Is an IVY possible? Please chance me (international student edition)
Dear all,
I am currently contemplating whether I should apply to an Ivy League school. I am currently in my gap year after completing high school, where I graduated as valedictorian with the highest possible grade. I also took the SAT with about one month of preparation and scored 1500. For context, I am planning to apply as an Economics major.
While a score of 1500 is respectable, I understand that it is at the lower end of the competitive range for Ivy League schools and other similarly prestigious institutions. Unfortunately, there is no opportunity to retake the test in my region.
It has always been a dream of mine to move to the United States, and I believe pursuing my undergraduate studies there would provide the best opportunity to achieve this goal. Below is an overview of my profile:
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Graduated high school as top of my class (approximately 100 students) with the highest possible grade.
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SAT score: 1500.
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Served multiple terms as class representative during my time in school.
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Completed one relevant internship (4 months) and two additional internships (each 1 month).
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Volunteered as a sports coach for approximately 2 years (around 2 hours per week).
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Worked as a private tutor for 3 years (3-4 hours per week).
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Received an award for outstanding achievement in Economics during high school.
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Served as editor of the school newspaper.
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Won two school debate championships and participated in a state championship.
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Earned nationwide recognition in a computer science competition.
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Played basketball for 7 years (recreational level).
The schools I am considering applying to are:
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Yale University
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Dartmouth College
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Harvard University
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University of Chicago
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Amherst College
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Brown University
I am aware that all of these institutions would be a reach given my profile, but I also recognize that my CV is stronger than that of most of my peers. However, I will be competing against the top 1%.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, and I would greatly appreciate any honest (and constructive) feedback!
Have a good one!!!
I can't offer much insight cause I honestly believe the application process for international is a total lottery (as if the normal apps weren't lmao). But from what I have gathered (international doing Econ at Rice), I would definitely give it a shot - unless the application fees are a major consideration, there is nothing holding you back. Your stats and curricular's look great (actually quite similar to mine - although I wasn't a Valedictorian so that's an even bigger plus) and you should definitely be proud of them (may sound cliche, but its always important/good to remember that you actually already achieved quite a lot). The SAT score might not be the strongest part of your application, but it will not single handedly determine your fate (especially if you leverage your other academic achievements).
A key thing to consider though is if you will be applying for financial aid. If you will be, then the chances of getting in are even lower, simply because you need to beat every single comparable candidate. If you are not in need of financial aid, your chances will definitely be better. Also, I would make that application list longer, ivies and non/ivies T15/20, there are numbers of great schools in the US for Econ (side note: try schools in the UK if you are interested - they are great safety schools and for a person with your background, getting into LSE/UCL should not be that hard. From personal experience, having that in your pocket helps a lot).
I would love to give you more insight but honestly, the apps for internationals are just a big lottery. There will for sure be some rejections purely based on the fact you are an international, but if you write the essays correctly, something will work out! I wish you the best of luck man!
Thank you! I just checked and noticed that a spot at the test center has become available again. Would you recommend retaking the test? I didn’t feel like I performed well on my first test day, but I’m also unsure if a significant improvement is guaranteed.
I also think that applying for Early Decision might be premature if I want to focus on writing strong essays.
In short: should I dedicate 100% of my energy to the essays now, or focus entirely on the SAT for now and then use the remaining time (up to two months) for the essays?
Hmm, I think that depends on how much time you think you have and how much time you will need to crank those essays out. If you are confident time wise (i.e. you will spend tops one to two nights on the first essay draft, not a full week, etc...) then sure go for it. You can always just send your best score as far as I know (although double check that with your uni, I have heard some now want all SAT scores). If you are in your gap year now, and have the time to invest into this, then doing everything that can increase your chances, albeit slightly, is definitely viable.
Also, for the SAT, not sure what is the part you feel less comfortable with (although 1500 is really good on its own) - but for math it's just simply drilling down every possible questions. The questions tend to repeat in style, so when you practice every possible type a few times you are perfectly set. For reading its quite different - I was lucky that I kinda naturally never had problems with these types of questions, but I think (from what I gathered) they generally also tend to repeat in style (and what they try and test). For spelling and stuff like that - again just drill what the SAT wants you to know (especially the rarted semicolons, colons and stuff like that).
In other words, if you have time, go for it (but also check if ur uni wants all SAT scores or only the best first, just so you can make an informed decision!)!
Thanks again:) and yeah maths definitely easier than RaW just because I’m non native… nevertheless scored 750 on both, I feel like an 800 on math should definitely be manageable. Are superscores a thing? I feel like 750 on RaW as a non native who never lived in an English speaking country is very respectable…
Yes, 750 on RaW is good for a non-native and 1550 altogether would be a great result. Superscores are still a thing, but not every school uses them - check with them individually, it should be written on their application website.
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