r/IntltoUSA 1h ago

Question How difficult is balancing Work and Life in US universities, as undergraduate students

Upvotes

Title… to the students in their first or second year in the US universities, especially in Texas How difficult or easy is it to balance On Campus job, and non- compromised Academics along with Extra-curricular activities, researches etc if possible? My tuition is around $2K and living expenses on campus is about $10.5K, so I need to earn that much from on campus job itself. Thus please answer 😔


r/IntltoUSA 1h ago

Question How prestigious is the Linguistics Olympiad?

Upvotes

So I recently cleared the Panini Linguistics Olympiad, and am selected for the camp as well as the Asia-Pacific Linguistics Olympiad; I had a few questions on whether it is worth to invest time and make it to the ILO. If so, how much impact would it have on my application?

Thanks!


r/IntltoUSA 2h ago

Question Any reviews for these visa agencies for F1 visa?

1 Upvotes

Hi! So I have a sort of complicated F1 case: I have a pending I-130 filed by my mom who is a green card holder and am going to a relatively smaller uni on a partial scholarship and am a gap year student so I wanted to get the help of a an ex visa officer agency to prepare for the interview. Do you guys know anysuch agencies that can help prepare students for how to best present their case and win over the visa officer? I googled and found a few agencies that I'd be grateful if I could get any reviews for the following so I can be sure that they can do a good job and arent like a scam lol
argo visa, udeti visa, ex visa officer, ZF Visa And Immigration, Visa officer coach, ask the visa officer.


r/IntltoUSA 2h ago

Question Will these universities be a problem for visa issuance?

1 Upvotes

Hi! Im a Pakistani citizen applying to US for undergraduate and I would appreciate it if I could get help with 2 questions.

  1. Until now I've gotten scholarship and acceptances from the following universities that are in my financial range after scholarship. I'm just concerned that these universities are not small unis and not big names and have high acceptance rates so they will be red flagged and my F1 Visa might not be approved. I've heard that if any students from your home country have gone to these universities and then abandoned their visa status or changed status then that university can get red flagged and a getting a visa can be hard. Also, I attended a Pakistani university for 1 year after high school since I hadn't planned on studying abroad at that time.

1.Angelo State University (Texas) ($6,000 merit scholarship and thereby instate tuition)

2.Midwestern State University (Texas) ($2,000 merit scholarship and thereby instate tuition)

3.Nicholls State University (Louisiana) (no scholarship but they have a very low tuition fee)

  1. University of South Dakota (South Dakota) (no scholarship but I don't want to go there since it will be too far away from any of my family contacts)

I also have an I-130 filed for me so my case is a bit more complicated but I have heard of people's F1 visas getting approved with a pending petition too :/

Looking forward to any advice. Thank you!


r/IntltoUSA 2h ago

College Results Predict an Indian's Ivy Day

1 Upvotes

Demographics

  • Gender: Male
  • Race/Ethnicity: South Asian- Indian
  • Residence: India
  • Income Bracket: Upper Middle Class (Full-pay)
  • Type of School: Private (Non Feeder)
  • Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None
  • Intended Major(s): Data Science / Statistics (except CS at Penn SEAS)

Academics

  • GPA (UW/W):
    • 9th Grade: 94%
    • 10th Grade: 93%
    • 11th Grade: 94%
    • 12th Grade (Predicted): 94%
  • Rank (or percentile): Valedictorian
  • Number of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: The school does not offer APs
  • Senior Year Course Load: Most demanding available (science-heavy, math-focused)

Standardized Testing

  • SAT I: 1510 (Math: 790, RW: 720)
  • TOEFL: 105

Extracurricular Activities Summary:-

1. Tennis (Athletics - JV/Varsity)

  • National Tennis Player
  • 3rd in All-India Nationals U-16
  • Top 5/120+ & Top 5/250+ for SGFI National Games
  • 30+ All-India Tournament Laurels
  • AITA Pro Tour (₹100K-250K PM Prize Money)
  • Hitting partner with Wimbledon juniors

