r/IntltoUSA

At what point does an applicant become actually competitive enough for T10s?

I know admissions are holistic and unpredictable, but I want to avoid wasting applications on schools where I have almost no chance. At what point is applying to T10s a reasonable decision versus wishful thinking? What combination of academics, extracurriculars, awards, essays, etc., gets you out of the "long shot no chance" category?

I'm from Vietnam and will need close to a full ride. I'm looking for indicators to include some Ivies/dream schools at the expense of some others on my list.

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u/Moonward-312 — 18 hours ago
▲ 14 r/IntltoUSA+1 crossposts

Rant.

​

International student, got into Hamilton college with fine aid, could afford, broke my leg in a motorbike accident, and serious marital tension in my parents' relationship, they are considering separation.

(Alternate account)

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u/More_Light5265 — 20 hours ago

Notoredame vs Amherst - International Student seeking full financial aid

I'm a intl student and will apply to the US universities for fall 2026. I'm in dilemma whether I should make ed with amherst or notoredame REA.

Though Amherst ED acceptance rate is much higher than notoredame, some sources claim those spots are reserved for atheltes, hooked candidates or some legacy owners (I'm couldn't verify). On contrary, notoredame economics is better than amhrest but it's still competitive. Some sources claim, they value people with their catholic ideologies (I'm couldn't verify this also. I need your perspectives). Considering all of these situations, what should I do?

As these two universities are need-blind for intl students, I hope seeking full-ride won't hurt my application. Am I correct?

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u/404_Human_Being — 21 hours ago

Is it possible?

I am a international student who gonna apply for fall of 2029 in CS (AI +ML) in US, I have a decent profile with excellent grades but I will be applying to schools which give scholarship like know,amerhest,duke and ivies .

Is it possible to study in US with only 21000 dollars as fund recived from home for 4 years..or else I could take a loan .my story is unique and I come from a village and a poor family..

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u/Rudransh26 — 17 hours ago

chance another mid student from India 👀

hi. gonn keep it simple, straight.

citizenship: indian

major: systems engineering / computer science

academics: freshman year - 93%, expecting 94% ish in sophomore. (max rigour, cbse)

around 130 in the Duolingo English Test and a like 1510+ in the SAT.

ec's:

  1. founder, developer @ an agency that aims to make software accessible. revenue is ₹20,000 to 30,000 per month as of now ($200-300). served more than 40 clients and helped them grow their business.

  2. freelancer at multiple discord servers. average rating of 4.9 stars, done over 65 orders.

  3. hosted countless minecraft events to have fun with people. reached more than 100 people and managed technical sides including plugin development, system administration for the server.

  4. care taker for cancer-survivor dad and mom with chronic neck issues.

  5. hosted over 9 hackathons. distributed over $400+ in prize money. mentored the winners to grow their projects to large scales.

  6. played school-level tennis and was the school team captain.

I'd be an FGLI too.

awards:

  1. 2x national scholarship winners, once ranked 289 and once like 728.

  2. Aryabhatta Maths Challenge State Winner.

  3. Countless District Maths, Science Olympiad Medals.

  4. Won a lot of school awards including for Extempore, Spell Bees, Web Design Competitions and one time Student of the Year.

expected financial contribution could be around $20k/yr, rest should be aid.

the schools I wish to go to: mit, Stanford (mit Stanford are just "dreams" but you never know unless you try)

harvard, cornell, Princeton, Columbia, UPenn, Caltech, Purdue (if I only get into Purdue per chance, I'd be able to take out a loan for the remaining ~$25k/yr), UC Berkeley, Grinnell, Amherst, uchicago, johns hopkins, northwestern.

yeah. advice is appreciated. if your just gonna be salty deep down your heart, please skip the post. true, reasonable criticism is accepted.

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u/Lab18bke — 1 day ago
▲ 3 r/IntltoUSA+1 crossposts

Phd problems

I’m a first-year PhD international student in the US who left a lab within the first year because of a toxic PI. Then I was picked by the program director for a rotation that might be permanent, but three weeks later, he asked me to leave because he thought I might not be a good fit and that my skills did not match his lab.
I feel devastated and depressed

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u/Marshmellowtravisr — 1 day ago

What Should I Do?

