<p>Hey…
As a Chinese student,
I want to know what my chances are for these top universities.</p>
<p>Intended universities:
Brown University
University of Notre Dame
UC Berkeley
Carnegie Mellon University
University of Virginia
New York University(Stern)
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor </p>
<p>SAT I: CR 570 WRITING 630 MATH 740
SAT II: 800 For MATH II, Physics, and Chemistry
TOEFL: 103
GPA: 4.0
School Rank: THE TOP 1%</p>
<p>Main Acadamic Achievements, Extracurricular activities, and Working experience:
The silver medal(ranked 25) in National Olympiad in Informatics in 2008
The first prize in National Olympiad in Informatics in Provinces in 2007, 2008.
The 25th Scholarship of Soong Ching Ling
Young Master Program of Lond University in Sweden
Worked as a programmer in Alibaba.com Corporation for a month
Worked as a volunteer in the severely afflicted area in the west of China (After that earthquake last year)
The recommendation from the Chairman of China Computer Federation</p>
<p>Alright here’s the issue. There is a gigantic discrepancy between your SAT IIs and SAT I. Your SAT I, for the schools you listed, is extremely subpar. Each and every one of those schools wants a 2000+ at least. Brown a 2200+. However, your SAT IIs are AMAZING. All set, no worries whatsoever. Congrats! Just get that SAT up or take the ACT, and you should have decent to good chances at all. The lack of needing FA helps a lot.</p>
<p>Ok. I’ve got my head figured screwed back on. (It’s 12:44AM here :))</p>
<p>Here’s the breakdown:</p>
<p>Numbers: GPA and SATIIs are solid, but keep in mind that tens of thousands of people are going to be in the top 1%, and many of them will be applying to the schools that you are applying to. SATI is definitely going to be your biggest hurdle. You will be compared to every other candidate in the People’s Republic of China, and most likely, those SAT scores are going to kill you. After all, International students are held to a much higher standard than are native students. RETAKE IS A MUST. Try to break at least 2200+. Otherwise, all of these universities will be reaches for you. </p>
<p>ECs
Most of the ECs are unfamiliar to me, so I cannot be an accurate judge. However, you are accomplished in informatics, as you have demonstrated. But as a foreigner, I know not how much weight they would carry. Emphasize their importance to the admissions committee for maximum consideration.</p>
<p>Brown University-Reach
University of Notre Dame - High Match
UC Berkeley-Reach
Carnegie Mellon University
University of Virginia-High Match
New York University(Stern)- Low/Mid Reach
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor - ?</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies. I feel at home and all guys are really enthusiastic here. And I become more eager to go to the US for my study and college life. (In fact, I can enter one of top 3 universities in China, but I think that the education and culture in the US are more captivating, and more importantly, that it’s lucky for a young man to have a period of life abroad)</p>
<p>My SAT I grades(espeicially in Math, I made two unexpected mistakes carelessly, or my grades would be exactly 2000) are also what I regret. </p>
<p>Er…It’s strange that actually, quite a few of my schoolmates with grades between 1900 to 2100, and less ECs and SAT II grades than me were accepted by some excellent colleges which included some of what I mentioned. So they and my parents didn’t advise me to spend time and money taking the SAT I again…</p>
<p>I guess(actually it’s my wish or hope :o) that among the international students, ones from China are more popular than others?..</p>
<p>Perhaps not popular, but in consideration of the logistic such as population and rigor of academics, many internationals from China and South Korea apply to some of the institutions in America.</p>
<p>However, all Asians, whether they are insternational or citizen, are at a slight disadvantage, and here is why:</p>
<p>The American population is 4% Asian, but this ethnicity represent 20% of all college students. As such, Eastern Asians are “over-represented minorities” in the most elite institutions, and their applications are judged at a more difficult levels than under-represented minorities such as Latinos or African-Americans.</p>
<p>It’s going to be tough.
Thousands of Asians are applying (me too^^), you SAT I will definitely make your application really bad. EC’S Grades and SAT II are solid. No need for FA is a big plus.
Nevertheless most of your schools will be reaches with this SAT I</p>
<p>As an international student you don’t have to be as great. Schools love to brag about ethnicity. Remember, colleges are building a population. College admissions is not a search for the best students, it is a search for the best student body. This means well rounded, intelligent people (hence the importance of grades and test scores), and also people who bring new ideas to the campus. Being from China won’t help as much as being from Africa or South America, but it certainly can’t hurt. Personally I think you have a better chance than I do even though I have better stats and EC’s simply because you are international and you don’t need financial aide.</p>