Hi guys! Salam! I applied to three universities and got accepted to all of them! (MIT, Harvard and Columbia). 😀 Since then, I've been flooded with messages asking for advice and so am making this post.
If you are curious about my ECA's and test scores , they can be found at the end of the post. Also feel free to comment any questions you have. But please, no questions that can be found by searching the internet.
Here are some tips!
1. Read many essays of successful applicants! If your target is Ivy league, read many ivy league acceptance essays etc. They helped give me inspiration and ideas for my own. After watching a gazillion essay videos, I noticed a slight trend in accepted students essays. For example, I found Harvard essays to be inspirational. They contain analogies, have great essay flow (often connecting beginning to ending) and show the applicant's maturity.
MIT essays do have elevated language but are more straightforward. The struggle is to pack information in their shorter word limit. Cami explains this very well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgK_0zq656o.
Basic tip: Google or youtube ‘MIT essay’ and ‘How to get into MIT’ for resources.
2. Research the university very well! Visit the university's admissions website. I read all of MIT’s admission articles and many of their blog posts. In this article, https://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/what-we-look-for/ , MIT is very transparent with what they look for. In my MIT essay, I then showed how I have these qualities, and can do well in their very challenging environment. Cassandra (a youtuber), among many other useful tips has said researching the university is key. I watched the majority of her videos and highly recommend you do too. Here’s the link to Cassandra’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO2-7Wj9Tnx7Q1otiCYqIomMv89ByevvV
3. Show that you are very passionate about something (a spike). If you still don't know what that is, explore many many extracurricular activities because you never know if you like something until you try it. Here's a group I made where you can find current ECA’s in BD : https://www.facebook.com/groups/295576861632825 . Don't do extracurricular activities because of the certificate (which is useless btw) but because of the experience (the friends, memories, failures and successes). You can then write about these experiences.
4.In your application, clearly explain your ECA’s as the admissions officers may not be familiar with it and show why you're so passionate about your ECA. For bonus points, show your ECA in an interesting light like Cassandra (the girl i mentioned in 2.) did. Her ECA was journalism and she presented it in such a fascinating way. No wonder she got into all 8 Ivies!
5. Be yourself! https://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/be-yourself/
Important resources:
Prepscholar blog is a lifesaver. Its were I found out about financial aid, scholarships, essay guides, ACT, SAT...everything you need.
Love this channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SuperTutorTV
Must read: https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-into-harvard-and-the-ivy-league-by-a-harvard-alum!
https://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/selection/
My ECA's
Bronze Medalist (Individual Exam) and Gold Medalist (with my ITFI team) at the International Earth Science Olympiad- It took me three years of trying to finally participate in the international round.
Taekwondo Black Belt- I've been doing taekwondo on and off for five years, competed in national competitions, and sometimes teach lower belts.
Knowledge Associate and Communication Team Member at Bangladesh Youth Environment Initiative (BYEI)- As a Knowledge Associate, I help with the content of BYEI's Earth Champions Program and National Earth Olympiad. I help manage BYEI's Facebook page and also the National Earth Olympiad page and group.
Champion at National Biology Olympiad and BioCamp participant. (After 4 years of trying)
Co-founded Project Orpon as a part of BYLC's 4-week Building Bridges Through Leadership Training (BBLT) program.- We raised funds through donations and by hosting online sessions to help families who lost their livelihood due to COVID. I was the speaker for one of these online sessions as well.
Founded 'Extracurricular Activities Bangladesh' Facebook group
Internship in the Administration Department at my school, Oxford International School
7th in the first round of Economics Olympiad, and selected in the first round of Junior Science Olympiad, Math Olympiad, and English Olympiad
Campus Ambassador for BYLC and English Olympiad
Tests
-I did not send SAT scores. Instead, I gave ACT 3 times. Chronologically my scores were 32, 34, 32. Superscore-35. I also gave the writing section once and scored 8.
