hii, so i just started 12th grade (cbse, india), and want to go abroad for undergrad, ill have to scout for scholarships n aid cuz i dont think my parents r too willing - they want me to go down the competitive examination route, so id just like to get insight from people who've been down this path, or in the same boat as me to tell me where i stand

im mainly looking at east asian universities, and not sure whether to consider europe. ill be applying to some US unis but its not my main target considering the political volatility - id be down to send my ec's, my_qualifications, and grades, just so somebody can tell me if im being too delusional about my dream to study abroad

thank you!

Intended Major(s): CS + Finance

Academics: scored 89% in cbse mpc + ip in 11th, took igcse in 10th and scored all 8A*'s, currently self studying for 5 APs - chem, calc bc, physics c mech & e&m, cs a, taking sat in june asw

Ecs:

1. presented in a somewhat prestigious online conference about a prototype of an app
2. was selected for a fellowship / workshop thing at a tier 3 it company, had to write an entrance exam n shi
3. helped found an ngo, raised over 40,000 INR for school fees of kids in an orphanage, did art donation drives, and held stalls to raise money asw as organizing football events
4. served as cda & usg policy for my school mun, looking to get selected for other events asw

Awards/Honors

1. SASMO medalist
2. AMO SIMCC medalist
3. NCO zonal finalist
4. John Locke Essay Competition - Commendation in Economics + 100SDG scholarship
5. Cambridge IGCSE ICE Distinction & School Topper - so took igcse in 10th, and was the only student to get all A*'s (8 subjects) so got a merit scholarship for that

Some extra things ive done that i dont feel r good enough to include above:

1. Immerse Education Essay Competition - recieved Merit Award + £1000 scholarship for global in-person program, or £500 for online research programme, or £250 group online research programme - i think this organization is a scam tho so blegh
2. School hackathon: Worked in a group of 3 to develop an accurate wildfire risk assesment program utillizing AI n google earth but ts lowk boring, and we didnt rlly do anything w it later
3. The New York Academy of Sciences Junior Academy: js worked w a group of students to conceptualize something that identifies deepfakes
4. did an AI course by leaf courses, idk how selective they acc are but they seem legit and it was a good experience learned a lot
5. did an IITM Data Science + AI course, was ab 8 weeks and got a certificate of completion after submitting a final project
6. 2026 Wharton High School Data Science Competition - didnt win obvs js particpated
7. Climate Leaders Fellowship 2026 - js working on an awareness campaign
8. also used scratch by mit heavilyyy during covid to the point i created a studio that has over 3000+ followers and still gets used , made a lot of projects n stuff on there icl

i got selected for this rlly cool research thing at a proper university through interviews and a lot of rounds, and it was free but it was like 4 months long but my mom said no

throughout this year, im looking to have a research paper worked on, an internship, and get some projects in - js be more involved w the cs part of my application ik compared to other applicants its kinda mediocre but im js looking for options

LORs

i switched schools after igcse, so idk my teachers too well but i think id take one from my physics teacher, maybe my math sir, and my english teacher from 10th grade if i require an humanities one

Essays

im good at writing in general i think, and ill start working on it as soon as my aps are done so idrk what else to say

tdlr; looking for people who are aware about admission processes abroad ANYWHERE, so they can tell me whether i align for admission there or its too far of a stretch

hii, so i just started 12th grade (cbse, india), and want to go abroad for undergrad, ill have to scout for scholarships n aid cuz i dont think my parents r too willing - they want me to go down the competitive examination route, so id just like to get insight from people who've been down this path, or in the same boat as me to tell me where i stand

im mainly looking at east asian universities, and not sure whether to consider europe. ill be applying to some US unis but its not my main target considering the political volatility - id be down to send my ec's and grades, just so somebody can tell me if im being too delusional about my dream to study abroad

thank you!

tdlr; looking for people who are aware about admission processes abroad ANYWHERE, so they can tell me whether i align for admission there or its too far of a stretch

intro: so i just started 12th grade, and want to go abroad for undergrad, ill have to scout a lot for scholarships n aid cuz i dont think my parents r too willing - they want me to go down the competitive examination route, so id just like to get insight from people who've been down this path, or in the same boat as me to tell me where i stand

