How International Students Can Get In to the Ivy League (how hard is it, really?)
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- čas přidán 23. 12. 2023
- International students have a much tougher time than domestic applicants when applying to Ivies or other T20 US Schools. In this video, Edward will explain how exactly International Students can bump up their chances of receiving an acceptance letter.
very interesting and useful video! could you do a part 2 where you illustrate the number/proportions of applicants from each country?
i don't think those numbers are posted publicly
I mean you can determine with good accuracy whether or not your country is competitive or not based on the amount of students who study abroad (you can find this info on the website of the country's M.O.E probably)
This is so underrated! Thank you so much for the insight. I applied test optional (also applied for financial aid) to Harvard in REA (English major; Neuroscience and computer science minor) and got deferred. I also wasn't offered an alum interview. According to some people, it does conduct interview for most applicants but Harvard says in its website that it doesn't conduct an interview for all the applicants. Now I'm confused if I should take this as a second chance. And if yes, how do I get off the deferred list?
I'm putting out a short summary of my application here for reference please let me know how can I improve my chances at Harvard. I've been working hard for about 4 years now to get into Harvard.
Ethnicity - Asian (from India)
GPA - 3.8-3.85/4 (not sure as my school doesn't use gpa)
Class rank - 1/300
Test optional
Academic awards -
1. best performer and scholarship awardee in international space science essay competition organised by NASA, AMF and Florida Tech. Got selected to attend Space Science Conference in NASA, Kennedy Space Center.
2. Top 1000 performer and secured scholarships in Lifology Global Fellowship held by a Guinness record-holding organization Lifology.
3. Finalist in The Brain Teaser, a mega inter-school quiz competition held by JCI India.
4. Certification of excellence in IT P&PC by NIIT Nguru.
5. Participated in TIMES NIE School Super League organized by TIMES OF INDIA and BYJU'S and secured a scholarship of 4 years.
6. Developed a Python-MySQL project on Atm Management System in Senior year.
7. Took IIT and NEET foundation and advanced courses in high school independent of school curriculum.
Extracurriculars-
1. Volunteered at HelpAge India to raise funds for the elderly.
2. Awarded 1st place in Musical Drama in high school.
3. Served as a writer and editor-in-chief for nonprofits and supervised the literary department, organized meetings, recruited editorial board members, and finalized processing of literary pieces. Produced articles destigmatizing mental health and dispelling evil social norms surrounding women and the LGBTQ+ community. Awarded Certificate of exemplary contribution.
4. Debuted as an author at the age of 17 earlier this year in july on Amazon.
5. Currently working as a Newsletter writer/editor and marketing head at a small business.
6. Co-authored another book which released earlier this week on Amazon and other global platforms.
7. Did a research internship.
8. Founded a literary magazine which focuses on raising awareness through writing campaigns.
9. Featured for my contribution as an activist in Lean in, an initiative to empower women, founded by former facebook/Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg.
10. Interviewed and featured by an American magazine for a success story segment.
11. Core Member of Être Girls, a mentorship platform that provides free college resources, mentoring sessions with female leaders in STEM, and small business owners.
12. Featured art portrait in TIMES OF INDIA.
I'm also planning to participate in 2 academic competitions-one of which is a summer exchange program to study at Oxford/Cambridge upon selection, and a writing competition. I also have 2 independent research papers- one's English, and another's physics, well sort of physics. I'm also planning to preparr for sat for the upcoming march test date but i'm not too sure about it.
(All my extracurriculars are mostly focused on activism and writing)
That is impressive. Good Luck!
Your profile is super awesome you must try in other universities like other ives or nyu,MIT etc you will be admitted in at least one good universities
By the way when you started these extracurricular and competitions can you pls tell me...at what class
This is an amazing profile, and you have a good shot at top universities! Harvard defers most students, and you should take a deferral as a sign that you are academically qualified to study at most top tier institutions. You can try writing a letter of continued interest, which can help convince the admissions team to let you in. However, you should be aware that most institutions are also admitting based on building the class after this point. For example, if there is a lack of really good writers in the Regular Decision round, and you were deferred as a really good writer, you will likely be admitted. I would suggest applying to other institutions like the other commenter suggested, as different universities are looking for different things in applicants. Some other need-blind schools for internationals are Yale and Princeton, so you might want to try applying there. Good luck!