My school naturally do not include graduation date explicitly on their transcript. But the school i am attending wants me to include my graduation date. Another question is: What do they mean by "final official transcripts"? Should i tell my teacher to send results of 9-12 grades or just grade 12 in this case?

u/Own_Temperature1501 — 1 day ago
▲ 1 r/IntltoUSA+1 crossposts

Pre-med to Med school in the US?

Hi guys I'm really stuck here would appreciate some help/advice from any Americans or international students in med school in the US who did premed.

So basically I am aiming for D1 volleyball for colleges that are stronger by global ranking in premed than in Melbourne, Australia med schools (like stanford, havard, yale, duke, Upenn, UCLA, UCB, UCSD, Cornell, University of Washington, Columbia University) so I can save my funds for uni. I was wondering if this is a realistic plan to do premed in the US and then do med school in the US as well?

I also heard that its hard to match after graduating and I can't finish residency on the visas I will be on, BUT did some research and apparently as a non-US citizen entering residency, I will be sponsored by the ECFMG on a J-1 Clinical Visa. By US law, "a J-1 visa allows a physician to stay in the United States for up to 7 years to complete their graduate medical education", so I should be covered for training?

and when I finish my residency, apparently i am also subject to a rule where I must return to Australia/NZ for two years, unless I get a J-1 Waiver. The most common waiver (the Conrad 30 program) requires me to work at a US hospital in a designated area for 3 years on a temporary work visa (H-1B). After completing those 3 years of service, I are legally allowed to apply for a Green Card and stay permanently. Can anyone confirm this, after doing so much research I think it confused me more?

also about the match system, i heard if your an IMG trying to match it is really hard to match, and if you do, it's likely to internal or family medicine. If i do pre-med in america, am I still an IMG and do my chances of getting matched into my top picks of residency increase compared to an IMG (obvs it won't be as high as local americans or canadians ig)?

Finally, last question- for any australians out there who are either planning to go to america or are in america doing college or uni, how does my ATAR convert to the GPA scale? I'm doing VCE, planning to do English Language, Math methods, specialist math, Latin, chem, and bio. Do i get disadvantaged doing VCE/ATAR and should do IB instead (bc i was at an MYP school at my previous school and it was really intense and I don't think its possible to train to become a D1 athlete and do IB at the same time)?

Thank you so much for ANY help you can give!

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▲ 4 r/IntltoUSA+4 crossposts

Broke international student in the Midwest making minimum wage. What should I actually be doing with my money?

I’m an international student at a Midwest university working part time (minimum wage). Money is tight but I’m trying to be smart about it instead of just letting it disappear.
A few things I’m trying to figure out:
What’s the best way to actually save when the paycheck is small? Is a fixed % even realistic on this income?
Are high yield savings accounts worth it for someone with a small balance, and do any of them work well for international students / non-citizens?
Budgeting apps: worth it or overkill? What do you actually use and stick with?
Anything I should know about taxes as an F-1 student (tips income, filing, etc.)?
Credit: can international students build credit here, and should I even bother this early?
Any dumb money mistakes you made in college that you’d tell your younger self to avoid?
Not looking to get rich, just want to not be clueless and maybe have a small cushion by the time I graduate. Appreciate any advice.

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u/Existing-Narwhal-481 — 2 days ago

How I got into 14/18 US universities with $130k+ in scholarships.

Hi! I'm 24 and graduated cum laude 2 years ago with a BSBA in Finance. My_qualifications: I received a merit scholarship worth $56,000 from the university I attended and I applied for $110,000+ in external scholarships and won $74,000.

I applied to 18 universities and was accepted to 14, the best one being NYU (which I couldn't attend due to financial reasons).

Profile at the time of applying: AICE AS/A Levels from an international school in Bangalore, 3.74 GPA, ACT score of 31.

Activities during high school: 2 internships, volunteering for 2 years (part of high school curriculum), Crowdfunding, organized 2 events for cancer research and 2 blood drives

Rejected from: Stanford (Grades not good enough), UC Berkeley (I think my essays were not too great. The prompts were tricky), UCLA (Grades not good enough), and Brown University (Probably grades too).

