Hey everybody, I’m an international and I will apply to most Ivies + Uchicago and NYU. I will take ACT with Writing next week and I’ve just taken Math II and Biology-E. I’m disappointed with myself for I really didn’t paced myself and I expect a 670-690 score on Math, though I think I will get a score of +740 on Bio. Now, I know I will need to struggle in order to get the maximum score on ACT I can get (I think that around 33-35 is possible). Now, assuming that I get all the scores I’m predicting, what would be my chances ?
I live in Brazil and at my school we don’t have a ranking system, but I am at the top of my high school and according to my scores on the last ENEM (National High School Exam), I’ve been ranked, out of 5,800,000 students nationwide, among the top 1% and 0,7% students on the areas of Humanities and Math, respectively. I got really good grades for Brazilian parameters (in most schools all courses are required and most of them have a curriculum equivalent to what is taught at AP courses; Philosophy, Sociology and Spanish are mandatory). The average of all my grades would be around 87%.
I think my ECs make me stand out and Philosophy/Politics are my “spike”. This is the list I will probably send by the CommonApp:
Founded an online Philosophy volunteer tutoring group
Elaborated a municipal budgetary law project which was passed by the city council
Wrote a philosophy paper that is being reviewed to publication (I pretend to send it as supp material)
Represented 30,000 young people of my city on a state meeting at the Legislative Assembly, to discuss new law projects on urban mobility
Was elected as speaksperson of the Youth during my city’s mayoral official debates
Write articles on my blog about logic, epistemology and social philosophy
Was power forward at the municipal U-17 basketball team, won silver medal at a regional tournament and played at charity matches
Used to be a pupil of one of the most respected DJs in the state (maybe in the country) and won the 'DJ prodigy" award at a public sunset party
So, what do you think ? Any advice ?
Are you a senior or a junior?
GPA and test scores are going to be weighted more heavily than ECs. That said, your ECs seem sufficient to me with respect to demonstrating leadership and initiative as well as consistent interest in politics and philosophy.
An 87 average in the US would be low for your target schools but it sounds like your school does not inflate grades. In the US, schools typically provide a school report that gives a profile of the students in general including mean/median grades and that provides context, especially if the school does not rank.
A lot rests on your ACT/SAT results. Until those are available, it’s difficult to estimate your chances. Should you get a 33-35 ACT and SAT II scores in the 700s, that will be enough to ensure that your application is considered.
Have you taken the TOEFL - many schools require it for international applicants for whom English is not their first language.
Three final points: 1) I’m sure you know that the acceptance rates at your target schools are between 5-10% and many students that have outstanding credentials are denied because there simply aren’t enough spaces. 2) Verify with your parents, if you haven’t already, what these schools are likely to cost and make sure they are willing and able to pay. 3) Have a backup plan. If you don’t get into a top 20 school in the US, will you pursue higher education in Brazil, or, if you are determined to study here, do you have some options that are more likely for admission that also are affordable? I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the federal universities in Brazil are high quality and good value, albeit somewhat differently structured than our higher education system.
Best of luck to you!
especially considering spots for international students are limited. You could cure cancer but be denied for being an international student.
In some international countries, an 87-88 can be A level, though on the low side. We don’t know for OP. Or how competitive adcoms will feel his hs curric is, versus other hs.
OP, you’re going to need to know enough about what your targets look for, in order to make your best presentation in the various parts of the app. It’s holistic, lots of kids apply from Brazil, and adcoms look at the transcript, not just the cumulative gpa.
mamaedefamilia, I’m a senior and I got 104 on TOEFL.
Unfortunately I didn’t have much time to prepare myself to the application process and I know that my chances of admission would be bigger if I had given myself more opportunities of taking and retaking tests if necessary.
You know, indeed we have some good universities here, but I think they are rare (usually what is shown about them is different from what students really experience. It is common to universities remain closed for months for problems such as delayed payments and other shameful things), and the major problem is that my specific major choice (Philosophy) is what made me decide to apply to schools abroad. I used to dislike philosophy until I discovered a whole different way of approaching it, and this is the way anglophone countries make philosophy (the so called Analytic Philosophy). In Brazil there is almost no respect for the subject and I think that we, along with other Latin countries, lack a more “professional” approach to academic philosophy. And I want to go to the USA (I would consider going to the UK if the process and requirements were easier) for I know that even if I graduated in Philosophy here, I wouldn’t be recognized the way I would like to be. It might even sound silly but I don’t think I would like to pursue an academic interest in Philosophy if I wasn’t going to do that at good American colleges (sure, there are other universities outside the Ivies, Stanford, etc. Pittsburgh and Rutgers are great examples of excellent philosophy departments).
To conclude, I’d like to point out that I’m younger than most Brazilian seniors (I’m finishing high school before turning 18), and for some competitive courses here, like Med, parents often expect their children to get admitted only when they are around 20-22, for usually they have to try several times. Do you think I should try my application again next year (or maybe the next 2, I don’t know) in the case I don’t get admitted this year? I have not already looked for info about applicants who try top tier universities for the second, third time, but would it be an issue ? How do usually they see international applicants who have apllied before ? I hope I could give you an overall picture of my academic future plans; philosophy will only be a thing if I go abroad, and that’s what I really want to do with my life. Otherwise, I don’t have any other plans to my life; sure, I would get a job to get money and would still have a happy life, but I wouldn’t care about what was going to be my job, it wouldn’t matter if I was a doctor or a janitor, they would be the same to me for only a philosophy career is what drives me intellectually.
mamaedefamilia, I’m a senior. Unfortunately I didn’t have much time to prepare myself to the application process and I know that my chances of admission would be better if I had given myself more opportunities of taking and retaking tests if necessary.
You know, indeed we have some good universities here, but I think they are rare (usually what is shown about them is different from what students really experience), and the major problem is that my specific major choice (Philosophy) is what made me decide to apply to schools abroad. Anglophone (Analytic) philosophy is what made me like philosophy and I truthfully assure you that I wouldn’t want a philosophy career if it wasn’t going to be built in the US (I considered apllying to UK but the requirements are too complex and tough). In my country Philosophy isn’t recognized as it should and it lacks some of the very attributes that arose my passion for the subject and are present at programs in the US.
Could I try my application again next year if I’m not admitted this time ? I’m 17 and in Brazil, parents often expect their children to get admission to competitive courses, such as Med, when they are around 20-22, for they need to try several times. How adcoms see applicants who have apllied before and got rejected ?