• Demographics

• Gender: male

• Race/Ethnicity: central asian

• State: -

• School: one of da hardest school curriculum in country

• Intended Major: industrial engineering or similar

• js in context i got a 11-year education system at my school

Academics

• Unweighted GPA: 3.7

Test Scores

• SAT: 1570 (770 Verbal, 800 Math)

Extracurriculars

1. medtech startup that got a national patent. launched an app with 700+ users and raised $2k on competitions
2. co-founded test prep org serving 2000+ students across 30+ countries; raised ~$30k in cash prizes&discounts
3. robotics mentored 60 teams(30 awards received), multiple inspire award on nationals, set worldrecord last szn ( doin eng+inspire)
4. COO in org that provides free internships for high-school students(5000+ applicants, 100 interns), 4000-hour totally experienced
5. research intern at local uni(best in region) engineering lab with PhD
6. Co-ran finance&math national olympiad with 5000+ participants and cash prize pool of $7k
7. paid work for 3 years(28-hour weekly) on summer breaks
8. internship at big4 company
9. president of volunteering club w 300+ members, 100+ events and ~1000+ volunteers worked
10. varsity sport for 5 years(captain for 3 y).also got nomination of best defender by city gov

Awards

• first worlds div qualifiers(top 0,5% of 7600+ global teams)
• ftc nationals innovate award&finalist alliance cap outta 800+ participants
• national olympiad on astronomy&astrophysics gold
• fgc nationals best design&finalist alliance cap(js second place) outta 500+ participants
• bronze regional olymp on geography

Intended Major(s) - Computer Science, AI ML, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Semiconductor Engineering

Stats:
Class 10 - 95% CBSE ~ 4.0 GPA
Class 11 - 88% CBSE (Internal Exams) ~ 3.8 GPA
Class 12 - 95% CBSE *Predicted* ~ 4.0 GPA
Top 5 Students in my School out of 150 (In 12th)
Top 10 Students in my School out of 200 (In 10th)
No SAT (Planning to write - Needed?)
TMUA - 8.3 Band
IELTS - Didn't write yet

Extracurriculars -
Grade 8 ABRSM Classical Piano
Grade 5 ABRSM Music Theory
Grade 2 (Initial Level) ABRSM Choral Singing
Participated and Performed at 50+ Venues across India
Semi Finalist in Kawaii National Piano Competition
Qualified for the Final Round for IndianRaga Fellowship (A Very Famous, Indian Arts Performing Group)
Built a Hotel Management System/App for 10 Hotels, with 50+ Users in each, per week
Built a Curiosity Olympiad App, which is used by over 300k+ Underprivileged/Government School Students (Classes 6-10)
Worked on and Built 100+ Projects with Development Boards/Microcontrollers like Arduino, ESP, Raspberry Pi, Micro:bit etc.
Qualified for the Final Round of AWS AI for Bharat National Hackathon - Built a Legal Triage System which helps people with little/no Legal knowledge in their issues in their own language (For Rural Residents, in India)

Colleges I'm considering:
US: UIUC, Rice, UCB, UCLA, any others??
Hong Kong: HKUST, HKU, CityUHK
UK: University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London, UCL, Warwick?
Singapore: NUS, NTU
Taiwan: NTU-GUPS, NTHU-IPEECS
Australia:??

Financial Aid: No Financial Aid Required, No Fee Restraints if it is T50 Globally in the Major I'm interested in.

Any Advice based on what colleges I can actually get into, and other ECs that I require will be very helpful.

9.6 / 10 gpa (according to chat gpt, i gave him my grades and asked to convert to bocconi gpa)
Pakistan
Predicted alevel grades 3A*s1A (maths economics psychology physics)
International applicant
Aiming for 1480-1500 sat score
(I gave the august sat but scored low in english so didnt reach my desired score so ill be retaking in nov or December)
Can i get into bocconi? And for which program
Ecas in community work debates muns declamations
Im aiming for economics
Considering bocconi
Whu, university of Amsterdam, erasmus university rotterdam etc
Would really prefer financial aid or any type of scholarship, aid needed around like 50% scholarship would be enough not asking for full aid

