<p>I have great GPA and good chance to score high on SAT's: 2300 on SAT and 750+ on 4 SAT II practice tests (Math II, World and Us history, Latin). So I'm pretty sure in my academic performance.</p>
<p>The problem is that I don't have any community work, awards, sport activities etc. to put in my application. I'm from Ukraine and nobody cares about things like this, there is no university in my country that will even ask this kind of question. </p>
<p>I was not planning to study in US when I was at school and didn't bother about it at all. Of course I did dancing, drawing and something else just for pleasure but nothing extraordinary. </p>
<p>Moreover I don't have any awards or diplomas; I was to lazy to care about this staff and thought that great marks are enough...silly me :-( I feel that even if I score 2400 on SAT I will get rejected because I don't have any extra curriculum that are worth attention.</p>
<p>Does anyone else has the same problem or Ukraine is the only country like this? Particularly did anyone get in good college with financial aid for international students with nothing else but great marks and some unusual life circumstances ?</p>
<p>I had the same problem (or rather, I DIDN'T know there was a problem). But i ended up at an American community college and, since I have a tendency to get involved in stuff anyway, could look back at my two years and realize that I had "extra-curricular" interests I just never thought of as such. You can do a similar inventory: just because you didn't go into the activity thinking it'd look great on paper doesn't mean it won't. Quite the opposite. And I have a feeling adcoms are aware of the different nature of schools abroad.</p>
<p>I didn't "end up" at a cc, I chose to apply from the other side of the world as I didn't want to go to university in my home country. It was the only American college I could afford with my student loan. I'm heading to Yale this fall. </p>
<p>It really rubs me the wrong way when people disrespect community colleges - they are affordable, diverse, and can offer people a second chance. Please don't look at community colleges as someplace you go only because you were rejected everywhere else.</p>
<p>I am sorry, but klotto wasn't disrespecting community colleges. You said, and I quote: "i ended up at an American community college". You said you "ended up" there, so it doesn't really makes much sense for you to get angry about him using "end up" in his post.
Now, if you think that using "end up" is disrespectful, you should watch your language from now on...</p>
<p>Frrrph, I didn't mean to be disrespectful to community colleges. You wrote that you had the same problem as me and ended up in cc. This wording just made me think that you couldn't get in 4-year college because of lack of social activities and decided to go in community college. </p>
<p>I was also thinking about cc, but it seems I have more chances to get visa if I get into 4-year college. It is not that easy to get visa from my country, since there are lots of emigrants from Ukraine.</p>
<p>Haha, oh god, I'm so sorry klotto. I tend to use "end up" as in "a lot of stuff happened and then I finally landed there", but for some reason, I just read it completely differently when from someone else and I didn't even notice until now. It's not an excuse either, but I had just had an argument on another forum over community colleges, and remember walking into this thread all fuming and ready to prove everyone and everything wrong. I'm really, really sorry. </p>
<p>If you can afford it, you can try and transfer from a regular 4-year that's not very picky about international students: they'll have many more EC opportunities. Another option is to start things up on your own (is there any Amnesty International subsection where you are? What kind of organizations are you interested in?).</p>
<p>I just look at the web site of Amnesty International; I've never heard about it.I'll definetely read their website, but it would be great if you could give me some general information about them. How can I volunteer? what do I do if I volunteer? etc. I would love to do something connected with kids...I absolutely love it. I am near San Francisco now, but going to move to LA in September.
Thanks</p>
<p>Wait, so you're already in the States? Enrolled in college or not? I'm a little confused, I thought you were still back in Ukraine.</p>
<p>Just get in touch with the closest AI branch. If you're interested in human rights, which we all fundamentally should be, AI is a human rights watchdog; they organize campaigns for political prisoners, against the death penalty and torture, etc - any violation of human rights. But maybe it's not for you, if you love kids. Can you get a job that involves kids? Solid work experience is as good of an EC as posh internships with little substance, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I'm aupair in US, so actually working with kids is basically my job. I came here 9 month ago, because I thought it was the best way for me to get into college. </p>
<p>I actually think this fact can make my application stand out a little bit, since it was really difficult to leave home for the first time in my life, come across the ocean, live with strange people...everything just to have chance to study in America :-)</p>
<p>Anyway I'll try AI, it seems to be interesting, thank you for advice.</p>
<p>I don't think schools place a lot of emphasis on extracurricular activities for internationals as they do for americans. A large number of internationals lack extracurricular activities but still get into top schools. I am one of them ;)</p>
<p>OMG!!! i m pretty much in the same hole except i hope i do this good in Sat I and II. so i m WAY DEEPER THAN u hehe but its ok....who ever thinks of community service and JOB for female student in Pakistan heck its a struggle walking through ppl here...... but i will apply anywayz..Good luck to you too. :)</p>
<p>Klotto, I am in the exact same situation, but I know other Romanian kids who were in our situation and ended up (!) in schools like Princeton, MIT or Caltech, some with full scholarship. It's true, most of my friends have had some academic awards during high school, but most of them told me that in their opinion, the interview was the decisive factor of getting in. One of them told me she started a club in the senior year. She goes to Princeton this fall. I am a raising senior and I plan to start a club this year and also to teach a class to kids from a middle school to have some sort of ECs. I strongly recommend you to start something on your own, just to be sure, maybe teaching if you like kids; but even if you don't, you are not completely out.</p>