@@GettingIntoUniversity Thank you so much! This really boosted my confidence. I was still contemplating applying to other unis but after seeing this I feel so motivated. But do you think my gpa and applying test optional will hinder my chances? Also I do plan on sending a letter of continued interest to Harvard but after seeing tons of yt videos I suppose that I need to update the admissions committee on my new achievements in the letter? If yes, I have 2-3 things that happened after I got my deferral letter- the interview with an American magazine, my 2nd book which I co-authored was published last week, and I'm currently in talks with a top art meusuem in India to display my artworks and a blog that I wrote for a small business. Apart from these I don't have anything else to add rn. The academic competitions will announce the results in late feb-early march. There's a writing competition which will announce the winners in jan 2nd week. So there are hardly 3-4 things to mention in the LOCI, do you think it'll be effective?? And about the interview, should I be worried about not being offered one yet? I'm so sorry for too many questions I'm quite nervous rn! But I absolutely love your channel! Just watched your latest video! Please keep up the good work! Thank you again :)
Is my chance lowered because I study in the UK as a Thai citizen, because I will be reviewed by a UK AO first - which has a lot more competition?
This video was very useful but I want to know if AP classes are necessary because my school does not offer them
No, they are not necessary if your school does not offer them. Ivies look for students who are taking the most rigorous courses possible, so as long as you are doing that, you have a good chance!
So I am just going into 11 grade and have no extracurricular activities till now
So i was wondering if I could get enough ec's worthy enough in the next 2 years?
If someone could please answer my question, I would really appreciate it.
If you are In a country like India it's difficult to do so my cousin started preparation from 9th grade he has done several research projects researches olypiads etc he is in grade 10 now he is gold medalist for olympiad too
Do you recommend/is it possible for international students to take IB and AP classes?
If possible, IB/AP courses should be taken. However, if you don't have them available, then no worries - Ivies just look for students who are challenging themselves as much as possible, so you should just try to take the most rigorous courses available.
@@GettingIntoUniversity But is there a way for me to take AP's here from Brazil?
@@gamerguy8380 It heavily depends on the school you go to, so if your school doesn't offer APs, then there is no way to take APs without paying extra money to take them at an outside testing centre. You would have to search for things like "AP testing centre [city name]" in order to find if there are testing centres near you.
im confused abt what ap classes are and SATs cuz i do alevels instead
is italy a low country with admissions? And here in Italy we can’t choose what to study so how could i take language courses above english if the school doesn’t offer any? should i pay and take them outside school?
Hello, sorry if the video was a bit confusing. In order to get in to a school, English courses are not actually mandatory, but you need to be able to speak English well, and this looks like doing good on something like the TOEFL or Duolingo English Test. In order to do well, there are a lot of free apps like Duolingo or CZcams videos to help you learn English. However, if you are already proficient (which is what it looks like from your comment), I would try taking a practice test first to see if you really need to take extra courses. Once you feel confident, then you should sign up for and take an actual English test to submit to universities.
I unfortunately don't know too much about italy and how hard it is to get in to a US school from there, but I would say it would be easier than being from a country like India but harder than a country like the Bahamas.
@@GettingIntoUniversity thanks for your answer and time!! keep up the good work ;)
I'm sorry but what does "quotas" mean 😢?
If I hold a USA citizenship but live in the UK, how does that work? Because I know most places have regional admission officers... So I will still be read by the same officer as all other UK applicants
You will likely be read by an AO for the UK first and then an AO for America after, which is what they do at Dartmouth (according to the admissions book). However, it may vary by different universities, so I can't say for sure. You will be considered as a domestic applicant however, so you would be considered under need-blind admissions. Good luck!
you will be read by an ao based on geographic location of your education institution so a UK AO, but for financial aid purposes considered as a domestic applicant. I'm applying from the UK as well but hold the Thai citizenship, so I get a big disadvantage competing with other UK students.
I studied in a US high school for all 4 years but am not a US citizen nor a permanent resident. Am I considered a domestic applicant or an international applicant?
International, as long as you do not hold American citizenship
How does that hurt admission chances? Asking bc I’m in the same boat.
I’m pretty sure it’s based off of where ur highschool is. So if it’s in the u.s, you should be a domestic applicant
From the Dartmouth admissions book: An applicant who studied at a high school in New York but who is a Nigerian citizen would first be reviewed by the admissions officer for New York, and then the admissions officer for Nigeria. You would still be considered an international applicant, but you would be treated a bit differently in the review process. Based on the quota system, you would still be at a disadvantage, but it might not be as much as someone who is fully international. Good luck!
how hard for student in china (hong kong sar) thank you for response
are International A levels equivalent to AP classes?
nope! theyre separate