Hey there!
I am an international applicant and I’m applying to US colleges. I know that no one will tell me whether I’ll be admitted or not but I am really freaking out, could you guys chance me?
I will graduate from my high school this year but I am taking a gap year, so I will be applying for Fall 2017.
My first choice is Barnard, it is really my dream school and a perfect match for me. I have read so much about this school and the more information I get, the more I want to go there. I am applying there ED.
I have gained significant leadership experience through all my years in high school. Really, it’s very notable, I think. I’m taking SAT in June and I am likely to get a perfect score, or close to the perfect. I’m taking two SAT II in October, hopefully with the same result. I think I have really great ECs, so many outside of classroom classes and other things, also I have done volunteer work, fund-raising etc. and I got a main role in a school play. I will likely get truly amazing recs from my teachers and counsellor and I am going to put a lot of effort in my essays. But there is something that really bothers me… grades. I come from a country where grades don’t matter at all, I know that it’s not an excuse, I know. Also teachers don’t get focused on grades, all they do is preparing us to exams which allow us to apply to universities; really, here it doesn’t matter. I had truly great grades in my freshman, and also I will get very very good in my senior year. In all the subjects on the extended level I will receive the maximum score. The problem is… my sophomore year and my junior year. They are bad, I mean really… Also, in my sophomore year I had about 17 subjects and a lot of them were ridiculous. It was also a time when I was struggling with myself. As a result, I don’t think that my cumulative grade will be good. My school doesn’t calculate GPA and I have no idea how Barnard or any other school will calculate it but I guess it will be much much MUCH less than Barnard’s average. Also, we have an extremely rigorous curriculum and teachers are so demanding, it is almost impossible here to have excellent grades. This year on the first semester 30% of my class received an equivalent of F in maths (I will receive an equivalent of B, but trust me, B here and B somewhere else…), I mean they didn’t pass due to the curricula. As I said, grades here don’t matter, the final exams do. My school is public, highly ranked in the province. Doesn’t offer AP.
My question is… how much emphasis Barnard will put on my grades? As an international like me, does it really matter that much? Can my grades turn me down? Even if I am able to get a perfect (or close to) SAT score? And with my ECs and outstanding leadership skills (and TOEFL/iTELS of course)? I will also say that I am a feminist, and the most of all, very passionate and I want to show them my passion as the key to success. And I haven’t found anyone from my country in Barnard or any other women’s college.
What about Smith, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Occidental and others for RD?
And the other really, really big problem is… I need a full-ride.
Any advice? How can I boost my chance? What does Barnard want to hear? How can I convince them, what can I do more? Should I explain the situation or leave it?
Thank you for your help ! 