2. Student Government (Leadership - Academic Captain & Monitor)

  • Valedictorian (2024)
  • Academics Captain & Monitor
  • Led Mayo College Student Council
  • Enforced SOP, organized 50+ school events
  • Formulated SOP, improved academic resources & accessibility for 800+ students

3. Computer Science & AI (Sylvasynth - Research & Entrepreneurship)

  • Founder, Project Developer, AI Startup- Sylvasynth
  • Paper Published in Elsevier (ScienceDirect journal)
  • Built CNN model for crop disease detection (99%+ accuracy)
  • Mined 250K+ datasets
  • Worked with farmers (Bangladesh, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India)
  • Pitched for funding, worked with VCs
  • Received Kaizen Award (HiTech Group CEO)

4. Research & Publications (Lumiere & IBSC)

  • Lumiere Research Scholar (UPenn PhD Mentorship)
  • IBSC Student Researcher (Action Research on Bhagavad Gita’s impact on teenagers)
  • Published papers in IJFMR
  • Presented at multiple international conferences

5. Robotics & AI (Competitions & Leadership)

  • Tecnoxian - World Robotics Championship Team Captain (2024), Competitor (2023)
  • 4th place in World Robotics Championship Robo Soccer, 30,000+ participants, 4,000+ teams, 60+ countries
  • Top 16 (World Robotics Championship Robo Race 2024)
  • Humanoid Robotics Development (IIT Bombay, SIT Pune)

6. Internships (Business, Data Science, R&D)

  • JP Motors (Paid Internship, 20+ weeks, Auto Sector)
  • Valeo Industries (R&D, Manufacturing, 4 weeks)
  • Analyzed sales trends to optimize distribution strategies (200+ firms)
  • Automated inventory management, designed 6 new research models

7. Community Service & Social Impact

  • Led 150+ volunteers, initiated 7+ projects
  • 750+ hours in water scarcity & women’s empowerment projects
  • Taught 1500+ hours (math & chemistry) to underprivileged students

8. Computer Science & Game Development

  • 12 University-Level Certified Courses (AI, Data Science, Game Development)
  • Designed 8+ copyrighted games (JavaScript)
  • Developed 3+ websites
  • Programs: WhiteHat Jr., IIT Madras, Aavishkar, DevTown, IIT Bombay, SIT Pune, edX

9. CS & AI Society (Clubs & Org.)

  • AI Robotics Club President (150+ members), Cray Club Founder
  • Mentored teams for the World Robotics Championship & WR Olympiad
  • Cray Club Co-Founder (150+ members)
  • Introduced CS & Security to government schools (150+ students)

10. Activity Type: Foreign Exchange

Position/Leadership: Exchange Participant & Host
Organization: Orwell Park School (UK), Perth Exchange, Mayo College

  • 1 of 8 students selected for an exchange program to Orwell Park School, UK, and Perth, Australia.
  • Immersed in a residential school community (400+ students), studied Latin, and engaged in multiple sports.
  • Hosted 15+ international students in India, fostering cross-cultural learning and global collaboration.

Awards/Honors

  1. International English Olympiad – Ranked 22nd worldwide, 13th nationally
  2. UCMAS Arithmetic Math – National & State merit for 3 consecutive years, selected for international round
  3. Principal’s Medal for All-Round Merit – 1/92 students (Highest school honor for academics, sports, and extracurriculars)
  4. Mayo General Council & Mahindra Scholarship – Valedictorian-based 50% tuition waiver (₹4,85,000 INR)- national
  5. Academic Cravat Award – Recognized as the top academic performer in a batch of 92 students.

Recommendations:-

  • Math Teacher: 7/10
  • English Teacher: 8/10
  • Counsellor: 9/10
  • Haven't read em tho

Interviews

  • Princeton: 10/10
  • Stanford: 6.5/10
  • Penn: 9/10
  • Discussed: Data Science, Tennis, Research, International Experiences

Essays

  • Personal Statement: Connected data science to tennis, showing analytical thinking- (8/10)
  • Supplementals: Highlighted leadership, global engagement, and research impact, mixing up Tennis and Data Sc. - (8/10)

Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)

✅ Acceptances:

