Chance me-International looking for aid, 1560 SAT, 4.0 GPA

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics

  • International student from India.
  • Female

Cost Constraints / Budget

Preferably a full ride. I can work with 90% tuition covered-full tuition as well.

Intended Major(s)
Bachelors in Molecular Biology/Biochemistry

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: N/A
  • College GPA: (for transfer applicants)
  • Class Rank: 1/32
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1560

List your HS coursework

(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)

  • ISC(Indian Board)

  • English: 4 years

  • Math: 4 years

  • Science: Biology, Chemistry, Physics( all 4 years)

  • History and social studies: 2 years

  • Language other than English: French(2 years)

  • Geography: 2 years

  • Computer Applications: 2 years

College Coursework (Transfer Applicants)
(Include college courses taken while in high school if not included above.)

  • General education course work:
  • Major preparation course work:

Awards

  1. Ranked first in 10th grade final CISCE board examinations
  2. First Prize for Europe Meets India(EuMInd) Research Project
    3.Third Prize for Green Teens Award
  3. Invited to present my research at an International Conference
  4. UK Gold Crest Award

Extracurriculars

  1. Researcher/RSI India Scholar:
    Chosen 1/30 students from across the country. Conducted Molecular Biology research at The Indian Institute of Science. Authored a research paper and presented it.

  2. Research Intern at a Biotech startup: Conducted research on proteins. Learnt and used all major molecular biology techniques.

  3. Research Intern, The Indian Institute of Science:* Conducted research under the Chair of the Department on AI/ML applications across seven village sectors (agriculture, waste, water, stray dog management, antimicrobial resistance, disease control and healthcare). Presented research poster at the International One Health conference. Assisted in organizing a sustainability conference.

  4. Science Outreach Intern, National Centre for Biological Sciences: Designed and developed an educational board game on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), now set for distribution to schools across my city to raise awareness among children and families.

  5. Board Member and Chair of Scientific Research, (non profit name hidden to preserve identity)
    Led 3 teams, securing funding through grants including The Pollination Project. Designed and delivered a STEM curriculum for younger students with the National Society of Black Engineers, LA. Created a research-access newsletter for community college students, reaching 40+ subscribers to expand opportunities where research exposure is limited.

  6. Executive Outreach Director, BioArtelier Led a 15-member team to produce 5 episodes for the BioArtivism podcast, featuring invited bio-art speakers to foster dialogue between science and art. Optimized outreach strategies by analyzing performance metrics, increasing organizational visibility by 1160% on LinkedIn and Instagram.

  7. Senior Tutor and Certifications Specialist, Schoolhouse Delivered 100+ hours of tutoring hours across 70+ sessions, empowering learners in 58 countries. Mentored 300+ students in SAT® Prep and AP Biology, achieving top 5% positive ratings. Strengthened instructional quality by evaluating and certifying new tutors as a Certifications Specialist with over 1k certifications certified.

  8. Collaborator, DataBiox: Created and published educational projects on YouTube in collaboration with the CEO of DataBiox, reaching over a thousand views. Produced a case study on TP53 gene expression in lung cancer vs. normal lung tissue using R for statistical analysis and visualization.
    Designed an introductory video on AI/ML applications for molecular biologists.

  9. Founder, Sustainability Club Established the school’s first student-led Club, later integrated into the (a major program I cannot name as it is very niche to my school), now active across 38 schools. Secured approval from school leadership by presenting and advocating the club’s vision to cluster and head administrators. Educated peers on sustainability through classroom presentations, workshops, and peer-to-peer sessions, engaging students from Grades 9–12.

  10. Research Specialist and Graphic Design Intern, ByTheYouth Agency: Conducted market research and industry analysis to generate insights for client strategies and growth. Prepared reports and supported content strategy to boost audience engagement. Designed graphics for social media, ads, and promotional materials.

  11. Other Volunteer work: Hosting 3 book drives collecting 1500+ books, Presenting CSR pitch decks, Writing STEM Articles.

Essays/LORs/Other
LORs- Really strong. From my Biology teacher, Math Teacher, two professors from the top research institution in my country, andCEE(the one that hosts RSI).
Essay is about how meditating at this nearby lake changed me(It sounds cliche but I have framed it in a way that it is unique and engaging and reflects different parts of myself).