List: basically, i dont want to JUST target US universities as my main because of the state of the USA rn esp for international students + cost, but i still want to apply to a few top schools T30 (even tho my chances might be low), and a few safeties / mid reaches:

im looking at limited options in the US, Singapore + Hong Kong, and im not sure whether to consider austraila / europe

also, am preparing for entrance examinations :(( so i js want to keep my options open which is why im finishing off my aps and sat this summer so i have more dedicated time

Demographics

• Gender: Female
• Race/Ethnicity: Indian
• Residence: India
• Income Bracket: upper-middle class, not sure if ill qualify for aid
• Type of School: competitive and pretty large private school - sends kids to wharton type shi every 1-3 years
• Hooks: idt any

Intended Major(s): CS + Finance

Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 3.56?? or 89/100, im in the cbse curriculum so just calculating this on the basis of my final 11th marks which lowk suck...
• scored 88% (iirc it was like 4A*, 4A's) IGCSE 9th, all 8A*'s in IGCSE 10th boards(93.125%), 89% CBSE 11th
• Rank (or percentile): school doesnt disclose this, but id be in the top 5%-10%
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: self studying 5 APs - Chem, Physics C mech, Physics C E&M, Calc BC, and CS A - will see how that works out
• Additionally, my subjects as per cbse are math, phy, chem, informatics practices, and english

Standardized Testing

• SAT: taking in June
• AP/IB: taking currently

Extracurriculars/Activities

1. presented in a somewhat prestigious online conference about a prototype of an app
2. was selected for a fellowship / workshop thing at a tier 3 it company, had to write an entrance exam n shi
3. helped found an ngo, raised over 40,000 INR for school fees of kids in an orphanage, did art donation drives, and held stalls to raise money asw as organizing football events
4. served as cda & usg policy for my school mun, looking to get selected for other events asw

Awards/Honors

1. SASMO medalist
2. AMO medalist
3. NCO zonal finalist
4. John Locke Essay Competition - Commendation in Economics + 100SDG scholarship
5. Cambridge IGCSE ICE Distinction & School Topper - so took igcse in 10th, and was the only student to get all A*'s (8 subjects) so got a merit scholarship for that

Some extra things ive done that i dont feel r good enough to include above:

1. Immerse Education Essay Competition - recieved Merit Award + £1000 scholarship for global in-person program, or £500 for online research programme, or £250 group online research programme - i think this organization is a scam tho so blegh
2. School hackathon: Worked in a group of 3 to develop an accurate wildfire risk assesment program utillizing AI n google earth but ts lowk boring, and we didnt rlly do anything w it later
3. The New York Academy of Sciences Junior Academy: js worked w a group of students to conceptualize something that identifies deepfakes
4. did an AI course by leaf courses, idk how selective they acc are but they seem legit and it was a good experience learned a lot
5. did an IITM Data Science + AI course, was ab 8 weeks and got a certificate of completion after submitting a final project
6. 2026 Wharton High School Data Science Competition - didnt win obvs js particpated
7. Climate Leaders Fellowship 2026 - js working on an awareness campaign
8. also used scratch by mit heavilyyy during covid to the point i created a studio that has over 3000+ followers and still gets used , made a lot of projects n stuff on there icl

i got selected for this rlly cool research thing at a proper university through interviews and a lot of rounds, and it was free but it was like 4 months long but my mom said no

throughout this year, im looking to have a research paper worked on, an internship, and get some projects in - js be more involved w the cs part of my application ik compared to other applicants its kinda shit but im js looking for options

LORs

i switched schools after igcse, so idk my teachers too well but i think id take one from my physics teacher, maybe my math sir, and my english teacher from 10th grade if i require an humanities one

Essays

im good at writing in general i think, and ill start working on it as soon as my aps are done so idrk what else to say

hii, ok so i just started 12th grade and i want to finalize my college options so i just wanted to interact w people in the same boat as me n js get all the input i can