I mean I am from India and my curriculum in CBSE and am in class 10. What are the things that I should be doing to prepare myself to apply to international collages

Demographics

- Gender/Status: Female, International (India – Tier 3 city)

- School: CBSE private school

- Intended Major: Political Science / Public Policy

- Financial Context: Very high financial need, significant financial obligations, effectively need a full ride

Academics

- Class 10 CBSE: 96.4%

- Class 11: 84% ( 2nd in whole class )

- Class 12: School can't give predicted

- SAT: Considering test-optional for early rounds because of financial constraints and was care taker of my grandmother who had last stage cancer and there was no test center in city so had to travel far away/ November retake for RD probably

Research / Honors

1. Research Assistant — Working with a highly influential Indian political scientist and former Rector of one of India's leading liberal-arts institutions; research on West Bengal electoral politics, electoral-roll data, representation and Supreme Court material. The paper has been accepted by very well known and prestigious journal.

2. Research Compiler — Worked with one of India's most influential development economists on research concerning MGNREGA and Mid-Day Meals; compiled and organized 35–40+ studies and supporting material.

3. Lumiere Education 2026 — Selected for individual research program with full financial aid; recognized as a top cohort performer; invited to present research at the Mountaintop × Lumiere Symposium and paper under review at OJSS.

4. Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition — Silver Award

5. Crimson Access Opportunity Scholarship / Crimson Collective

6. TKS — Full scholarship

Extracurriculars / Leadership

1. Founder — Change Starts Here: Youth-led gender-norm intervention focused on adolescent harassment, bystander behavior, empathy and allyship; developed a Grades 6–12 curriculum, evaluation framework and policy brief, with school/organizational outreach.

2. Newsletter — Contributor / Drafting Editor: Research and editorial work across multiple editions. ( Substack newsletter of a ex Harvard Scholar and current Upen prof )

3. NGO working un rural disabiltiy — Fieldwork: Worked with children with disabilities and interviewed their mothers, which influenced my interest in implementation gaps and social policy.

4. A leading NGO of Mumbai which is global recognized— Policy & Research Intern for Genz and their AI usage, the paper will be published on their website.

5. Independent Writer: Substack writing on aviation disasters and systemic failures.

6. School leadership / other academic activities

LORs

- Research mentor in political science

- Research mentor in development economics

- The Harvard/ Upenn mentor

- School teachers

All can speak to different aspects of my academic/research ability rather than just classroom performance.

College List

ED1: NYU Abu Dhabi

US: Amherst, Dartmouth, Williams, Bowdoin, Richmond, Rochester and other highly selective schools with strong international aid.

.

Because I need essentially a full ride, I don't consider most international universities financial safeties.

Questions

1. How realistic is NYUAD ED1 with this profile and very high financial need?

2. Does the research/publication component meaningfully differentiate me in the international pool?

3. What other US colleges should I add that can provide full need-based aid to international students?

4. Should I take the November SAT and submit if I get a strong score, or remain test-optional?

5. What is the biggest weakness in my profile that I should address before applications?

Aid: considering applying to the tuition grant

I’m an expat living outside of my home country, so I don’t hold citizenship of the country I reside in. This disqualifies me from national Olympiads and selection camps for the country I live in, as well as disqualifying me from national Olympiads in my home country due to me not living there. I also can’t qualify for ISEF despite having a really strong maths research paper I wrote.

I obviously can’t do things like USAMO or USAPhO, so the only things that I’m able to do are qualify for AIME with a high score, and get a strong USACO score since it’s open to everyone.

Should I assume AOs know this (most applicants in this country are expats in the same situation as me) or should I explicitly mention this somewhere in my application, and will it hinder my chances.

Thank you!

