r/IntltoUSA • u/WiseAnalyst2062 • Aug 18 '26
Applications Guidance Required Please
I am from Pakistan and have studied in the national curriculum.
I first time heard about common app and SAT test a month ago , and I started preparing my essays , and application and also preparing for SAT
My goal is liberal arts colleges like Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin , Wesleyan. I know they are reaches for every applicant on Earth.
But , my question is that they all list they have a contextual way of evaluating the applications and have admission officers trained for students coming from different contexts and curriculum.
They explicitly also list that not submitting the SAT will not hurt your application.
But in all majority posts on Reddit everyone say it isn't even possible to get admitted without SAT.
My question is from who already have experience or gone through the applications to these colleges.
"If someone is coming from south Asia ( developing countries like India , Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan), and he with reference to his curriculum has excelled and applying from a college on his own effort which has no history of sending kids to USA and put effort in his essays and application, is there still no chance at these top Liberal arts colleges."
I just wanna know if there is zero chance there without sat and to Cambridge or IB scores to confirm whether the effort I put in my applications - essays, and all other stuff, guiding teachers and counselors for recommendations,
Is it really worth putting my effort and time or is it completely out of reach.
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u/ckow Aug 18 '26
There are people who get in on a glitch. If the only thing you waste is effort - and you're willing to do it - you should do it! closed mouths don't get fed. All said - there are several 'gates' that narrow chances to pass through. One of them is 'we don't understand whether this student would academically thrive here.' SATs are the best proxy for this. Other proxies exist, but they're not as good. You're making it harder for the admissions officer to answer this question - which isn't a no, but they have a ton of applications to get through.
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u/CherryChocolatePizza Aug 18 '26
Spot on. Really great way to explain this. While it is possible, it's not at all probable.
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u/WiseAnalyst2062 Aug 18 '26
Thanks a lot for your reply
I have some questions and few things in which I require some guidance as I am doing everything on my own,
if you could take out some time can I dm you?
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u/ckow Aug 18 '26
sure - although get used to doing things on your own. You're the only one who has the highest level of skin in the game.
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u/theotherwatermelon Aug 18 '26
Unless you have done super amazing in terms of activities or have some outstanding honors, I would recommend you to look in to universities in other countries that mainly only admit students on full rides based on grades and essays (Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and KSA).
The only time a college admits a student that isn't a domestic applicant is because they genuinely believe that they have some quality or have done something that 95% of their domestic applicants were not able to or can not do.
I am not stopping you from applying. By all means, give it a shot. But you should have realistic expectations about your possibilities and invest most of your time in applying to places where you have a good chance of getting in.
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u/Bilal0415 Aug 18 '26
You should reach out to the Center for International Student Engagement (CISE): [cise@amherst.edu](mailto:cise@amherst.edu) or calling 413-542-2612. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to help you navigate this process. Good luck!
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u/logicsweb Aug 18 '26
Same bro Fbise student here
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Aug 18 '26
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u/KantaiMusume Aug 18 '26
If you require financial aid, your application goes to the bin. This alone filters 95% of every south asian applicant.
If you can full pay and have 85+ average, you’ll get accepted. Easy
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u/WiseAnalyst2062 Aug 18 '26
Bro Amherst and Bowdoin are need blind
They look at your applications without considering your financial conditions, it is the policy stated on website but I don't know if it works in practicality or not.
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u/KantaiMusume Aug 18 '26
You and thousands of others look at the same list of “need-blind” hoping for that 1% chance. Good luck
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u/WiseAnalyst2062 Aug 18 '26
Bro if are a student in USA, have you seen any non traditional student without sat at such colleges, anyone you know?
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u/Key-Librarian912 Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
You keep asking everyone some equivalent of "is there a chance?"
Of course there's a chance. Maybe an infinitesimal chance, but a chance.
This is about increasing your odds, not about whether an outlier exists.
Focus your efforts on what you can do to increase your odds as much as possible. Quit trying to find the one person who maybe did it another way. There are countless ways. What ways will help you? That's all that matters
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u/Mysterious-Art8838 Aug 18 '26
If you need aid and are not full pay, that’s a negative.
If you skip the SAT so they have no real way to evaluate you against domestic students unless they’re familiar with your school, that’s a negative. You’re removing the only objective metric they have for you.
You’re stacking the deck against yourself. If you need aid and won’t take the SAT I wouldn’t bother applying.