International Student's Chances

collegemom3717
Sat, 31 Oct 2020 13:45:15 +0000

The only thing that may give me an edge is that I’ve been subjected to some prejudice because of my androgyny

I am very sorry for you experience, but it does not give you an edge.

I also won’t be requiring financial aid, though that’d be amazing.

To be clear: Harvard, Columbia, and Cornell* do not give merit aid, and financial aid is offered based on their assessment of your need. The UC’s and (as of this year) CMU only have very small financial aid possibilities. NYU is famously stingy, so it is unlikely that you will get any aid there. So, your family needs to be prepared to demonstrate that they can afford the +/- $70K/year that all the schools on your list are likely to cost you.

As for chances: I’m assuming that you are only aiming for the super-selectives because you have good choices elsewhere and it’s only worth coming to the US & paying US $$ if it’s a big name. There are currently 21 undergrads at Harvard from India (across all 4 years)- so figure 4-6 students per year. The competition is ferocious.

*assuming you are not eligible / applying for the TaTa scholarship