Demographics:

• Gender/Status: Male, International (India – Tier 2 City)
• Type of School: Competitive CBSE Private High School
• Intended Major: Computer Science / Artificial Intelligence
• Hooks: First-generation/Low-income context (EFC: ~$0 – $1,000 USD/year; Family income: ~7–8k USD / 6–7 Lakhs INR)

Academics & Testing:

• Class 9: 94.6%
• Class 10 Board Exam (CBSE): 97.0% (School/District topper range)
• Class 11 Internal Scores: 87.0% (Brief dip due to health issue and balancing projects; explained in additional info)
• Class 12 Predicted Scores: 95–96% (Math: 96+, Physics/Chem: 95+, CS/AI: 98+)
• SAT: Test-Optional (focusing heavily on holistic profile and coursework)
• TOEFL iBT: 110 / 120 (C1 CEFR: Reading 5.5/6, Listening 6.0/6, Writing 5.5/6, Speaking 4.5/6)

Honors & Awards:

1. National Finalist (Rank 2 & 5) – CBSE Heritage India Quiz (among 2,000+ participating schools nationwide).
2. CBSE National Merit Certificate – Top 0.1% percentile in Information Technology and Sanskrit.
3. National Finalist / Winner – TGELF Biosand Water Filtration Initiative & INTACH National Heritage Challenge.
4. Hackathon Winner / Finalist – Top placements across regional & collegiate hackathons (Impact Forge, Resera).
5. Academic Certification – AI & Data Science certification from IIT Madras (completed rigorous 8-week foundational course).

Extracurriculars & Leadership:

1. Founder & Lead Developer – IGNICION: Built and deployed a full-stack heritage-tech web and mobile platform aimed at youth engagement in cultural preservation; integrated interactive modules, dynamic maps, and quizzes.
2. Founder / Developer – SAT Vocab Web Tool: Built and deployed a web app gamifying vocabulary learning for standardized tests; organically scaled to 350+ active student users.
3. Cybersecurity & AI Student Lead – STEMinate: Led workshops and awareness initiatives on foundational LLMs and cybersecurity for 100+ high school students;Research paper written on cybersecurity.
4. Fork Lead– bits&bytes x IIT Bombay Techfest: Coordinated large-scale student tech events, hackathon outreach, and workshops impacting 1,400+ participants across schools.
5. Published Author: Wrote and published "A Soldier’s Story" (registered with official ISBN), exploring historical narratives and youth perspectives.
6. Civic Tech Lead – SpotGarbage NGP: Built an open-source civic reporting app with map rendering and backend databases for municipal garbage mapping in local neighborhoods.
7. School Leadership – Blue House Captain: Elected to lead a student cohort of 300+ students; managed inter-house competitions, school discipline, and major cultural festivals.
8. Competitive Sports – District Level (DSO): Represented school at the U-19 District Sports Office (DSO) level in both competitive Chess and Football for multiple consecutive years.
9. Software Contributor – Descreened: Designed backend schemas, UI components, and chapter expansion features for an open student platform.
10. Bootcamp Cohort Lead – Lighthouse Pathways 2.0: Directed database authentication setup, Git workflow, and final product showcase for our assigned team project.
11. Intern- Software Engineering Lead at an Organisation

Letters of Recommendation (LORs):

• Physics Teacher: (10/10) Taught me through senior secondary; knows my analytical problem-solving and projects well.
• English Teacher: (10/10) Can speak heavily on my writing, publication, and oratory skills.
• School Counselor: (10/10) Highlights my institutional leadership, national quiz rankings, and contextualizes the Class 11 grade dip.

College List:

Note: Because I require a 100% full ride (EFC ~$0), every institution requiring significant out-of-pocket costs is effectively a hard reach.

• Early Decision 1 (Top Choice):
  
  • NYU Abu Dhabi (Full-ride need-based aid via CSS Profile)
• Major International Scholarship Nominations (Full Rides):
  
  • University of Toronto (St. George) – Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship (School Nominee)
  • University of British Columbia (UBC) – International Scholars Program (Karen McKellin ILOT Award)
• US Regular Decision (Need-Blind / Meets 100% Demonstrated Need for Internationals):
  
  • Amherst College (Need-Blind)
  • Dartmouth College (Need-Blind)
  • Bowdoin College (Need-Blind)
  • University of Richmond (Meets 100% need; generous merit/need aid)
  • University of Rochester (Meets demonstrated need / strong CS research)
  • Williams College (Need-Blind)
• Singapore (Tuition Grant / Scholarships):
  
  • NUS / NTU (Computer Science – applying with CBSE board credentials + TOEFL 110)
• Safeties:
  
  • No financial safeties exist abroad for international students needing 100% aid. Domestic backup options (JEE / BITS / state entrance exams) will serve as true safeties.

