Match/Chance Me: International Student from Indonesia Planning to Study Economics in University [IB Student, 3.8 UW GPA, 1510 SAT]

Chance Me / Match Me
,
1

Hello, I am a Junior who is currently researching universities and would like to know what T20s, Ivies, or other schools you think could suit me and what my chances would be.

Demographics

  • International student studying in Indonesia
  • Private/International, IB Curriculum used
  • Female, Indonesian
  • 2nd gen, no legacy (as parents did not study in the US), varsity student-athlete in high school but not planning to pursue athlete track for university applications as I don’t have significant awards/achievements

Intended Major(s)
Economics, possibly minoring in Psychology or Philosophy

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.8 (from sophomore year)
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): N/A
  • Class Rank: N/A
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1510

Coursework
HLs: Economics, Psychology, Math AI, Indonesian
SLs: English, Biology

the IBDP program is the most rigorous my school offers. We have no A-levels or AP, and this is the maximum number of subjects I can take.

Awards
Essay competition: Achieved a high distinction award given to 5% of shortlisted candidates (which were chosen out of 20,000 total participants)
UKMT (Math competition): Bronze award
6 MUN awards (most from the varsity/open circuit)
MVP of varsity golf team

Extracurriculars
Internship in a ministry
Economics summer school
Student council (4 years): Had a leadership position in this
MUN club: student coach, but has taken up several leadership positions for conferences (the highest being secretary general)
Varsity sports team captain
TEDx speaker
Investment competition team leader
Rock band
Choir

Volunteering:
Supervised and taught music to students from less fortunate areas
Taught MUN to refugees from the Middle East

Essays/LORs/Other
N/A, still a Junior so have not started essays/LOR.

Cost Constraints / Budget
No specific budget in mind. Looking for scholarships, but external ones instead of internal (hence not applying for financial aid) as my country is very generous in giving scholarships and I don’t want to limit myself to need-blind schools.

Schools
I do not have anything specific in mind, as I’d like to keep my options open. However, I’d like to stick to the T20s, as my safeties will most likely be asian universities. What are my chances in getting into the T20s?

2

These analyses may help you select suitable colleges based on your intended major of economics:

https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.uslacecon.html

https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.usecondept.html

For some specific, mostly reach, ideas, look into Williams, Wellesley, Middlebury, Claremont McKenna, Richmond, Colgate, Amherst and Hamilton.

3

The same as for all international students…low. The reality is that the acceptance rates are in the single digits. You have a strong set of stats so far, but so do the vast majority of international students applying to T 20 colleges here.

So…apply and see. You might be in the 10% or less who are accepted.

4

Not top 20 but a fine institution that really likes international students is Boston University.

5

Yes. They like full pay international students.

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6

Yes, Boston U is popular amongst Indonesians. I think my school has a direct connection with them or something because around 5 people every year end up there (or maybe that’s just a total coincidence)

7

I agree! Because of how competitive it is, a lot of it comes down to luck, especially for international students who all have similar stats competing for so few places.

8

Thanks for this! I’m really considering liberal arts schools, so this helped.

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9

What was freshman year gpa?

10

I didn’t get one from my school officially, but I ran it through an online calculator and it said 3.6. Not too sure if that’s correct, but it was definitely lower than my sophomore-year grades.

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13

Closing. See updated thread