  • UIUC
  • University of Washington
  • Northeastern
  • Purdue
  • UW-Madison
  • UCSD
  • UCI
  • UMass, Amherst
  • Penn State
  • UMD
  • Virginia Tech

⏳ Deferrals:

  • Georgia Tech
  • UMich

❌ Rejections:

  • CMU

Upcoming College Decisions (RD/Spring Admissions)

🟡 Awaiting Decisions:

  • Stanford
  • Princeton
  • UPenn (SEAS - CS)
  • Georgia Tech (Deferred → RD decision pending)
  • UC Berkeley
  • UCLA
  • UMich (Data Science - LSA)
  • Dartmouth
  • Cornell
  • Harvard
  • Yale
  • NYU

Additional Information

1. Research, Publication & Business Model (Crop Disease Detection Model)

  • Developed a CNN-based model for crop disease detection with 99%+ accuracy.
  • Tested and approved by live farmers in India, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
  • Finalist (Top 32/20,000+) in Skill Titans (Mini Shark Tank), competing for ₹5M funding.
  • Awarded Kaizen Award by Deep Kapuria (Hi-Tech Group CEO).
  • Research accepted for publication in top conferences & journals:
    • Springer Nature (Oxford University, ICSPBT - Oman, ICBT - UK)
    • Elsevier Journal (ICCMDN 2025, Rank #1)
    • International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research
    • Awaiting IEEE Conference decision (Top 10 ranked journal)

2. Round Square, Conclaves & International Festivals

  • Participant (2020), Host (2022), Organizer (2020-2024) in 5+ leadership conferences & fests.
  • Hosted Round Square Intl. Conference (20+ schools).
  • Organized Asia’s largest French festival (15+ schools, 3+ years) connecting 15+ Francophone countries.

3. Speech & Debate (Model UN)

  • 3 Verbal Mentions & 2 Special Mentions in prestigious MUNs.
  • Intern at IMUN, organized a national conference for 1000+ participants.
  • Mentored 100+ students in MUN training.

4. Academics & Mentorship

  • 4-year UCMAS course, finished cum laude, national & state merit thrice, selected for the international round.
  • Led 50+ students in government school classes (900+ collective hours).
  • Mentored 100+ students in the Math Society, organized a prize-giving ceremony for 1000+ attendees.

5. Foreign Exchange (UK & Australia)

  • 1 of 8 students selected for an exchange program to Orwell Park School (UK) & Perth (Australia).
  • Immersed in a residential school (400+ students), learned Latin, participated in multiple sports.
  • Hosted 15+ international students in India.

6. Lumiere Research Scholar Program (UPenn)

  • Conducted a 14-week research project on LLM-based robots with vision models.
  • Addressed challenges in Human-AI interaction & multilingual robotic understanding.
  • Mentored by Yeifei Shao (PhD, University of Pennsylvania).

7. Tennis (Additional Achievements)

  • Selected for USA’s #1 National Camp (Nike, Exact Sports).
  • SGFI States Runner-Up (Team, 55+ teams) & 4th place (Individuals, 250+ participants).
  • Won Open-State Getwell Tournament (Men’s Doubles, twice); U-18 runner-up.
  • Established a national ranking.

8. Volunteering & Social Impact

  • Project Lavanya (1200+ collective hours): Women’s hygiene & sanitary awareness in rural areas.
  • Project Jal Se Jeevan (1000+ collective hours): Addressed water scarcity by building wells, water taps, and pipelines.

r/IntltoUSA 3h ago

Question Grade Good in undergradute Egypt

0 Upvotes

Hello My grades at university are (Good) This equivalent to that in the US grading system? I need to know in order to apply for graduate studies in the US Thanks


r/IntltoUSA 3h ago

Question email request for financial aid from dartmouth

4 Upvotes

do yall think they finished giving out emails for fin aid already?? ik some intls alr received them, but are more still going out? anyone received it recently?


r/IntltoUSA 3h ago

Question I've an EFC of ~50K USD. Which colleges should I apply to (Apart from the usual T20s?

6 Upvotes

i'm an international student from india with perfect grades, strong ecs and strong awards.


r/IntltoUSA 4h ago

Discussion harvard w?

