International student seeking advice

vesselina
Sun, 07 Nov 2004 15:36:57 +0000

Hello everyone!
I am an international student and I come from Bulgaria. Right now I have to make some really important decisions concerning college selection, and I hope that you can assist me. First my stats:

SAT I - 1450 (750 Verbal, 700 Math)
SAT II Writing 710
TOEFL CBT - 290 (6.00 on the essay)
High school record - 5.92 out of 6.00

Some of my most meaningful ECs:

Student government - Vice president during 9th and 11th grade, and student body president during 10th grade.
Volunteer at the school’s informational office - 8th grade; position held: coordinator of media resources and PR; hours spent: 30
Animator in UNESCO projects during 9th and 10th grade - animator of Media workshops.
YMCA volunteer - hours spent: 30
Internship at National DARIK Radio - 10th and 11th grade
Reporter at National DARIK Radio - 11th and 12th grade
Work experience as a reporter and interviewer in the creation of a documentary movie about the American University in Bulgaria.
Volunteer service at English Language Club - 10th and 11th grade. hours per week: 20, weeks per year: 28, total: 1120
Peer tutoring in English
School’s athletics team: 12th grade
Published articles in local newspapers

Academic achievements:

1st place in an English language national writing contest on women’s issues. - 9th grade
1st place in an essay writing competition. - 10th grade
Essay on European Citizenship ranked among top 10, given special prize and published.

As for colleges, I am considering Grinnell, Macalester, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Bates, Brandeis and Hamilton. What do you think of this college list? Do I stand a chance to get admitted and receive full financial assistance? I know that those schools provide full scholarships for intls, but the competition for them is quite keen.
So, thanks for taking the time to read this rather long post:)

Looking forward to your replies,

Vessy