<p>I am in my 12 class in India in ISC board. I have very less percentage in 11 and 87 in my 10.I am going to take drop and do a lot of extra curricular activities which I was not able to do in my school as per my niche(android programming, ethical hacking, robotics, blogging to name a few) . Also I am sure of getting above 90 I n my 12th. I have cracked nco and technolothon(organised by IIT guwahati).I have 8kyu.belt in karate. Other than this I have no achievement in sports. I have very good LOR’s from my teachers in my high-school. And I am aiming Specifically for cornell due to the Tata scholarship. I would be happy to attend any other college if I get full scholarship. Also there is no Ap in my city. I was appointed in my school’s student Council. I headed my my high school project team in which we created a traffic signal for crossroad. Please guys help me here… I don’t want to dream unnecessarily… And please tell me if I could do anything else other than this outside school… I know it’s the depth that matters not the width…The reason I have not got into deep coz I used to change my state every 2 years due to my father’s transfer.</p>
<p>First of all, you will have to take the SAT and the SAT subject tests. Second, nobody can tell you about your chances at X college because admissions to top colleges are all but a crapshoot. </p>
<p>You should also learn to improve your writing and communication skills as they will help you a lot in the essays section and the interview.</p>
<p>PS: What do you mean by “cracking the NCO” There are two levels. Did you get international rank 1 in any one of the levels?</p>
<p>I know I need to take the sat, and I am pretty confident that I will get 2200+ and 750+ in subject test.
I know about the communication skills I wrote it in a hurry.
I topped in my school in nco got selected for 2 level which is yet to happen. Plus I wanted to know some of the profiles of students who were selected. Can you please help. Just an idea will be helpful… </p>
<p>NCO does not matter, especially if you just topped the school.</p>
<p>Also, 2200+ is not that easy. Even if you have been taking actual practice tests and scoring above 2250 in them, there is still a possibility that you may score 2100 odd in the actual SAT. Hardly a matter of a few questions here and there.</p>
<p>Ok then but something is better than nothing…
And what else should I do…
Can you please tell me some of the profiles of students who were selected… Pm me please… </p>
<p>@DarkL0rd Topping the school is good, but it does not matter when you only topped the school. As it is, it is not a very prestigious exam. So, unless you are in the top 50 internationally, your NCO achievement is as good as your application is without mentioning the NCO. And, as @hezekiel has already mentioned, getting 2200+ on the real deal is not as easy as it looks. Just a few wrong questions can stop you from scoring even a 2100. Apart from that, I would not suggest doing a lot of things. Do things that you are passionate about and excel in them. For example, I like coding and I was fascinated by neuroscience. So, I carried out research on my own and the findings were so significant that it is now going to get published in a peer-reviewed journal(currently in final editing phase). Apart from that, I have done pretty well on a few olympiads along with securing an international rank of 36 in the NCO(I am in 11th).</p>
<p>From what I have witnessed at my college, admissions at colleges are all but a crapshoot. 3-4 years back, a guy from the college that I currently attend, got accepted to almost all ivy league colleges barring Harvard and also got accepted to MIT and Stanford. He currently attends Stanford. He had great grades and even better standardised test scores, did a few projects of his own in the area of his interest, did A LOT of social service. Another girl from my college got accepted to MIT 4-5 years back. She had an IPhO gold medal and had also made it to the training camps for several olympiads. Apart from their achievements, they must have written essays that were great too. What I mean to tell you is that, nobody can ever tell you a standard profile of a student. Everybody is different and they have different things that work for them. What worked for them, might not work for you.</p>
<p>@mumbai98
Okay now I am getting a clear picture of what I should I do. So I should not mention the nco part in my application, if I do mention it will it have an negative effects (I had an international rank of 304 International and 21 state lol)…
And Congrats on your achievement…
What are the effects of ur high school % on the application do they outweigh sat score…
And what I am thinking is I need to got he depth not width any any 1 or 2 ec right…</p>
<p>@DarkL0rd mentioning the NCO will not do harm to your application as long as you aren’t foregoing putting down a better achievement than that. I guess that you can mention you state rank and your international rank too. </p>
<p>Both - the SAT and and your school grades have equal percentage. To stand a good chance of making it to a great college, great grades and near-perfect standardised test scores are a must. You should generally have scored above 85% right from your 9th grade to your 12th mid-term with an improvement in your performance each time. For example, if you scored 85% in the 9th, scoring 93% in 10th and further improvements is good. Showing an upward growth if you have secured less percentage earlier is good too.</p>
<p>Yes. Quality >>>> Quantity. That being said, if you can excel in a lot of activities at the same time, doing many activities doesn’t hurt too.</p>
<p>Furthermore, essays are the most important part of your application. Spend a considerable amount of time on them.</p>
<p>Then I guess my technolothon achievement isn’t m much of use here…
So I have 82 %in my 9th and 87% in my 10th and 70% in my 11th(I know I screwed up big time) and sure of having above 90% in 12th.
What do you think of that…
Also I have heard that most Indian students submit just their 12th %(which are above 93%) and get selected to get ivy University…
And what counts as the leadership quality…
Does my being in school’s student Council count as one…
Also I have not done any community service will it hurt my chances…
And what does AP differentiate in the application… I mean if one gives it and another does not (who does not have it in his city. As in my case) will it hurt the chances. </p>
<p>@DarkL0rd,</p>
<p>1.I do not know much about the Technolothon so I will not comment on it. The 10th, 11th grade marks will hurt you big time while applying to ivies and the likes(unless you have a genuine reason).</p>
<p>2.No. All the students have to submit theit 9th-12th mid term marks while applying. Nobody gets special treatment and no one ever will.</p>
<p>3.Leadership skills count a lot and being in an important position in your school’s student council will help you a lot.</p>
<p>4.APs do not make much difference to applications to ivies and the likes. They make a difference at the lower-tier schools. If your school does not offer them, don’t take them. You will not be at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>5.Not doing community service will absolutely have no effect on your chances. If you want to do it, then do it. If not, that is okay too.</p>
<p>This
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Is technolothon…
Also I have heard from that students lie in their application about the 11 marks…
P. S where are you from… </p>
@DarkL0rd Nobody lies in their application because the consequences of the colleges finding out that you have lied are severe.
I am from a private college in Mumbai. Have PMed you the rest of the details.