I personally found the essays and extracurriculars to be the most important. A lot of universities are ACT/SAT optional, so you have a little leeway when it comes to grades since you can choose not to submit your scores. But on the other hand, your essays and extracurriculars need to be on point. I was lucky where my school helped us out with internships and volunteering work but I know a lot of schools don't which makes it kind of tricky.

The hardest decision for me was turning down NYU. It was my dream school but the finances made it impossible. Even with aid, I would have had to take on a large amount of debt which is something I was not willing to do. Instead, I attended a private university on the west coast and had a very good time there. I don't regret not going to NYU at all. I'm sure living in New York during my 4 years of college would have been fun, but not worth taking on so much debt.

Happy to answer any questions!

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u/SensitiveCouple7290 — 2 days ago

Reapplying

Hey guys! i’m from south east asia and I got waitlisted to multiple schools in 2026 cycle but didn’t get in anywhere. I’m reapplying this year, so Should I ed to one of the schools I got waitlisted at last cycle? Will my chances increase? I’ll try to increase my SAT and do some ecs as well.

I’d really appreciate if someone with similar circumstances in last cycles can give me insights on this.

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u/GrapefruitUpbeat1202 — 2 days ago

gap year

so im a rising senior basically starting A2 in a few months, nd im headstrong on applying to the US, so i was thinking abt it even if i do get grades like 4 A* (subs are maths, further maths, phys and cs) those obviously wont be enough as i need ecs, but i currently have 0 ecs rn but im learning python rn so even if i become good at it i can only make a year’s worth of projects and i will try to participate in competitions this year but obviously just a year of ecs wont cut it, so i have been thinking abt a gap year but my question is how do i utilise it? like how do i make my gap year worth it? like do i just make projects with c++ and python, competitions might be harder to get into as i wont be associated with a school at that point, so is it even worth it to go for a gap year or what?

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u/Different-Road-7703 — 3 days ago
▲ 35 r/IntltoUSA+1 crossposts

**H-1B Dilemma: Stay for the Green Card or Leave for Better Career Growth?**

Hello everyone,
I’m facing the classic H-1B immigrant dilemma: prioritizing my green card or focusing on career progression.
I work as a software engineer at a mid-tier investment bank in New York City and have been here for three years. I received my H-1B in 2024, and my company has agreed to begin the green card process. Since I’m in the Rest of World category, it seems like it could still take another four years before I actually receive it.
In terms of where I am in the process, the company is just starting the prevailing wage determination, so I’m basically at step zero.
The issue is that while I enjoy my work, I’m not particularly excited about it. I would like to move to a better, faster-paced team or switch to another company to increase my compensation and accelerate my career growth. I currently earn around $130,000, and I feel like many of my peers are earning significantly more, which makes me feel like I’m falling behind.
I’d appreciate any thoughts on how to approach this decision. I want the stability of getting my green card, but I also don’t want to sacrifice several important years of career progression.

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u/BigDesigner4312 — 5 days ago

Chance a dropout LEGO fanboy to build materials !!

Howdy, just regular stuff gng, btw fun stuff ahead.

I attended a regular high school for freshman and sophomore year, dropped out for a year to build my hardware startup full-time while pursuing an open curriculum, and rejoined school as a junior in 2026. That year outside the classroom honestly changed my trajectory completely. I learned things I don't think I could've learned sitting in class.

Funny enough, after spending years living inside workshops and labs ( I skipped classes for 3 yrs straight no cap XDXD), it's actually harder to sit through lectures now than building stuff XD

Demographics

  • Cooked Male, Intl (India)
  • Hyper-competitive high school (joined junior year, feedrish, idk there numbers fell down this year lol)
  • Annual EFC: $25-30k (Aid)

Intended Major

  • Materials Science/Environmental Engineering

Academics

  • Grade 9: 94% (4.0)
  • Grade 10: 98.8% (#2 schl rank)
  • Gap Year: Self-studied Grade 11-12 Physics and Mathematics Open Curriculum
  • Now Rising Junior
  • SAT: Aug 2026
  • APs (Senior Year)
    • Physics C: Mechanics
    • Physics C: E&M
    • Calculus BC
    • Computer Science A
    • Statistics/Micro

Startup / Entrepreneurship / Engineering ( Primary Spike)

Founder & CEO, Clean-Air venture (Active)

