Getting into top 20 colleges of the world

International Students
1

<p>I gave SAT Reasoning in January and got 1750 (much more than what I had expected, hadn’t studied anything; 98% percentile in Math).</p>

<p>How realistic are my chances of getting into top 20 colleges of the world as an undergrad? Do I need to increase my score? (because I think I honestly can reach upto 2200)</p>

2

<p>ZILCH----->however awesome you are, you need over a 2000 for the top 20 colleges.
Do a 2200 if you can…at least a 2000:)</p>

3

<p>98 percentile is roughly 750-780 which means you scored an average of 500 on CR and WR and improving to a score of 700+ will be no easy task. Also, the SAT is used only in the US and to some extent in other countries such as Canada and Singapore. So do you plan to study in the US? Or in any other particular country?
If you do want to enter a top 20 university in the US, you will need a score of 2200+(sometimes even 2100+ will suffice), great EC’s, good grades at school and amazing essays. Also, your chances will be dampened if you plan on applying for need based financial aid as an international student.</p>

4

<p>^ Yeah what he said. </p>

<p>And mind you 2200 is not an easy task.
Even though you say you didn’t study - With a 750-780 in Math, it will be extremely difficult to jump 450 points in CR & Writing!! </p>

<p>Anyway all the best!! :)</p>

5

<p>I got 770 in Math, 480 in Reading and 500 in Writing. I think I’m capable of reaching 700 in the other two topics. ;)</p>

<p>Anyways, is it true that students applying for financial aid have less chances of getting selected than others?</p>

6

<p>^ Its good to be confident. We’re just warning you against overconfidence.</p>

<p>Anyway yes, International students who apply for financial aid to need aware admissions colleges are at a big disadvantage. You need to be at the top of the applicant pool to be admitted with aid.</p>

7

<p>Top 20 =! 20 hardest to get into. Your current score, if accompanied by high subject test scores and school grades, is good enough to get you accepted to any of the top Canadian universities. A couple of them, if I remember correctly, do grace the top 20 rankings.</p>

<p>If you’re applying for an undergraduate degree, forget about those rankings. Print them on a piece of paper and burn it. One of the best things you can do for yourself right now, trust me.</p>

8

<p>What do you mean? The university rankings for an undergraduate are baseless, hm?</p>

9

<p>Not sure about what loveofdevothka means, but majority of world rankings out there are post grad focused. Check out the US top 20 colleges in the USA. It’s fairly accurate. And a 480 in CR means you got a raw score of 23-29 out of 67 questions. It’s extremely difficult to improve from that situation to a raw score of say 60, which will fetch you around 700. So instead of worrying about colleges, rankings and your chances, concentrate on preparing. A wise man one said " Focus on the process and the results will follow".</p>

10

<p>If you are interested in just rankings to get on idea here is the overall undergrad list,</p>

<p>[National</a> University | Rankings | Data | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/data]National”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/data)</p>

<p>However you can see the rankings based on the strength of the program, eg. Business Studies,
[Best</a> Undergraduate Business Schools | Top Undergraduate Business Programs | US News Best Colleges](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/business]Best”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/business)</p>

<p>Or for Best Places Undergrad Engineering Programs,
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Or Best Liberal Arts Program List,
[National</a> Liberal Arts College | Rankings | Data | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/data]National”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/data)</p>

<p>Also you can have a look at htis</p>

<p>“The Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings employ the world’s largest invitation-only academic opinion survey to provide the definitive list of the top 100 most powerful global university brands.”</p>

<p>[Top</a> universities by reputation 2013](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013/reputation-ranking]Top”>World Reputation Rankings 2013 | Times Higher Education (THE))</p>

11

<p>Comparing schools solely on rankings, meh.</p>

<p>If you can’t play 60k$ per year than see the cost as well, my friends.</p>

12

<p>I forgot to mention I’m currently in 12th. Will I have to wait until next year since I guess most of the colleges are done with their admission process? Sorry I’m an amateur at this.</p>

<p>Also, do I need to give Subject Tests? </p>

<p>Please recommend me some good books for improving my Critical Reading and Writing. And vocabulary lists as well!</p>

13

<p>Bump! Please help!</p>

14

<p>Subject SATs serve many purposes,</p>

<p>-Some colleges require them for admission</p>

<p>-Some colleges use the scores from the SAT Subject Tests for satisfying degree requirements and for class placement for incoming freshmen.</p>

<p>Let me elaborate on that. I will share specifically my information related to NYU.</p>

<p>If the SAT Subject-English score is 750+, you are do not have to take a 4 credit WTE, freshman writing Course. WTE is is Liberal Arts Core requirement at Stern, NYU.</p>

<p>If the SAT Subject-Math score is 750+, you get placed into MATH Calc 1 directly saving you 4 credits of coursework. Math Calculus 1 is Liberal Arts Core requirement at Stern, NYU.</p>

<p>-Those schools that require SATs feel that they are an important indicator of your ability to succeed in college. Specifically, they use your scores in one or both of two ways:</p>

<p>To help them make admissions decisions</p>

<p>To help them make placement decisions</p>

<p>And you should aim for a 2000+ SAT score to be a competitive candidate as far as this factor for admission is concerned. And aim for 700+ SAT Subject score for the same reason, strengthening your application.</p>

<p>Here is one of the many links available on the web for advice on SAT,</p>

<p>How to Do Well on the SATs
<a href=“http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Well-on-the-SATs[/url]”>http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Well-on-the-SATs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And here on CC,
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>For vocabulary
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/english/1388537-what-apps-do-you-use-improve-vocabulary.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/english/1388537-what-apps-do-you-use-improve-vocabulary.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>How to Improve Your Vocabulary for the SAT
<a href=“http://mycollegeguide.org/blog/03/2012/improve-vocabulary-sat/[/url]”>http://mycollegeguide.org/blog/03/2012/improve-vocabulary-sat/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And my advise to you, seriously, learn to use the web. All the information you want is out there. And then if you have questions and need clarifications post them here. I can guide you to only so many-limited links, and there are multitude of links related to any help that you want on the net. Do explore and learn, it will come in handy when you are out there in the real world all by youself. I mean well, not being preachy.</p>

15

<p>Alright. Thanks!</p>

<p>About vocabulary lists… how many words should I go through? 100? 1000? 4000?</p>

16

<p>If anyone cares… I scored 2030. Meh, I regret not giving it last year; I only had a month to prepare since I had other exams coming up as well.</p>

17

<p>Im guessing that when you say the top 20 universities in the world…your only talking about the top 20 unis in America :)</p>

18

<p>Not really… top 20 unis in the world that accept SAT scores. Well, US mostly though.</p>

19

<p>Hey folks, do you think I can get into Penn State with this score? (with scholarship). That is if they accept spring intakes.</p>

<p>Got 91% in 10th, 79% in 11th and 80% in 12th. (Maharashtra State Board)</p>

20

<p>Colleges hate state boards(not really), to stand a good chance you need to take the hardest courses.Why do you think IB schools are mushrooming these days?
But since you got 91% in tenth they will realize that you are capable of work but decided
to slack off .What I am saying is it will really affect your chances.</p>