How big are the odds?

Colleges & Universities Brown University
1

<p>Hello guys,</p>

<p>thanks in advance for reading and, hopefully, replying, what you think - I am at a loss about what my chances are.</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I: 2170 (CR 690/M 710/WR 770)
SAT II:740 Math II, 650 US History (self-studied)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):Finished my last year with full grades, but my grades fluctuated during the 4 high school years (upwards though).</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load:Latvian, Maths, History, English, Religious Studies (higher level), physics, economics, art (lower level)
Rigor: I took many classes and did well in them, however, I did not choose to do IB (which my school offered), and now I’m afraid that is going to be a huge disadvantage.</p>

<p>Awards: 1st place National Olympiad of Political Science, finalist in Latvia’s Economics and Managing competitions.</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Volunteering for festivals; theme events; business conferences; representing Latvia in the international conference in South Korea; youth exchanges; investment games; being a part of a educational company.</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: After graduating I did an internship in European Commission; also 1 week internship in Ministry of Foreign Affairs; working as an interpreter in Trade Fair in Germany for few days.</p>

<p>Essays: CommonApp essay on individual travelling alone through Europe. However, I am not a good writer and do not know how to captivate a reader. The more I correct, the worse essay turns out, thus mostly I just submit the first/second draft.</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation: No idea - one from coworker, another from English teacher
Counselor Rec: Probably not good or generic; she seemed to be annoyed with me quite often.</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Country (if international applicant): Latvia
School Type: public, but very competitive to get into, the best in the country
Ethnicity: white
Gender: F
Income Bracket: <17000 (6 people in the family)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): </p>

<p>Weaknesses: too much of my SAT score is combined out of writing section, perhaps not the most difficult workload (no idea what counselor marked), good grades do not correlate well with weak SAT subject scores, do not have good grasp/talent to write good essays and knowing how important they are, it’s really disheartening.
Strengths: very few people from my country apply?</p>

2

<p>I wish I could tell you that you have a great chance, but Brown is not Need-Blind for international students so you would need to really show them something they want. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Thanks lexieam. Yes, I understand that with Brown being non need-blind, it’s almost impossible. Does anybody know how many full aid internationals are there? Because there’re no numbers on their website. I mean, there must be some…</p>

4

<p>Just so you know, only 8 or so American universities are need-blind toward international students. And honestly, if your family is making only $17,000/year, you need to realize what a HUGE accomplishment graduating from ANY American university would be for you. I don’t mean to discourage you, but make sure you apply to other schools besides the super selective Ivy League schools that barely even accept any brilliant wealthy Americans, much less brilliant disadvantaged Latvians. Off the top of my head, Williams and I think Amherst are need-blind toward internationals, but those too are super selective. Just apply to 10 or 15 colleges (try to get fee waivers) and see where you’re accepted. If you can get a visa and work in the United States, and you major in something lucrative (sciences, math, econ, business, etc) at a decently well-known university, you will have the potential to rake in $100,000+/year after a few years of work experience.</p>

5

<p>There is a Brown alum who is very pro-Latvian as his family roots are all there. I think he almost solo-handedly supported the medical school in Latvia for a while. Anyway, he would be a very good contact for you!!</p>