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r/ApplyingToCollege•
Competitive_Fact_994

International Student hoping to make it into Ivy League Schools.

Application Question

I'm 16(M) in my second last year of highschool. I go to a relatively well-up Public School in Johannesburg South Africa. I have pretty good grades, 92% average, and I do 10 subjects. My 6 electives are Physics, IT, Biology, Geography, AP Maths ( IEB) and AP Physics ( Also IEB). The curriculum we follow is CAPS which is like an IEB knockoff, and I do 3 extra subjects.

With regards to extra-curriculars. I'm mostly on and off with sports, but I'm Captain of our schools debating team and hoping to make it to nationals next year. I'm also most likely to be a prefect in the school and I'm a member of a Charity similar to a rotary club that selects top grade 11-students from the province.

The point im trying to make is I am an excellent student by South African standards, but I'm not sure if I'll make admission into any Ivy League schools ( MIT being my dream). I'm hoping to take the SAT and ACT's by the end of the year, but other than that, do I really have a chance? Is there anything else I can do?

Posted Jun 6, 2023, 12:53 PM UTC

33
Strict-Special3607College Sophomore•

Statistically speaking “no one” has a chance to get into Ivies, MIT, Stanford, etc.

As an international, your odds are even lower.

7
RetiringTigerMom•

You might find some stories and inspiration on r/intltousa

2
Competitive_Fact_994OP•

Appreciate the help, thanks.

1
AutoModerator•

Hi there, I’m a bot and something you said made me think you're looking for help with international admissions!

The first thing you need to understand about admissions to colleges and universities is that you need to come to it with an open mind, so that you can have a balanced list.

Here’s a folder with lists of colleges that have historically been generous with international students

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1
ExaminationFancyCollege Graduate•

You cannot win the lottery if you don’t play.

International students are a minority on college campuses. There’s no formula for getting in, and financial aid is often a dealbreaker.

1
Due-Appointment9582•

Hi! As a South African student, I understand your concern. I was waitlisted by UPenn and Cornell but just started at UCLA. You've got a great profile, with academics and sports, just work more on the community service aspect - schools love that. SAT is a big playing factor - the English is pretty difficult cause CAPS doesn't prepare us for it, but the math should be fine. I ended up with a 1560 on my second try. ACT is a little different - more English focussed. If you're better with quantitative, I'd suggest just the SAT is more than enough. If you can find an internship, amazing! I did mine (unpaid) at an IT services company, on a Data Science specialization.

If you need anything, feel free to reach out to me directly!

1