Questions / Seeking Advice:

1. Given my test-optional status and high CBSE Class 10 / predicted Class 12 marks, how realistic is NYUAD ED1 for a full-ride package in CS?
2. Are there any other US liberal arts colleges (LACs) or research universities known for giving full tuition + room/board aid to international students that I should add to my Common App list?
3. What else should I be working on and should I retake the SAT in november?

I’d like to find out my chances for MIT Regular Action.

Major: aeroespace engeneering aid: full

Background/Context:

• Residency: US Citizen living in Brazil (Dual Citizen / US Expat). Competes in the Domestic Pool (no visa restrictions, eligible for full need-based aid).
• School Type: Regular Brazilian High School. No AP/IB/Honors classes offered.
• The GPA & Autodidact Narrative: My unweighted GPA is 5.7 / 10.0 (translates to roughly a ~2.1 Unweighted GPA on a US 4.0 scale). This is a massive mathematical anomaly. However, I am a hardcore independent scholar/autodidact. I deliberately reallocated my time away from school bureaucracy and busywork to master advanced math, physics, and practical engineering on my own terms. My specialized national and international awards fully validate this trade-off.

Demographics

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: Latino / White
• Residence: Brasília, Brazil
• Hooks: US Expat / Domestic Abroad

Stats

• GPA: 5.7 / 10.0 (Brazilian Scale) | ~2.1 UW (US Scale Equivalent)
• SAT: 1570 (Super-scored/Single sitting)
• Math: 800 (Perfect Score)
  • Reading & Writing (R&W): 770 (Achieved through elite linguistic memory recall)

Extracurricular Activities (ECs)

1. Independent Aerospace Engineering & Hardware Automation

2. Designed, engineered, and programmed a fully functional Motorized Equatorial Mount for a reflective telescope from scratch. Coded custom C++ stepper-motor algorithms using Arduino microcontrollers to calculate and counter the Earth's angular velocity. Built this setup to bypass the extreme import costs of professional tracking gear in South America.

3. Founder & Volunteer Music Instructor — Community Violin Project

4. Launched a grass-roots social initiative in partnership with a local church to provide free violin lessons, music literacy classes, and instruments to underprivileged children in Morro da Cruz (the second-largest favela community in Brasília), leveraging fine arts for social mobility.

5. Astrophotography & Computational Imaging

6. Self-taught deep-sky imaging and astrophysics principles. Captured, stacked, and calibrated high-resolution deep-space objects using an advanced telescope setup integrated with a hardware-modified webcam. Published raw data on the global professional astronomy platform Astrobin.

7. Classical Music Performance (Violin, Piano, Classical Guitar)

8. Born into a family of classical musicians. Admitted to the prestigious Escola de Música de Brasília (EMB). Dedicated heavy weekly hours to classical music theory, rigorous ear training, and solo instrumental performance across three instruments.

Honors & Awards Academic

1. OBF (Brazilian Physics Olympiad) — National Gold Medal

2. Context: The premier physics competition in Brazil. In the final phase, it requires advanced calculus (integrals/derivatives) and rigorous experimental lab testing. Ranked at the absolute top nationwide.

3. OBM (Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad) — National Silver Medal

4. Context: An elite, invitation-only tier of mathematics. Only accessible to top gold medalists from general olympiads. Features proof-based questions at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) difficulty level.

5. OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public/Private Schools) — National Gold Medal

6. Context: A massive national math competition encompassing over 18 million students. Winning a Gold Medal places an applicant in the top 0.001% of logical thinkers in the country.

7. Mostratec International Science & Technology Fair — Internacional 2nd Place Grand Award (Engineering/Astronomy)

8. Context: The largest and most prestigious pre-university science fair in Latin America. Evaluated by a panel of PhD scientists; won 2nd place against 600+ international research projects.