  • Building a deep-tech climate startup developing patent-pending bio-based nanofiber air filtration technologies as sustainable alternatives to conventional HEPA filters.
  • Applications include HVAC systems, industrial filtration, automobiles, consumer air purifiers and respiratory protection.
  • Currently piloting in two schools improving indoor air quality for 300+ students.
  • Backed by Antler India, MU, TS and national climate innovation programs.
  • INR 5,00,000+ in non-dilutive grants, Micro VC cheque.
  • Pitched technology to 30+ vc firms, IIT researchers, professors, startup founders, Government of Delhi, Ministry of Environment officials and national innovation organizations.
  • Had to decline a ₹1 Crore ($100K) investment offer due to unfavorable terms.
  • In discussion with multiple accelerators.
  • Built the startup mobile application this summer including an AI computer vision feature that scans rooms and recommends optimal product usage.
  • We had built 3+ prototypes, each solving a problem and improvisation, conducting 15+ experimentation tests, spanning 9 months. ( Only team of 2, me and mentor)

This whole startup was built in gap year and that was the focus

Founder, Shield Enterprises (Closed)

  • Designed, built and deployed a low-cost industrial air pollution control system for emission reduction under 6 month rigorous engineering research fellowship, 10+ site tests conducted, results certification, hands on working with hardware solutions and many more things I did as 9th grader,13 yo. (actually built and worked on those giant industrial scale project , we legit built everything from scratch, the 2nd biggest project in schools history , the first is obv the startup rn) ( Team of 5 )

Research & Engineering

Independent Climate Technology Researcher (2022-Present)

  • Conducting independent applied research in air pollution, water, environmental engineering, sustainable materials and filtration technologies.
  • Research focuses on iterative engineering design, prototyping, testing and real-world deployment rather than purely theoretical work.

(basically my whole life fixing Delhi's air pollution :( )

Designed and built 20+ engineering projects including

  • Industrial mist scrubbers
  • Vertical farming systems
  • Greywater recycling systems
  • Smart irrigation automation
  • AIoT forest fire detection
  • Rapid deployment rescue bridge
  • Humanoid robot representing school at events
  • Leaf litter collection system (+ many more for Makers Portfolio)
  • Fire detection jacket system deployed for a company staff after identifying a real workplace safety issue, distributed to 30+ employees

Built a LEGO 3D printer to do my hw, LEGO robotics, cranes, airplanes and ISRO satellite models, designed 100+ custom LEGO MOCs over the years. Thinking about documenting all of them (Lego and aviation fanboy)

Leadership

Founder & Technical Lead, Clean-Air Venture

  • Leading R&D, product architecture, prototyping, fundraising, partnerships, outreach and long-term strategy.

Founder & Mentor, School STEM Club

  • Establish a 'maker culture' at school (prev hs, local priv school, used the best of things I had with my time there :) )
  • Mentored 50+ students in Arduino, robotics, electronics and engineering design.

ATL Core Member

  • Led engineering initiatives across the school innovation lab.
  • Mentored 50+ junior students who later won state and national STEM and robotics competitions.
  • Honestly probably the leadership experience I'm most proud of. We were just a bunch of nerds building cool things in our small school with an amazing mentor, and seeing younger students get inspired and go on to achieve incredible things was genuinely special.

Project Leadership

  • Led interdisciplinary engineering teams combining hardware, AI, sustainability and environmental science.
  • Represented teams in national innovation competitions and entrepreneurship programs.

Community & Outreach

  • Organized school events and hosted international delegations.
  • Conducted annual STEM workshops for underprivileged students for over two years, teaching Arduino, embedded electronics and engineering fundamentals to 300+ students.
  • Volunteer at my local religious community temple.

Programs, Fellowships & Entrepreneurship

  • TS startup Incubatee
  • CEEW Ideator Fellow
  • Oxford School of Climate Change (program) Member
  • Masters Union Elevator Pitch Competition Winner (Youngest Finalist)
  • Active participant in the Indian startup ecosystem
  • Accepted to TKS 2026 with $2,000 aid
  • Accepted to Summit STEM Fellowship 2026 with $400 aid
  • We Are Family Foundation Global Teen Leader Fellowship (Rejected), though Top 20% applicant (email), received recommendation letter from a corp.

