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With a coauthored research paper and a target of ninety eight percent in twelfth grade, which universities abroad are realistic for me?

17 Aug 2026 · Answered by Syeda Uzma · 2 min read
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With a 98 percent Class 12 score and a coauthored paper, you become highly competitive. In the US, Harvard, Stanford and MIT are reach schools while Berkeley and NYU are realistic; in the UK, Oxbridge and Imperial fit well; and NUS, NTU, HKU and HKUST favor your grade bracket.

Syeda Uzma
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Your 98 percent Class 12 score paired with a coauthored research paper puts you in a genuinely strong position across four regions. Your grades clear the strictest academic thresholds, and your paper proves the intellectual maturity elite committees look for.

Your Realistic Targets By Region

RegionReach Or Realistic SchoolsWhy You Fit
United StatesReach: Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, Princeton. Realistic: UC Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, NYU, Georgia TechYour 98 percent and paper form a strong spike inside holistic review
United KingdomOxbridge, Imperial College London, LSE, UCLYour paper strengthens your UCAS personal statement and interview performance
SingaporeNUS, NTUThese universities heavily favor CBSE or ISC toppers and offer merit bonds
Hong KongHKU, HKUSTBoth routinely offer merit scholarships to students scoring above 95 to 96 percent

A Financial Aid Note Worth Knowing

  • If you need full financial aid, prioritize need-blind US schools like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Amherst or Bowdoin.
  • Need-aware schools can lower your admission chances once you request international aid, so apply there only if funding is not a concern.
  • In the UK, remember you can only apply to Oxford or Cambridge, never both, in the same cycle.

My Advice

Build your Common App or UCAS narrative directly around your coauthored paper rather than treating it as a side note, since it is your strongest differentiator. Confirm your financial aid need now, since that single answer should decide whether Ivy reach schools belong on your list at all.

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