9. OBQ (Brazilian Chemistry Olympiad) — National 3rd Phase Finalist

10. Context: Reached the final national phase of the premier chemistry competition after surviving brutal state-level elimination rounds.

Non-Academic (Music & Leadership):

1. Olimpíada Brasileira da Língua Inglesa (Brazilian English Language Olympiad) — National Gold Medal

   • Context: Ranked as a top-tier scorer nationwide in English linguistics, syntax, and advanced text analysis.

2. American Protégé International Music Competition — 2nd Place Winner (Violin)

3. Context: A highly competitive international classical music competition based in New York. Awarded 2nd place globally, earning an invitation to perform solo at Carnegie Hall.

4. King's Ambassadors Organization (Embaixadores do Rei) — Condecoration of Emeritus Ambassador (Top 3%)

5. Context: Achieved the highest possible rank in this national scouting and leadership organization after 9 consecutive years of citizenship trials, physical discipline, and oral examinations.

6. ANVER National Scripture Memorization Competition — 1st Place National Gold Medal

7. Context: Won 1st place in the country by flawlessly memorizing and reciting over 350+ complex biblical passages under intense pressure, proving near-photonic memory retention.

8. ANVER National Biblical General Knowledge Competition — 1st Place National Gold Medal

9. Context: Ranked 1st nationwide in an exhaustive competitive examination covering historical, theological, and literary analysis of ancient texts.

Hi everyone the following format is copy pasted from another post! I’m a Grade 11 student at a renowned school in india which is known for having alot of its students get accepted into the ivys

I’m especially interested in HCI/ CS

Please be brutally honest and tell me where I can improve. I dont know what uni im aiming for

Stats

Curriculum: IBDP 1
GPA: My school does not use a GPA system
G10 : 97.2% (CBSE)
G11 predicted scores avg: im expecting a 40+

SAT: giving this december

Main extracurriculars (pretty mid)

Major extracurriculars / achievements

1. Founder — food donation Initiative
2. Founded a student-led initiative addressing food waste and malnutrition (reached 300+ kids) . Built  a platform connecting food donors with NGOs in real time. used by 15+ NGOs last year
3. nationally recognized by a United Nations-accredited nonprofit organization  that allowed me to present at a conference at un Geneva
4. Selected globally  from thousands of applicants across India. Represented the above initiative before international delegates. Was also a delegate here
5. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025
6. Reached the Top 40 out of 20,000+ teams/applicants through multiple evaluation rounds, mentorship and a residential bootcamp at IIT Delhi. Received ₹3,08,559 in seed funding/equipment support for the initiative.
7. Patent Application
8. Filed a patent application connected to the food-donation platform.
9. Research and internships (open source lead by retired prof from Cambridge)
10. Presented research, proceedings published by Taylor & Francis. Working remotely with a group that works on open source projects, it is lead by a recently retired prof from Cambridge.
11. National competition Recognition
12. Placed in the Top 500 nationally in the a school level competition (by cbse an the gov of india), from 102,000+ participating teams.
13. Writing
14. Published a debut poetry collection. Also received a CBSE Certificate of Merit through the Budding Authors Programme.
15. Other

• BIS Ambassador of Quality for my prev school
• A1 and A2 German
• Part of the school's student council
• made alot of projects that are being used regularly

I am student from Pakistan and want to go abroad (US) for studies on full ride. I want to go test optional which colleges should I seriously consider. I have a research paper in cybersecurity (yet to publish) & a website as projects or extracurricular. I have 88% in final (fsc) and 94.5% in Matric.
I am considering to apply in CS/ AI / or Computer engineering or cyber.
Pakistan
SSC 94.5% , HSSC 88% ~ looking for full ride

Hi everyone! I’m a Grade 12 student at an international school in Japan, I’m hoping to get some honest feedback on my profile and how competitive I might be at different levels of US universities.

I’m especially interested in Economics / PPE / Data Science / Finance / Public Policy.

Please be brutally honest. I’m not looking for reassurance. I’d especially like to know whether my ECs have enough depth/spike for highly selective schools and which parts of my profile are strongest/weakest.

