I’m an international student and looking to apply to LACs in the US. My stats are as follows:
ACT: Composite (29), English (31), Math (28), Reading (30), Science (28), Writing (8).
ACT (2): Composite (28), English (33), Math (28), Reading (28), Science (23), Writing (10).
Grades: Straight As in every exam I've ever taken in high school. 99th percentile in my country.
Class rank: Top 5-10%.
Attend a private school on a scholarship but from a poorer family.
Prolific writer with very stylishly written essays, dissertations on topics for English, biology and history of college standard which could be forwarded to universities to consider in the application.
ECs - some mediocre leadership positions, lots of volunteering, debating, drama.
I’d like a college which is very progressive and LGBT friendly, and down-to-earth. I’d like somewhere where most views are socially acceptable, but where a liberal and thoughtful atmosphere prevails.
The colleges that I am considering are:
Amherst
Middlebury
Oberlin
Carleton
Wesleyan
Amherst is need-blind for internationals, which is a plus, and Middlebury was until recently, so I believe they’ll be generous with financial aid. For this reason, it’d probably be one of these two colleges that I’d apply to ED. Do I have a reasonable chance of being admitted?
Unfortunately your ACT scores are low for the schools you’re interested in. If you can get your ACT composite above 32, your chances will improve dramatically, especially for the schools that aren’t need blind for internationals.
Swarthmore is need aware, but meets full need if you are admitted. Unfortunately, your test scores are not high enough for an international student with high need. Perhaps you can retake your exams and get a higher grade.
@unihopeful97 your best shot are schools like Gettysburg, St. Lawrence, Union, Dickinson, Muhlenberg, Lafayette (still gonna be hard), Siena College. These are schools like the ones you asked about.
American students with 31, 32 and 33 ACTs get rejected from the schools you listed.
You have good stats but they aren’t high enough for those places.
Too many international students are unrealistic. The schools I recommended are excellent schools.
I have friends who are all internationals with ACT scores rarely above a 31, all of whom have gained acceptances to these schools. For internationals, I have been told, a lower ACT result is expected because the exam is not the type of material we usually face in our own tests. For example, if you look at Yale, the ACT range for accepted internationals is 30-34 and 32-35 for Americans.
@unihopeful97 : Don’t look at ranges, because they include hooked candidates. An unhooked candidate with a 30 will not get into Yale, international or not.