Speaking

  • Invited keynote speaker at CBSE Headquarters twice after previous competition wins.
  • Invited to additional innovation events, government feedback on scaling potential.
  • Presented engineering solutions before policymakers, founders and ecosystem leaders

Awards

  • National Merit Competitive Exam Scholar (like AIME but indian)
    • National Rank 20
  • Youth Ideathon
    • National Winner (2022)
    • Top 3 Senior Category (2025) ,53,000+ teams
    • Raised INR 25,000
  • CEEW Ideator Fellowship
    • Top 5 National Selection
  • INSPIRE MANAK
    • National Exhibition Finalist
    • Selected from 1.5M+ students
  • INSEF National Science Fair 2026
    • Bronze Medal
  • InnoHEALTH Young Innovator Awards (Annual Intl Health Conference)
    • Winner (2024)
    • Winner (2025)
    • Youngest contestant both years at 15,16
  • EMERGE Sustainable Leaders
    • Top 10 Nationally
  • Tata Steel National Essay Competition
    • Silver
  • Multiple Regional Debate Competition Winner
  • Oxford Global Climate Change Challenge (Saïd Business School)Participant
  • Shark Tank India Season 5 Stage 2 Qualifier Selected from 120,000+ registrations (Virtual pitch, couldn't qualify further)
  • BKSF (Venture Show) Season 2
    • Stage 2 Qualifier (Pending)

Research

Since 2022 I've pursued independent research focused on environmental engineering, air pollution and sustainable technologies. I started through the ATL Lab and the CEEW Ideator Fellowship investigating industrial pollution control before shifting toward next-generation bio-based filtration materials and clean air technologies.

Most of my research has centered around engineering validation, iterative prototyping, optimization and deployment instead of purely academic research.

Publications & Intellectual Property

Published Indian Patent

  • Bio-Based Air Purification System
  • Published Indian patent covering a multi-stage bio-based air filtration technology targeting 99.9% particulate removal while reducing plastic waste by approximately 80% compared to disposable HEPA systems, applications include indoor air purification, HVAC, industrial filtration and respiratory protection. (might as well try publishing)

Research Report

  • Six-month engineering research project on the Industrial Air Scrubber completed under CEEW (Unpublished)

phew, more to yap but maybe later

Essays

  • The great reflection, genuinely excited to write about the things I do and admire soon

LoR ( To be worried later ) 2 schl, 1 external

College List

  • All Ivies
  • Duke
  • Stanford
  • Vanderbilt
  • Georgia Tech (<33)
  • Rice (<3)
  • Notre Dame
  • Swarthmore
  • Haverford
  • Williams
  • LACs

Happy to work beyond US horizon..

If you haven't realized by now, I love building building and building, would love to work in deep-tech, hardware R&D, materials, climate technologies and contribute to solve greater problems at greater impact. While a resume on paper doesn't define anyone, but I wanted to share my journey because it's been pretty unconventional.

What I gotta do more ? Internships, research publications, volunteer, intl comp., scale venture ? I have some of my stuff planned though lwk..

P.S. If u need a good air filter, hmu :)

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u/Desperate-Ad-3098 — 4 days ago
▲ 13 r/IntltoUSA+1 crossposts

I am currently in 12th and i wanted to know how to study abroad for bachelors in the US

my_qualifications :- Im in class 12th commerce with maths rn

I got 89.4 percent in 10th And I am gonna give my 12th this year and I have a 1530 SAT

As for extracurriculars ,

  1. I've done an internship for a local CA and he has agreed to send in a lor for me too

  2. I was also the financial manager for my tution teacher and managed 50,000 rupees for her

  3. Ive taught English to a lot of rural CA aspirants for their future career growth

  4. I have a youtube channel with around 20k subs and around 1 million views

  5. I also write blogs and newsletters about finance and economics ( I plan to major in economics)

My parents are divorced and my mother suffers from a serious mental disease so I live with my grandparents .

But still I can contribute about 40 lakhs per year for my college , I would need aid for the rest .

I wanted to ask for some serious feedback about my ecs and what should I do to improve

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u/CarefulAssistance421 — 4 days ago
▲ 1 r/IntltoUSA+1 crossposts

Missed deadlines for Fall '26 USA. Spring 2027 vs. Gap Year for Fall '27? (Intl seeking aid)

I'm in a bit of a tough spot and could really use some perspective or advice on my next steps.

