Which "tier" of college am I destined for?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>I am an international student (incoming senior) residing in the U.S. that plans to go to an American college. However, I truthfully have no idea which “tier” of college my profile can get into. My dream school is either Brown or Caltech, but that probably won’t happen. Help a brother out?</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 800M, 790 CR, 770 W, 2360</p>

<p>ACT:</p>

<p>SAT II: 800 World History, 800 US History, 800 Math Level 2, 740 Physics</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9</p>

<p>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%</p>

<p>AP (place score in parenthesis): (5) for World History, US History, Calc AB, English Language, (4) for Physics B</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: AP Micro/Macro Econ, AP Stats, AP Lit, AP Physics C, AP Gov, AP Comp Gov, CCNP (our school offers cisco programs that can get you a certification for networking)</p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Cisco CCNA certification (not sure if this would classify as an award)</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  1. Tutor Club (Vice President)
  2. Model UN Club (Secretary)
  3. Track and Field
  4. Chess Club
  5. Debate Club</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: none</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at local library since 8th grade</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Helped out at city parade</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): WA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: about 400 kids per grade
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $80k-$100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I guess the cisco CCNA certification considering the national pass rate is like 8%</p>

<p>:</p>

2

<p>Your sat score and gpa are good enough for any college. You would be competitive at top tier schools but nothing is ever guaranteed at that level. There is nothing spectacular about your ecs so now it would all be about your essays and letter of recommendations. </p>

3

<p>Intended major? Do you need financial aid?
Do you have green card or a foreign passport?</p>

4

<p>No green card and no need for financial aid. My intended major is computer science.</p>

5

<p>If you don’t need financial aid, you might want to apply to top tier schools that are need aware for internationals. Such an example would be Stanford. If you are able to pay the full tuition without any problem, you will have an edge over other international applicants. </p>

6

<p>You have solid scores which will make you competitive for any college. However, the really big colleges are hard to say. You have as good of a shot anybody. Make sure to apply to Brown and Caltech as well a few safety colleges that have a higher acceptance rate. </p>

7

<p>Add Caltech and Duke to your list</p>

8

<p>Given your scores, and your interests, I’d add Carnegie-Mellon, Washington U. (St. Louis), Vanderbilt, Emory, Georgia Tech, Purdue (probably a safety), RPI (ie. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), Worcester Tech, and Harvey Mudd to the mix.</p>

9

<p>You have no chance for the Ivyies. But you would make a great candidate for the tier 2 schools: Duke, Rice, WashU in St. Louis</p>

10

<p>@tryhardalay - on what basis do you conclude the OP has not chance for the Ivies? The OP’s qualifications would be very competitive at any of the Ivy League schools. His major liability is that he is an Asian male interested in CS, and this is an over-represented demographic in their applicant pools. I don’t know the details of his situation, but as he is living in the USA, it is possible that schools will favor him over other international applicants with no connections to the USA.</p>

<p>Regarding those tier 2 schools, Duke is more highly ranked and has lower acceptance rates than several Ivies, and Rice and WashU are as selective as Brown and Cornell. I don’t see how he can be a great candidate for Duke, Rice, and WashU, yet have no chance at Brown or Cornell.</p>

11

<p>@BldrDad‌ it’s my opinion. More qualified applicants apply at the Ivies. </p>

12

<p>@tryhardalay - You didn’t state it as opinion, and you didn’t qualify it. You wrote “You have no chance for the Ivyies.” In my opinion, this is bad advice.</p>

<p>The OP has qualifications very similar to my daughter’s. She’s doesn’t have any special hooks either. She is now attending Harvard.</p>

<p>The OP’s stats would put him in the top 25% of admitted Harvard students academically. On what basis did you arrive at the conclusion that he’s not a qualified applicant for any of the Ivies?</p>

13

<p>There’s nothing really making him stand out. The WOW factor. Don’t get me wrong his SAT score and GPA are stellar, but there’s that “oomph” feeling that I see missing. @BldrDad‌ it’s just my advice. @JaneEyre123‌ he can follow it if he wants to </p>

14

<p>I didn’t mean to say he has no chance he does have a chance of getting in but it is small @BldrDad‌ </p>

15

<p>Bump</p>