Forum Topic: "Hey, newbie and rising international senior here! chance me....please? :-)"
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Okay My GPA is pretty low...I'm REALLY lazy and apathetic when it comes to school subjects im not intrested in, yet very passionate and A+.scoring when it comes to school subjects (like history and languages) that I am interested in. However; I have pretty good stats...take a look:
SAT I: 2350 (750CR 800M 800W)
SAT II: 800 US history (self-study!! I never took american history in school, just realli interested in the subject)
790 Math I (HA!)
*to boost my already sky-high scores (*beams proudly*) I was thinking of retaking the SAT in the fall for a 2400....or mayb study for Maths II over the summer since I'm taking A-level maths next yr nywayz.
BUT (here's the bad part) my gpa is 3.0ish all 3 yrs of HS :-( *sniff sniff* I'll deff choose my courses more wisely nextt year, take more APs and work very very very hard during the first trimester to make up for my crap of grades...but -oh well-what do you guys think? would I still stand a chance at the schools I want to get into.
ECs: -I've been taking hip-hop dance classes 2x a week for about a year, and private guitar classes for around the same time, both which I finance through a series of "promotion" jobs i get. (you know, spending holidays giving out free samples of products in malls to shoppers who couldn't really care less). Due to domestic law, even at the age of 17, I'm considered too young to get a real long-term job that I can keep for more than a holiday...so I have to stick to those promotion thingies.
-I'm planning on spending at least a portion of the summer volunteering at the local autism center or cancer hospitals...not just for the admissions commitee, I truly feel strongly about both diseases. I MAY mention these experiences in my essay depending on how it goes....
Okay, schools I WISH i could get into:
-UCLA
-USC (altho I know like 99% of accepted applicants at UCs fall into the top 10% of their class while I fall at the top 40% or so)
-NYU
-Princeton
-University of Chicago
-Amherest
-Northwestern
-McGill
Schools I don't like that much but think would be more realistic:
-Occidental (I hate the school, but hey, LA is LA right? and Oxy has a good humanities program anyway....what are other good schools in LA??)
-Barnard
-Fordham
blech. I'm too bored to go on. Alot of the other schools on my list aren't even internationally recognized, so attending them then going to my home country wouldn't be very smart...I would be much better off at one of the schools on list A....so what do you guys think...do I stand a shot at them? or should I just settle for second-tier schools that are GOOD but just not as well known and not as accademically challenging?
- Yasmin
SAT I: 2350 (750CR 800M 800W)
SAT II: 800 US history (self-study!! I never took american history in school, just realli interested in the subject)
790 Math I (HA!)
*to boost my already sky-high scores (*beams proudly*) I was thinking of retaking the SAT in the fall for a 2400....or mayb study for Maths II over the summer since I'm taking A-level maths next yr nywayz.
BUT (here's the bad part) my gpa is 3.0ish all 3 yrs of HS :-( *sniff sniff* I'll deff choose my courses more wisely nextt year, take more APs and work very very very hard during the first trimester to make up for my crap of grades...but -oh well-what do you guys think? would I still stand a chance at the schools I want to get into.
ECs: -I've been taking hip-hop dance classes 2x a week for about a year, and private guitar classes for around the same time, both which I finance through a series of "promotion" jobs i get. (you know, spending holidays giving out free samples of products in malls to shoppers who couldn't really care less). Due to domestic law, even at the age of 17, I'm considered too young to get a real long-term job that I can keep for more than a holiday...so I have to stick to those promotion thingies.
-I'm planning on spending at least a portion of the summer volunteering at the local autism center or cancer hospitals...not just for the admissions commitee, I truly feel strongly about both diseases. I MAY mention these experiences in my essay depending on how it goes....
Okay, schools I WISH i could get into:
-UCLA
-USC (altho I know like 99% of accepted applicants at UCs fall into the top 10% of their class while I fall at the top 40% or so)
-NYU
-Princeton
-University of Chicago
-Amherest
-Northwestern
-McGill
Schools I don't like that much but think would be more realistic:
-Occidental (I hate the school, but hey, LA is LA right? and Oxy has a good humanities program anyway....what are other good schools in LA??)