List: basically, i dont want to JUST target US universities as my main because of the state of the USA rn esp for international students + cost, but i still want to apply to a few top schools T30 (even tho my chances might be low), and a few safeties / mid reaches:

im looking at limited options in the US, Singapore + Hong Kong, and im not sure whether to consider austraila / europe

also, am preparing for entrance examinations :(( so i js want to keep my options open which is why im finishing off my aps and sat this summer so i have more dedicated time

Demographics

• Gender: Female
• Race/Ethnicity: Indian
• Residence: India
• Income Bracket: upper-middle class, not sure if ill qualify for aid
• Type of School: competitive and pretty large private school - sends kids to wharton type shi every 1-3 years
• Hooks: idt any

Intended Major(s): CS + Finance

Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 3.56?? or 89/100, im in the cbse curriculum so just calculating this on the basis of my final 11th marks which lowk suck...
• scored 88% (iirc it was like 4A*, 4A's) IGCSE 9th, all 8A*'s in IGCSE 10th boards(93.125%), 89% CBSE 11th
• Rank (or percentile): school doesnt disclose this, but id be in the top 5%-10%
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: self studying 5 APs - Chem, Physics C mech, Physics C E&M, Calc BC, and CS A - will see how that works out
• Additionally, my subjects as per cbse are math, phy, chem, informatics practices, and english

Standardized Testing

• SAT: taking in June
• AP/IB: taking currently

Extracurriculars/Activities

1. presented in a somewhat prestigious online conference about a prototype of an app
2. was selected for a fellowship / workshop thing at a tier 3 it company, had to write an entrance exam n shi
3. helped found an ngo, raised over 40,000 INR for school fees of kids in an orphanage, did art donation drives, and held stalls to raise money asw as organizing football events
4. served as cda & usg policy for my school mun, looking to get selected for other events asw

Awards/Honors

1. SASMO medalist
2. AMO medalist
3. NCO zonal finalist
4. John Locke Essay Competition - Commendation in Economics + 100SDG scholarship
5. Cambridge IGCSE ICE Distinction & School Topper - so took igcse in 10th, and was the only student to get all A*'s (8 subjects) so got a merit scholarship for that

Some extra things ive done that i dont feel r good enough to include above:

1. Immerse Education Essay Competition - recieved Merit Award + £1000 scholarship for global in-person program, or £500 for online research programme, or £250 group online research programme - i think this organization is a scam tho so blegh
2. School hackathon: Worked in a group of 3 to develop an accurate wildfire risk assesment program utillizing AI n google earth but ts lowk boring, and we didnt rlly do anything w it later
3. The New York Academy of Sciences Junior Academy: js worked w a group of students to conceptualize something that identifies deepfakes
4. did an AI course by leaf courses, idk how selective they acc are but they seem legit and it was a good experience learned a lot
5. did an IITM Data Science + AI course, was ab 8 weeks and got a certificate of completion after submitting a final project
6. 2026 Wharton High School Data Science Competition - didnt win obvs js particpated
7. Climate Leaders Fellowship 2026 - js working on an awareness campaign
8. also used scratch by mit heavilyyy during covid to the point i created a studio that has over 3000+ followers and still gets used , made a lot of projects n stuff on there icl

i got selected for this rlly cool research thing at a proper university through interviews and a lot of rounds, and it was free but it was like 4 months long but my mom said no

throughout this year, im looking to have a research paper worked on, an internship, and get some projects in - js be more involved w the cs part of my application ik compared to other applicants its kinda shit but im js looking for options

LORs

i switched schools after igcse, so idk my teachers too well but i think id take one from my physics teacher, maybe my math sir, and my english teacher from 10th grade if i require an humanities one

Essays

im good at writing in general i think, and ill start working on it as soon as my aps are done so idrk what else to say

the questions were okay, and solvable but i ran out of time so quick

ive taken practice tests before and would almost always have atleast 45 minutes left, but i genuinely felt like i had to no time, and because of that i wasnt able to recheck my work or think most of my answers thoroughly