Chinese govt was paying for some of her expenses (sheâs a US citizen).
What are you thinking about doing with your American aero degree?
If you only made 1 mistake in 12 problems, you wouldnât be top 300. You would be top 5 and named a Putnam Fellow alongside legendary names like Richard Feynman, John Milnor and several other child prodigies/Fields medalists/Nobel prize winners. Most participants would be lucky to get 1 out of 12 problems correct, and most managed to attempt only 2 to 3 problems despite being given 6 hours. I suspect you left out some context when you wrote this.
But anyway, if I were you I would think seriously about U of Toronto and U of Waterloo. Great engineering schools. If you excel there, you will be looked upon very favorably when applying to graduate school or entering the workforce, be it in Canada or the US. In fact, both schools were well-represented among last yearâs top 200 Putnam winners. You can be next in line there!
Are they affordable at $19k Canadian ?
I actually didnât think about cost. OP isnât from Ontario so both schools are going to be cost prohibitive for him.