-I did not give IELTS/TOEFL as it was not required for me. I did not give SAT Subject Tests either.
Best of Luck! Hope this post helps you with your college applications :)
জ্ঞান দান #১: FEE WAIVERS
Applying to US universities is perhaps WAY cheaper than you think. You can save HUNDREDS of US Dollars by reading this post. I had so much confusion regarding this issue which were later resolved by the lovely and kind people of this group when I applied. I've recently noticed that a lot of people are concerned about the impact of asking for waivers on their chances of getting admitted to a university. So I thought it would be great to share the little knowledge I have acquired throughout my journey.
There are 3 types of fee waivers you can avail: i. Common App (the application through which you can apply to US universities) fee waiver, ii. CSS (the application through which you apply for college scholarships) fee waiver, and iii. Standardized Tests (SAT/ACT/TOEFL/IELTS) fee waivers.
Most schools give Common App fee waivers. Some give CSS waivers. Very few give waivers on sending SAT/ACT/TOEFL/IELTS scores.
Now about me: I used Common App fee waiver for ALL universities. Only UMass Amherst didn't allow it, so I didn't progress further with their application. How to get this waiver? *See comments.
About CSS, I used CSS for 8 universities (6 with CSS waivers, of which I got into Duke, University of Rochester, and Amherst). Even the ones which don't give CSS waivers (like Stanford, UPenn) allowed me to send an International Student Financial Aid Application (ISFAA: the free alternative to CSS). I was accepted into 3 universities that took ISFAA instead of CSS - Stanford, UPenn, and Colby. How to get this waiver? Ask for a CSS fee waiver from any university by emailing their financial aid office.
About Standardized Tests, I paid to send my SAT to every university. You can send your scores to 4 colleges for FREE anyway. However, I didn't pay to send TOEFL to ANY university (I'm not sure if this impacted university decisions). Furthermore, a lot of universities will waive your TOEFL if your SAT/ACT Reading score is above a certain threshold. So maybe you DO need to send TOEFL electronically (or maybe you DO NOT). I just described my condition to universities, and most accepted it. You might be able to send SAT/ACT scores through your counselor's email address to a few universities too. This way you can save some money. How to get this waiver? Again, simply explain your situation (as well as SAT/ACT Reading and English score) to your universities over e-mail to check for eligibility. (Also, a good exercise is to take the TOEFL test after you've taken the SAT/ACT.)
Paying these fees would've taken a hefty toll on my parents. Universities had my bank statements, and they knew this. NOT ALL COLLEGES ARE THE SAME, AND "PERHAPS" FOR A VERY FEW COLLEGES YOUR ASKING FOR WAIVERS WILL HURT YOUR APPLICATION (this might not be for asking waivers. but due to applying for financial aid). But colleges that will assess you differently if you ask for a waiver (that covers 12 to 90 US Dollars) will probably be less inclined to give you financial aid or need-based scholarships anyway. So there's that. 😛
The best thing to do to find out if you're eligible for these waivers is to send an email to a university with the following information:
a. Country of residence:
b. The number of family members who live in parents' household:
c. Family's total 2016 income from all sources in U.S. dollars:
d. The equity (value minus debt) of family's assets in U.S. dollars:
e. The exchange rate used to convert your currency to U.S. dollars:
If you are eligible, it's probably a good idea to not pay for something when you can get it for free!
TAKEAWAY:
1. E-MAIL UNIVERSITIES ALL. THE. TIME. IF YOU DON'T ASK YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU MIGHT GET.
2. ASK FOR THESE WAIVERS A FEW MONTHS BEFORE DEADLINE. MANY UNIVERSITIES OFFER FINITE AMOUNT WAIVERS.
I hope InShaaAllah this post was helpful for prospective applicants. It was an attempt to show that except a VERY few universities, you probably won't be at a disadvantage by applying for these waivers. May Allah grant success to everyone who will apply to the US this year or in the future.
And remember to get these waivers - and to get them well in advance! #GottaCatchEmAll.
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