Long story short, I was focused on going to university in Europe that I didn't realise the deadlines for USA, got rejected from Europe. By the time I realized I needed to pivot, I had already missed the major application deadlines for the USA for Fall 2026.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out if it's worth rushing to apply for the Spring 2027 semester, or if taking a full gap year to target Fall 2027 is the clearer, smarter option.

Looking for well ranked universities in the US where merit scholarships or financial aid can bring my total budget down to around $30,000 USD per year.

Here is a quick breakdown of my profile:

Academics & Test Scores:

  • O-Levels: 1 A*, 7 As, 2 Bs
  • A-Levels: A (Maths), A (Physics), B (Computer Science)
  • SAT: 1360 (790 Math, 570 English) — willing to give it again in August

Extracurriculars (ECs) & Sports:

  • Grade 9: Student Council (Prefect)
  • Grade 10 & 11: Student Council (House Captain)
  • Grades 9, 10, 11: Part of both the school Football and Cricket teams
  • Won multiple gold medals at school Sports Days over the years if that helps
  • Part of community service team at Orphanage and an Old age home
  • Grade 9: Won best speaker award at annual school debating competition
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u/Traditional_Bunch141 — 4 days ago

If I'm not transferring any credits from my previous foreign university, can the transcript requirement ever be waived?

Hi everyone,

I'm an international student with a question about U.S. college admissions.

Several years ago, I attended a university in my home country but left before completing my degree. I stopped attending classes but did **not** complete a formal withdrawal process with the university. After leaving, I cut off contact with the university and no longer have any of my academic documents or contact information from that time.

Since then, I've completed about two years at a U.S. community college, and I'm now applying to a four-year university.

I'm **not requesting any transfer credit** from my previous foreign university. I only plan to transfer my U.S. community college credits.

Has anyone been in a similar situation where the admissions office waived the requirement to submit a transcript from a previous foreign university? If not, what alternatives were accepted?

I'm not trying to hide my academic history. I'm only trying to understand whether exceptions are ever made in situations like this.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone with personal experience, especially international students or admissions professionals. Thank you!

reddit.com
u/Fine-Cauliflower-186 — 3 days ago

16-year-old international student from Pakistan aiming for Stanford, Wharton &amp; NYU Stern — honest advice needed

Hey i’m currently a 16 year old o levels student in Pakistan and my goal is to finish my a levels and go to usa for undergrad.
My main target uni’s r NYU stern, stanford and wharton.
I’ve tried to make the most of high school through entrepreneurship, leadership, and community service, and I’d appreciate honest feedback on how competitive my profile is.
Everyone i’ve talked too about this have told me that’s it’s v unlikely that I end up in one of those uni’s as I do also require some aid and being an international student requiring aid lowers my chances significantly.
So I thought to put my current applicant profile here for some advice and feedback.
Btw I start my last year of o levels after summer break and I have two years of A levels after that, So this is only my profile so far and I plan to do much more too boost my chances in the next 3 years.

Grades:
O level
I haven’t completed my O Levels yet. Based on my current results, attempts on past papers and understanding of my own ability I’m aiming for mostly A*s and As, with Math currently being my weakest subject, in that maybe i’ll get A or B.
A level
In A level I plan to take Economics, Business, and Psychology and I’m aiming for top grades.
SAT
I’m planning to take the SAT during A Levels. My goal is to score 1550+ with thorough preparation, and if needed, I’m open to retaking it to improve my score.

ECs, Activities, Work, Volunteer, Charity:
This is the strongest part of my application and it’s still growing.

Started an Airbnb cohosting agency and scaled it massively in just a few months. Took one client from earning $800-950 per month to earning $2000+ per month. I also made a good amount of money myself as I was charging 15-20% commission per guest. I also built a social media presence for this agency where I’m documenting all my results, I’ve scaled it to 700 followers already and it continues to grow. I also built a network of cleaners and coordinated them w my clients. The agency operated like a legit business.