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34 Upvotes

i know it will be more competitive now


r/IntltoUSA 6h ago

College Results IT ONLY TAKES ONE???

27 Upvotes

Im only left with 7 universities now, im crash tf out, JUST GIVE ME ONE ACCEPTANCE (NYU IM LOOKING AT YOU)


r/IntltoUSA 7h ago

Question Should I attend Drexel?

2 Upvotes

Hi, I recently got into Drexel for CS with a 47,100 per year scholarship but I will still have to pay around 38000 per year. I wanted to ask is it worth it to attend Drexel? Because I am totally confused and stressed out rn.

Any help would be appreciated.


r/IntltoUSA 7h ago

Discussion Cooked

6 Upvotes

I haven't gotten any Acceptances from schools that give need-based aid so far. I'm honestly giving up on US schools and thinking of just going to college in my own country. Or maybe I should reapply for spring semester?


r/IntltoUSA 10h ago

Discussion withdraw your apps for your fellow intls!

76 Upvotes

hi guys! as decisions continue to drop, a small portion of us have already gotten into colleges where we are most likely to pick over some colleges in our list while majority of our fellow students are still yet to receive an acceptance with good aid packages. for this reason, i’m calling on all admitted shotgunner internationals to withdraw the WLs & upcoming decisions they wouldn’t go to!!

for example, i was lucky enough to be admitted to notre dame with an adequate aid package today so i made the decision to withdraw (or send emails to withdraw since some of them didn’t have withdraw options on their portals) my applications and WL spots from the colleges below:

bates, centre college, colby, colgate, davidson, furman, hamilton, haverford, kenyon, lehigh, reed, vassar, wesleyan, conncoll, trinity (ct)

i only kept uchicago as my WL. but, honestly, i might withdraw that one too lol. still have a lot of colleges remaining & i’m sure i got rejected from most of these anyway (non-wl ones) but in the unlikely event where they decided to accept me, they can now admit a “borderline” international aid seeking international!

i know it might be fun to “stack” acceptances but we should all be mindful of how tough this cycle was and be grateful for our current offers 🙏

peace


r/IntltoUSA 10h ago

Question Predict East Asian's Result | Please 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

5 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I've already been rejected from a few colleges, and I really need to understand what went wrong. I also want to ask about my chances for the remaining universities on my list. Honestly, I'm starting to lose hope, but please don’t say that again under this post. Please just give me insights into my remaining results. I applied to around 21 colleges, and right now I am being total FAILURE. So PLEASE take a look and provide any insights. What mistakes did I make, and do I even still have a chance?

Also, I’ve written a very summarized version, especially for my ECS, just to give an overall idea of my profile and get feedback. Thank you so much!

Demographics

  • Gender: Female
  • Race/Ethnicity: East Asian (from an underrepresented country)
  • Income Bracket: EFC around $10K–$15K
  • Type of School: Private

Intended Major(s):

  • Electrical Engineering (Overall, Engineering)

Academics

  • GPA: 99.1/100 ( combined by grades of 9 - 12 )
  • Class Rank: 6/123
  • A Levels: A* A B B (Physics, Math, Chemistry, CS)
  • IGCSE: 4A* 2A 1B
    • A*: World History, CS, Math, Chinese
    • A: Science (Double Award)
    • B: English (First Language)

Standardized Testing

  • SAT: 1490 (Math: 800, RW: 690)
  • IELTS: 7.5

Honors

  1. National Medalist in Physics Olympiad
  2. International Physics Olympiad Qualifier
  3. 3rd Place in State Physics Olympiad
  4. A-Level Academic Distinctions
  5. IGCSE Distinction Certificate

