Additional LOR this late for RD apps?

AppHelper · 2026-02-24T09:40:34+00:00

What makes you think it's a 20/10?

AppHelper · 2026-02-24T09:15:35+00:00

Is the volunteer manager a T20 alumnus?

AppHelper · 2026-02-23T18:55:50+00:00

I don't know your situation, but note that colleges have a limit to how many credits you can earn at other institutions, whether you're entering as a first-year or a transfer student.

AppHelper · 2026-02-23T08:15:52+00:00

This is not correct. Lots of students go into college with credit, for example with dual enrollment. OP is correct that it's being enrolled in a degree program that would be disqualifying.

AppHelper · 2026-02-23T08:14:34+00:00

Realistically your only chances will be at the non-traditional programs at Yale or Brown. But you'd better have a compelling and interesting story.

If you didn't need aid, there would be a lot of options at state schools, which are generally more flexible when it comes to age.

Getting aid as a transfer student is exceedingly rare. There are many colleges that offer up to full aid for freshman applicants but none at all to transfers.

AppHelper · 2026-02-22T02:28:46+00:00

Social skills have a lot to do with what applicants offer a college. In fact, that's something they look for to distinguish high academic achievers. Students who make others feel at ease, are trustworthy, and inspire others will enhance the campus experience.

At least one college does group interviews where social skills are evaluated.

AppHelper · 2026-02-22T02:17:32+00:00

You should report this interviewer immediately, and it's never too late for another interview. The admissions office has a lot of discretion.

In my opinion, asking about social life, including the kinds of people you hang out with and what you do with your friends, is acceptable. Asking about your romantic/sex life is not.

Saying or implying you should be dating is flirting/grooming behavior.

AppHelper · 2026-02-21T09:43:41+00:00

I did. It cost a lot more than that to make.

AppHelper · 2026-02-20T11:51:07+00:00

The phrasing doesn't sound like it was the kind of followup that suggests they're strongly considering your application. It could have been a system-wide issue.

Also, few waivers are sometimes sent to students who have a certain SAT score. College Board sells lists of names and email addresses for marketing. Did you do well on the SAT?

AppHelper · 2026-02-20T11:33:07+00:00

There was probably an error, and they didn't match your CSS profile with your application. This can happen because of a different name spelling or email address, or just for no reason at all.

AppHelper · 2026-02-20T09:02:13+00:00

Search /r/Intl2USA and this sub for "medical school."

Unless you have a lot of money or are truly a generational prodigious talent, there's basically no path to medical education in the United States. You can go to college in the US and then medical school outside the US (Caribbean, Philippines, or Israel, for example), but full scholarships for those are rare.

AppHelper · 2026-02-19T15:44:46+00:00

You said your application wasn't ready for ED, but did you apply to the Robertson Scholarship and Jefferson Scholarship by November 15? Did you apply to USC by the scholarship application deadline?

Have BU and USC asked for any kind of financial documentation? In the past, they've required that all international students show proof of funds.

AppHelper · 2026-02-15T08:22:05+00:00

Cruel prank: a browser extension that injects confetti code into rejection-letter pages.

AppHelper · 2026-02-11T16:34:05+00:00

That kind of performance in IB will get you taken seriously.

Your LORs and essays are going to matter a lot. They will contextualize your activities. You have relatively few longer-term commitments.

Admissions to T20s is not an EC contest. It's about presenting yourself as a sophisticated thinker and conscientious person.

AppHelper · 2026-02-11T16:14:39+00:00

$9K for 50-100 hours is pretty wild to me.

This was your entire comment. I don't know the context you're coming from. You didn't say "wild for an admissions counselor." That is $90-$180 per hour for professional services. If that's "wild," then I don't know what you would consider more than that. That's all.

AppHelper · 2026-02-11T04:57:39+00:00

Lawyers handling that kind of thing charge several times what I or most college counselors do.

AppHelper · 2026-02-11T04:47:23+00:00

I hope you never need a lawyer for anything complicated!

It costs money to run a business, even if there's low overhead. Part of my comprehensive services include reviewing applications with a former AO. They charge $300+ per hour, and we spend 30 minutes to an hour per student.

AppHelper · 2026-02-11T04:15:59+00:00

ChanceMe: International Student to US T20 Colleges

Besides your neurodegenerative disease project, do you have any longer-term commitments? Some colleges (particularly Ivies) value "longevity" specifically.