-Barnard
-Fordham
blech. I'm too bored to go on. Alot of the other schools on my list aren't even internationally recognized, so attending them then going to my home country wouldn't be very smart...I would be much better off at one of the schools on list A....so what do you guys think...do I stand a shot at them? or should I just settle for second-tier schools that are GOOD but just not as well known and not as accademically challenging?
- Yasmin
Replies
K so heres a bit about me: out of your list i got into nyu and usc..also into emory, bu, neu and will be attending U of virginia in the fall..sat:1970..gpa:3.6/4
As you can see my stats arent great..its all about how you present yourself. You have to compile an application that provides a wholistic view of you so that it portrays u in the best light..but at the same time stay away from the BS..admissions ppl can smell that from miles away..
Regarding individual parts of the app..I did my best to impress them on my essays..keeping the writing as honest and revealing as i can. Youve probably heard this before but you should focus on having a few outstanding extracurriculars rather than several activities that you don't devote as much time to.
Ultimately your grades matter but not nearly as much as your inner academic insecurities suggest..Best of luck
- swatteam2k
As you can see my stats arent great..its all about how you present yourself. You have to compile an application that provides a wholistic view of you so that it portrays u in the best light..but at the same time stay away from the BS..admissions ppl can smell that from miles away..
Regarding individual parts of the app..I did my best to impress them on my essays..keeping the writing as honest and revealing as i can. Youve probably heard this before but you should focus on having a few outstanding extracurriculars rather than several activities that you don't devote as much time to.
Ultimately your grades matter but not nearly as much as your inner academic insecurities suggest..Best of luck
- swatteam2k
P.S. Your test scores give you a definite shot at ur A-list schools..the second list should be ur safeties..I wouldnt bother retaking the sat for a perfect score when you so badly need to spend more time doing school work..and DONT make the mistake of trying to explain to the colleges why ur grades are nowhere near ur scores..
- swatteam2k
- swatteam2k
hey, I was in your position a couple years ago (im a rising college freshman now) and i applied to some of the school you want to, plus i'm an international student as well.
Here are my stats:
GPA-3.5
SATS-1900, reading:680 writing: 620 math:600 (yours are VERY impressive)
I bombed the SATIIs haha so im not posting that.
EC- NHS co- prez, volleyball for 3 years, football 2 years, bball 2 years, writer in school newspaper
I applied and got rejected from UCLA and USC but I'm going to be attending NYU this fall. I believe what got me in was my personal essay about living abroad (in Nepal) and my leadership positions. I think if you show how being an international student sets you apart and how passionate you are about history it will help you a lot.
I must say that nearly all the schools you have selected are probably "reach" schools for you and that you should definitely have some safties and match.
If you are interested in those schools I would suggest looking at:
Loyola Marymount in LA
Northeastern
Boston U
Eugene Lang in NYC
I hope this helped. Best of luck!!
P.S. I also think you should try to get some leadership experience next year.
- kanoodle7
Here are my stats:
GPA-3.5
SATS-1900, reading:680 writing: 620 math:600 (yours are VERY impressive)
I bombed the SATIIs haha so im not posting that.
EC- NHS co- prez, volleyball for 3 years, football 2 years, bball 2 years, writer in school newspaper
I applied and got rejected from UCLA and USC but I'm going to be attending NYU this fall. I believe what got me in was my personal essay about living abroad (in Nepal) and my leadership positions. I think if you show how being an international student sets you apart and how passionate you are about history it will help you a lot.
I must say that nearly all the schools you have selected are probably "reach" schools for you and that you should definitely have some safties and match.
If you are interested in those schools I would suggest looking at:
Loyola Marymount in LA
Northeastern
Boston U
Eugene Lang in NYC
I hope this helped. Best of luck!!
P.S. I also think you should try to get some leadership experience next year.
- kanoodle7
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