<p>I am a high school (tenth grade) student in India. I would be applying for under graduation in the US in 2014; I will be doing IB in senior high school.</p>
<p>What is the primary thing/aspect universities look out for? Is it the IB results? Is it the SAT scores? What?</p>
<p>Do co-curricular activities, like Model United Nations or achievements in sports play a significant role. To what extent?</p>
<p>I am aware that US Universities appreciate social contributions by applicants. Like NGOs or medical programs for the elderly and stuff. </p>
<p>Please recommend/suggest. I am planning for Business Management/Economics courses for under graduation. </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>1) Prepare for your SAT and SAT II once your 10th gets over. I would suggest start preparing in the summer vacations. A good SAT score looks great on your application.</p>
<p>2) Your IB results will also play big role. Take a good selection of subjects, one that reflects your strengths AND which is suited to what you want to study in undergrad.</p>
<p>3) I cannot stress enough how IMPORTANT all extra-curricular activities are. Go for as many competitions as you can, try to amass as many certificates & prizes as you can, do as much social service as you can. A loaded Activities portion of your Common App will quite probably be the BIGGEST strength of you application.</p>
<p>I know it seems as if I’m not providing any conclusive answer by saying all things are important, but that’s because it’s true. You will suffer if you just study for your IB exams and get a mediocre SAT score. You’ll regret it later if you have nothing to show in your Activities section.</p>
<p>That you plan to study in IB - which is recognized by all US universities - plays to your strength. Spend the next two years doing as much as you can and you’ll reap the rewards when it comes to applying to the US universities.</p>
<p>I should be good with IB and SAT. For activities, is participation good enough? As long as I get participation certificates?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I don’t think so.</p>
<p>You could amass a dozen participation certificates and they still wouldn’t equal the impact of three first prizes in different competitions. Basically, universities don’t want staggering quantity in the Activities section as much as they want awe-inspiring quality. In fact, they don’t really like it if you just keep on listing mediocre stuff in that section to pad its length.</p>