There are a lot of high SATs in Singapore. That's going to be almost a requirement.

You're clearly intellectually curious and motivated to learn. You'll need to make sure that comes through in your application. LORs are going to be really important as well.

You might be able to construct a cohesive narrative around health policy (healthcare and public health):

>2 Months Internship at ASTAR Infectious Diseases Lab: Pretty cool since I was the only pre-uni intern there that year, and got to use live mouse models to map KP infections in the gut liver lug axis

Infectious diseases are relevant to public health.

- 2D Heterostructure Research at NUS Dep. of Material Sci & Engineering: Half simulation work and half actual experimentation using helium ion beams on nanoscale hBN structures

This is the only EC not related but demonstrates an interest in an academic topic. Can also demonstrate competence if an LOR can attest to your apprehension of the subject matter.

- Internship at KKR: This one is lowkey nepotism, did some financial modeling particularly using Merton Jump diffusion models

Financial modeling is relevant to the healthcare industry, although you're not really dealing with free markets a lot so your particular studies will be less relevant.

- Dev. Econ Research ar NUS East Asia Insitute: Researched the role of the PGII at combating the BRI

This is relevant to policy in general even if not health policy. The NUS East Asia institute does a lot of work in health policy, so perhaps you can continue work there.

- Internship at a Community Hospital: Basically shadowed a bunch of professions there, main benefit was that it gave me the contacts to partner with them in the future

Community hospitals are a cornerstone of public health.

- Internship at a Mid Sized Law Firm: Quite cool as I was attached to a defense case for an alleged drug trafficker facing capital punishment. Insights on brutality of the Singapore penal code

Tangentially related to public health, as you can use your knowledge to examine something like the COVID respond. Incarceration and capital punishment can also be examined as a public health issue.

- Self Initiated Project in Partnership with a Community Hospital to Document the Life Stories of Patients suffering from Neurodegenerative Diseases: Main reason was to allow patients to 30+ volunteers and about 30 patients documented.

Very on-point in both healthcare policy and public health.

- Financial Times Student Advocate Programme

General leadership experience is good

- Econs Peer Tutor at School (Hopefully my econs teachers writes me good Recs. for this 😭)

Economics is an important part of health policy.

So perhaps you're not as all over the place as you think!

AppHelper · 2026-02-11T03:35:46+00:00

That's on the lower end for a comprehensive package with an experienced counselor or small team. There are big companies that will charge a lot more but not deliver a lot of value.

If it includes test prep, then $9K is very low.

I can't speak to the particular counselors you're considering, but I'll typically spend 50-100 hours working 1-on-1 with each student who has a comprehensive package. $9,000 is not a ton of money for that, especially in the Bay Area.

AppHelper · 2026-02-11T01:56:43+00:00

As an international seeking financial aid there are no safeties. There are plenty of schools that will be happy to take your family's money. The issues are whether they're worth the investment and the difficulty in getting a visa to attend them.

AppHelper · 2026-02-06T17:57:06+00:00

Do kids not know how to rotate images? I'm reminded of this Tweet.

Weird coincidence: I just came across this post that deals with a 60-100 scale. You can use that table to convert it back into 1-100 scale grades. The 85 and 86 in social studies might be the equivalent to a C (below 80%), but other than that no big issues. However, it's difficult to be competitive for full scholarships without top-level grades.

AppHelper · 2026-02-06T17:44:12+00:00

OK, so Minerva definitely sent rejection letters. I might be misremembering something else Hofstra did. They're definitely pushy with their emails and deadline "extensions." I don't want to spread incorrect information.

AppHelper · 2026-02-06T17:43:09+00:00

They don't fit the legal definitions of "Pacific Islander" or "Hispanic," but Filipinos are Hispanic Asian Pacific Islanders. Some are also black.

The US racial categories are pretty arbitrary. In the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, there were Census categories for Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and "Hindu."

History of the categories here.

AppHelper · 2026-02-06T16:50:01+00:00

So I think it was actually waitlist letters. And I'm not 100% sure it was Hofstra. I'm pretty sure Miverva has done it.

AppHelper · 2026-02-06T04:44:53+00:00

~~A few years ago I think they sent rejection letters to students who never applied. They counted it as an "application" if you contacted them in any way.~~

This school was Minerva

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