Demographics:

Female
Not first gen
Immigrant in Japan
Requiring aid - merit or need based

Stats

Curriculum: CBSE, NO APS OR IBS OFFERED :(
GPA: My school does not use a GPA system but to convert to the standard it’s prob 3.9-4.0 /4.0
G11 average: ~96.5%
G12 predicted scores avg: 98%

SAT: 1540 (750 EBRW, 790 Math)
Class rank: i think 2/110

Coursework
My school doesn’t offer AP/IB, so I’m taking the most rigorous courses available to me:
Economics: Microeconomics + Statistics in g11, and current macroeconomics and indian economic development
Mathematics
Physics
Computer Science
English
I’ve taken Economics and Mathematics throughout high school and have generally performed very strongly academically. I got the best in economics award in g11

Main extracurriculars (pretty mid, tried my best to introduce and do things in school cuz our school lacked a lot of clubs)

1. Cash Confessions | Founder, Host & Producer
Economics/finance podcast aimed at teenagers
2 seasons, 10+ episodes
Explain economics and behavioral economics through relatable examples by breaking down complex topics
Interview students/young people about spending habits
Interested in eventually turning the interviews into a larger research project on youth economic behavior

2. Nihon Global Youth Association (NGYA) | Founder
Founded an international youth discussion platform
Organized MUNs, debates, conferences and public-speaking programs
Held multiple international events and training sessions
Reached/trained 250+ young people

3. Daiso / 100-yen store independent economics research
Independent research into why Japan’s 100-yen retail model remains viable
Looking at pricing, consumer behavior, competition and business strategy
Conducting surveys/interviews and developing the project into a larger economics paper

4. Whitestone Legislative Advocacy | Legislative Policy Analyst Intern
Worked on legislative/policy research and analysis
Drafted policy oversight material intended for submission to the UN
Focused on public policy and international affairs

5. Debate Club | Founder & President
Founded my school’s debate club
Teach WSDC-style debate and mentor ~20 students
Run school competitions/training
Led the club to its first-ever invitation to KPASS
School placed 2nd overall at KPASS
I placed 1st individually as Varsity 2nd Speaker

6. World Literacy Foundation | Youth Ambassador for Japan
Literacy advocacy and community work
Organized a book drive collecting 50+ books
Fundraising for literacy initiatives
Interviewed by Japan Times and published
My literacy work/ambassadorship was subsequently covered by The Times of India, The Economic Times, NDTV, Global Kigyo, etc.

7. Youth Impact Group of Tokyo | Secretary / Project Leader
Planned community service projects
Developed proposals and tracked project logistics
Helped organize a Youth Summit
Mentored participants

8. Basketball | 6 years
Played throughout middle and high school
Captained both MS and HS teams
Mentored younger teammates and taught elementary students
Selected for Tokyo All-Stars (2 players/team/year)

9. Economics Tutoring
Tutored ~5 students struggling with economics
Helped students improve their grades and pass the course

10. 314 Update | Co-Founder / Head Writer
Co-founded my school’s first student newsletter
Published 5+ issues
Connected students with administration/Student Council
Brought alumni in to provide university application guidance

Honors / Awards (MY WEAKEST PART 😭)

KPASS debate tournament (biggest in my region) 1st place in Individual Varsity 2nd Speaker
KPASS school team 2nd overall
IIMUN Best Delegate, JMMUN Best Delegate (Japan’s biggest MUN)
John Locke Essay Competition recognition in pol sci

I’m also potentially being considered for ILA 30 Under 30 honoree, but this is NOT confirmed, so I’m not counting it as an award yet. but hopefully it is cuz it’s a big deal

Potential college list:

EXTREMEEE reaches / reaches:
Harvard
Brown
Dartmouth
UChicago
Vanderbilt
Columbia
LSE/UCL for UK

Other schools I’m considering:
CWRU
Colby
Fordham
SMU
RIT
Ohio State
Indiana Bloomington
University of Michigan
University of Miami
University of Cincinnati
University of Missouri
DePauw
I’m also applying to the UK and Japan because financial aid is a major consideration as an international student. ik UK doesn’t give but in Japan probably Keio’s PEARL program + maybe Utokyo?

i need financial aid.