Schools

Case Western Reserve University
Tulane University
University of Notre Dame
Dartmouth (ED)
Ohio University
North Texas University
UT Dallas
University of Houston
University of Cincinatti
SUNY Albany
Vanderbilt University
Washington and Lee University
UT Austin
George Mason University
Arizona State University
Princeton University
Yale
Bowdoin College
Amherst College
Boston University
Brown University

Additional info:

I have taken and passed in the following courses on edX:

Statistics and R (PH525.1x) – HarvardX

Molecular Biology – Part 1: DNA Replication and Repair (7.28.1x) – MITx

2

Choose an ED2 among colleges that offer it.

I don’t think SUNY Albany offers full tuition scholarships. Perhaps SUNY Plattsburgh? Similarly, UT Austin should be removed from that list.

Have you checked whether ASU is affordable at all? The scholarships at ASU have been greatly decreased for Americans and are no longer the great deals they used to be (the State tried to offer subsidies for students in private schools, they miscalculated by a lot, and the Education budget got completely gutted so all budgets are taking a hit and it’s not going to get better anytime soon).

Case Western, BU, and Tulane are need-aware so they wouldn’t admit you if you need full ride or full tuition scholarship. You can pick one just in case during the RD round but focus on the others.

Finally, do look into universities in other countries (Canada, Ireland..) and make sure you have choices in India also because the situation wrt international students is very unstable in the US.

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3

Makes sense. Thank you so much!
I am planning to apply to Case Western, BU and Tulane in hopes of their full ride merit scholarships. It is a long shot I know but it is worth atleast a try.

4

You need a full ride but will schools agree ? They determine your need. So they may or may not agree with you that you need 90%. These are meet need and need blind so they will not use your finances against you.

If it were me, I’d apply to the schools that promise to meet need that don’t factor how much I need into their admission decision:

Amherst
Bowdoin
Brown
Dartmouth
Georgetown
Harvard
MIT
Notre Dame
Wash & Lee
Yale

You can check others like Franklin & Marshall and Denison. A poster the other day said their friend got a full ride at Southern Miss. check Troy too.

I don’t see high aid on your list. A school like Vandy basically says they don’t want to give international high aid - at least as I read it.

Good luck

Vanderbilt University offers need-based scholarships to a limited number of international undergraduate applicants. If you indicate on your application for admission that you are seeking need-based assistance, the admission decision will be made on a need-aware basis. Applications from international citizens who apply for need-based assistance will be reviewed among all international applicants seeking need-based assistance, and will be chosen based on an evaluation of academic qualities, leadership and community engagement, financial need, and availability of resources.

5

Makes sense. I was planning to apply to Vanderbilt in hopes of their merit scholarship.
Just one question, are Franklin and Marshall, Denision generous towards international students as they are need aware and likely to reject a student who asks for significant amount of aid.

6

For the study of CHNOPS, perhaps add a school or two from this site, such as Union or Bates:

7

I don’t know but I would assume any need aware school is likely to reject a high need international, no different than they would a domestic.

But international, especially, are known to be good for the bottom line.

Unless you go after a school like Southern Miss (and I’m taking the word of an international poster), I wouldn’t expect great things. Hope, but don’t expect, and have a back up elsewhere.

The other thing is with our government, there may or may not be limitations going forward. Right now India is not on the good side although that changes day to day.

8

As others are saying, you need to make sure all the colleges on your list have ANY offers of the sort you need. But I understand giving it a shot even if they only have a few.

An additional note: I would just keep in mind most highly-selective holistic review US colleges are in the broader liberal arts tradition. This implies certain things about how they see an undergraduate education, not least the “general education” part of that education, meaning the stuff outside of just your major. They are also typically looking for students who will contribute a lot to their college community outside of just academics.

I am mentioning this because like many highly successful International students, your profile reads as very strong and focused in a certain specific cluster of academic areas. This is usually the optimal strategy for admissions to universities in most of the world.

But in the US–while this is not necessarily a bad thing per se, it is also not necessarily sufficient for something as competitive as the offers you are hoping to get. Again, they are going to be looking for kids who are interested in a broader education too, and also kids who are likely to contribute a lot non-academically.

Again, in most of the world, that is a non-concern. But I would keep that in mind as you are applying to US colleges.

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