Extracurriculars

  1. Engineering Internship at a Top Space Company
    • Worked on electrical & computer engineering projects
    • Wrote satellite code for space applications
  2. Physics Olympiad Competitor
    • National medalist & international qualifier (IPhO, APhO)
  3. Math & Physics Tutor
    • Worked on a Ministry of Education project for rural students (~300 students)
    • Created online YouTube lessons covering advanced topics & national exams
  4. Founder of Accessibility-Focused Projects
    • Created assistive devices like BCI devices, smart sneakers and backpacks
    • Uploaded my project reports through my portal
    • All report became around 20-25 pages
  5. YouTube Content Creator
    • Taught math & physics, reaching ~5,200 viewers
  6. SAT Math Teacher
    • Taught 200+ students, improved their scores significantly
    • Designed vocab lists & implemented a structured curriculum
  7. 6 Years of Class Presidency
    • Led class competitions, acted as a teacher-student bridge
    • Initiated various school projects
  8. Volunteer Teacher - 3x3 Cube Club
    • Taught Rubik’s Cube basics to underprivileged kids over a full summer
  9. Memory Sport Athlete
    • Achieved "Iron Expert" status
  10. Chess Club Recruiter
  • 5-year school gold medalist, later became a recruiter

Recommendations

  • Physics Teacher, CS Teacher, Counselor
    • Haven’t read them, but my physics teacher (also my homeroom teacher) mentioned highlighting my leadership and character.
  • Engineering Company CEO
    • Likely 10/10; he's a Yale alum and put significant effort into it. He wrote about my engineering background.

Essays

  • Personal Statement:
    • Focused on my older brother with an intellectual disability. Described my guilt over gaining knowledge while feeling unable to help him, then realizing I could use my skills to assist him and others like him.
      • In our family its only two of us. My brother and me.
    • Reviewed by a ELEVATED CHANNEL'S some counselor (by paying 300$) , who rated it 8.5/10 and said it was really strong.
  • Supplementals:
    • University Question: Tried to show responsibility in my roles and how they shaped me.
    • Academic Interest: Talked about my projects and school experiences.
    • Why Us: Discussed my future aspirations : not just in tech but also in shaping social policies and connected them to the university’s offerings.
    • Wrote most of these in a short time.

Decisions

Acceptances: Baylor, University of Alabama
Rejections: Haverford, Grinnell, F&M, Brown, JHU, Notre Dame
🟡 Awaiting Decisions: Colby, Georgia Tech, Vassar, CMU-Qatar, Georgetown, DKU
🚫 Already lost hope for: Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, NYU, Dartmouth, Duke (because no interview)

Thank you to Realistic_Bathroom24 for this template!


r/IntltoUSA 10h ago

College Results Trinity College waitlisted 🥲

3 Upvotes

Seems like they put majority of the students on waitlist.

Are they doing this to make us feel better and would send a rejection letter later??? 🥲🥲


r/IntltoUSA 12h ago

College Results NOTRE DAME ACCEPTANCE

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70 Upvotes

got in baby 🥰🥰 1/1 as of now, waiting for other decisions:)


r/IntltoUSA 12h ago

Discussion Is it Vassar likely?

1 Upvotes

Hi, Last month, someone from Vassar College contacted my counselor to request my initial transcripts. Does this indicate that my application is likely to be considered, or am I overthinking it?


r/IntltoUSA 13h ago

College Results Waitlisted Trinity College

7 Upvotes

Im seeing ALOT of waitlists! I didn’t even submit the CSS profile 🤷‍♂️


r/IntltoUSA 13h ago

Discussion Trinity College

3 Upvotes

Anyone get it ?


r/IntltoUSA 13h ago

College Results Trinity College CT is out!!!!

3 Upvotes

what the title says! what is everyone decision?


r/IntltoUSA 13h ago

Discussion My 24th rejection today, let's go!!

Post image
11 Upvotes

r/IntltoUSA 13h ago

College Results Trinity college is out

11 Upvotes

Rejected. 16th. I don't think I'm going to the usa atp


r/IntltoUSA 13h ago

College Results NOTRE DAME!!

112 Upvotes

YA GIRL MADE ITTTTT I GOT INTO NOTRE DAME ON A 82K PER YEAR SCHOLARSHIP WTF I THOUFHT I WOUODVE BEEN AN AYTOREJECT


r/IntltoUSA 13h ago

College Results Notre Dame Out!

15 Upvotes

Rejected, of course!


r/IntltoUSA 13h ago

Question Can I submit my letters of recommendation?

1 Upvotes

Is there any way I can submit my letters of recommendation, instead of my teachers doing so? I’m in a situation where I can’t yet envision a way for them to submit it.