Started a football club with both u19 and 15 teams. We went to countless school tournament and held training sessions, We also won a good amount of tournaments. I also built an instagram profile for this club and managed it all myself while also playing in and managing the club. We also arranged a match with Pakistan’s most prestigious school, Aitchison, which is also famous outside of the country. We also had many friendly matches against many local teams.

Managed the social media profile of an international business that also operates in USA. I helped them get more leads and directly boost their sales by integrating AI into their social media and helping their business gain attraction among the younger generation. Im still managing their account and plan to do it for a year.

Hosted what was, to my knowledge, one of Pakistan’s largest independently organized U19 FIFA tournaments, with sponsors and cash prizes.

In ramadan I partnered with a local business to host Iftar on their premises everyday. This was v well managed and we fed around 300 people everyday. We had many volunteers helping(serving etc) out and I personally volunteered aswell.
For people who don’t know much about ramadan, We basically fed 300 needy people for 30 days in partnership w a business.

Gave out a lot of rations to poor households with the help of my father and uncle.(took pictures at the distribution)

Went to underserved communities with my friends and talked to the kids, gave them a lot of snacks, and played with them.

Currently in the process of developing an AR menu business(the first in my country). I’ll be done with this soon and I already have a few cafe’s lined up who want to be our clients. I held a marketing campaign in which I collected data and interviewed people then presented them to the cafe’s to close them. Now I’m integrating their menu’s into AR and I did this all myself mostly. I’ll be working with a lot of cafe’s. This will be revenue generating.

Worked closely with a family friend’s business on its UAE expansion, contributing to market research, business strategy, and planning. Basically worked as a business consultant for them.

Was part of my school’s student council every year and helped out significantly. Held orientations for new students. Led countless inschool projects and managed many events for the school.
Was president of school’s football club and held after school trainings with my football coach etc.
Represented the school in many events, mostly sports related ones.

Won all categories of a city wide business competition showcasing my skills as an entrepreneur.

LORs and Essay:
I have a pretty good story I want to tell jn my essay and I think it’ll be quite good.
I have many people willing to give LORs including teachers who I’ve built a great bond with, businessmen who I helped, clients who worked with my agency, sports coaches etc. Im not sure who’s LOR will have the most value to these uni’s

My family would benefit significantly from financial aid. However, if applying without requesting aid would substantially improve my chances at my top-choice schools, I’d like to understand whether that trade-off is worth considering. Even though it will be quite hard for us.

I have a lot of ambition and I’m willing to work hard to get into my dream uni’s, I appreciate all advice that u guys have for me. I would love the opinion of people who r more knowledgeable about this than me.
Im very passionate about business and for my undergrad I plan to study business, business consulting, economics, or maybe even finance, or a subject similar to these. Im not interested in stem at all As I’ve realized through running businesses that I genuinely enjoy entrepreneurship, sales, leadership, and solving business problems, which is why I want to study business or economics in college.

Ofcourse these uni’s r a reach so I will also be applying to some safeties, I would love to hear u guys’ recommendations.
My questions are:
•Is my profile competitive for top US business schools?
•What are the biggest weaknesses in my application?
•As an international student needing aid, which universities should I realistically target?
•What should I spend the next three years improving?(other then math, i’m already working tirelessly to improve it😭)
•Are there any other uni’s that u think would be a particularly good fit for my profile?

reddit.com
u/saul-baul — 5 days ago
▲ 60 r/IntltoUSA+5 crossposts

Made a free Summer 2027 / Fall 2026 tech internship engine that updates itself so you don't have to refresh 50 pages like a goblin.

Hey everyone, I am a CS student and I have struggled with keeping tracking when internships open up. SO i made one on my own!!

It's a free open source list of Summer 2027 + Fall 2026 US tech internships (SWE/data/ML) that updates itself every other hour. New roles get added automatically and each link takes u straight to the job application.

As of now its only for internships based in The US, but as i get more stars ill add more. As for the list, its still early for summer 2027 so the list isn't super big but it will grow as roles open up. If it helps you time and you find it good, i would greatly appreciate a star. And if u have any advice or wanna contribute please do. THANKS ;)

As time goes on, ill add some cool features (read README.MD) 😎😎

git: https://github.com/zshah101/summer-2027-fall-2026-internships

u/Icy-Asparagus-7643 — 5 days ago