blown to bits and pieces?

Parent Cafe
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<p>okay, here might be a little weird story for my academics...</p>

<p>I am an international applicant from india. I scored --
9th grade - 90%
10th grade - 94.4%
11th grade - 65% ( i am coming to it)
12th grade - 80%
SAT Reasoning = 2000
SAT Subject tests = 740M2, 740Chem, 650Physics
ACT - 30 (Composite)
I gave the SAT Reasoning in Dec'10, Subjects in Jan'11 and ACT in Jun'11. Will reappear for all 3 again in this September/October testing season to boost them up.</p>

<p>Currently I am on a gap year as I did not want to take any college in a hurry and clear out my head after this academic turmoil. The gap year was more of a personal decision to take some time off and clear out my academic, professional and life priorities before I set out on the next phase of my life.</p>

<p>I have decided to apply to US univs for fall 2012. But obviously my marks in 11th and 12th grade will get me kicked out of most of the schools. Now to clarify, I did not become lazy nor did I procrastinate or stuff. I had a deep burn-out which even my parents and counselor acknowledged. I <em>did</em> try my level best but I totally lost interest in every subject. all this was more aggravated by change of schools after 10th grade. literally the academic environment there was hell even though it has a prestigious name (ironic isn't it?) add to this the emotional turmoil and the result is before you. now coming to my point, I am thinking of APPEARING in CIE "A-levels" in this October/November season and I will have my grades by January. </p>

<p>Questions - </p>

<h1>1 - Will the university acknowledge my A-levels grades and will those grades help me in my academic resume if I get good results say, AAA or some other combo?</h1>

<h1>2 - In addition to the above, i.e. the A-level grades, if i send in a letter written by my counselor explaining the reasons for the low academic marks in 11th and 12th - which in reality do not reflect my actual academic abilities - give me a standing chance at good universities like CMU, UTAustin, stuff? Mind you, I will be sending in an official transcripts by CIE on the day of release of the results (somewhere around 23rd Jan) and also self-report them in the Mid-Year report. I am positive about A-levels because I have completed that "hell" school, have flexibility in my time and more optimistic since now I'm out of my burnout. I won't be required to start from scratch for these exams. I have gone through the syllabus of different subjects and optimistic that they are within my reach.</h1>

<h1>3 - What else can you recommend to boost up my academic profile? I don't want to get kicked out from good schools just because of something that was out of my control.</h1>

<h1>4 - Will EPGY from Stanford help? I won't be applying to it only for the sake of getting a transcript! I'm really interested in gaining the knowledge which otherwise would be hard to come by in India for a school student. I won't be able to learn multivariable calculus/linear algebra unless I join a 4-year degree programme. In other words, unlike in the US you can drop into a nearby college and just take classes in which you are interested.. these kinds of things are not available here. Yes. I can study it on my own but I won't get a transcript certifying my "academic" abilities. So will EPGY be worth the time and money? Will it be appreciated by colleges if I send those transcripts in?</h1>

<p>and I'm interested in science and engineering combined with a few electives. Haven't decided b/w EE, ME or CS/IT.
CIE's webiste - International Education Programmes and Qualifications from Cambridge</p>

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<p>Have you taken the JEE?</p>

3

<p>Yes. I have but my first preference is not IIT’s.</p>

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<p>That’s fine. But do you have the results?</p>

5

<p>No. I didn’t get selected and apart from JEE and BITSAT i did not appear in any other exam. because my gap year was planned during the board exams itself. and please don’t say that I should have used the JEE results to demnstrate my academics because many people strictly advised against doing ss.</p>

6

<p>It’s a tough nut. What about NTS and the like? I am just trying to think of options here as you don’t have much ECs (most Indian kids don’t) AND you can’t overindex on academics.</p>

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<p>EPGY wouldn’t help. A-levels will.</p>

8

<p>Apply to Texas and CMU if those are your dream schools. You might get in, I suppose.</p>

<p>Also, you could apply for fall 2012 for a community college (one with housing) or an inexpensive easy-to-get-into public school (I know Bemidji and Moorhead in Minnesota are both very reasonable for international students - under $8000/year tuition), get all A’s your freshman year, and then transfer to Texas or CMU for your second year of college. That should work (if you can afford it). Take engineering pre-requisites your freshman year. Physics, calculus, chemistry. I don’t think you would have trouble earning A’s and making yourself a desirable transfer student.</p>

9

<p>@ indian parent - who said anything about ec’s?</p>

<p>1) Managing director of the school computer club - won multiple prizes in webd, vfx and likes. long list but most of them are at inter-school level
2) Sciences - 1st position for a presentation on string theory, 2nd position the future of internet, 3rd on “space habitats”
3) Academics - Scholar blazer/badge holder till 10th grade. awarded a certificate for the best performer in french in 10th.
4) Prefect of school in 9th and 10th grade. (that was my previous schools and that were the highest positions awarded to 9th and 10th std students.
5)Environment club - Technically a joint secretary but that was just for the sake of it. worked directly under the teacher
5.1) Designed and implemented a plan with the team for turning the school more eco-friendly in partnership with TERI
5.2) Clean the yamuna campaign, helped organize world earth day and world environment day, and encouraged more people to pledge support for earth hour.
5.3) made a documentary with the team on ailing planet earth which one a consolation prize
5.4) Designing brochures and pamphlets for use by the school</p>

<p>more but i have to refer to my diary</p>

<p>6) Social - Fundraising for many NGO’s, helping my mom conduct workshops, medical camps on behalf of lioness club, blood donation camps.</p>

<p>This year -Volunteering with one NGO confirmed, might get into one more, secondly I have secured an internship with a chemical lab, and the last thing which was one of the major reasons i took a gap year was to start my own company this year by end-august. now this was scheduled for end-august because i will turn 18 by that time and will be eligible to get a PAN card to receive payments. that age-factor has been the sole reason to start the company after mid-august. </p>

<p>and what do you mean by “NTS and the like?”</p>

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<p>I can probably do the same while being in india and then transfer. costs are a big factor. i just cannot afford to turn up at any college and plus i am not really big fan of community college’s.</p>

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<p>Someone by the name of Batllo replied to this thread but since i cannot see it anywhere, i assume that they have deleted it - </p>

<p>This was the message -
“Your past history of being unable to cope with school while living at home doesn’t bode well for your coping to the stress of college academics far away from your support systems.
Not to mention the thousands of qualified internationals who have stellar grades competing with you for spots in US colleges.”</p>

<hr>

<p>I wholly agree with what you have said but that refers to how the adcoms will think but i need to tell you that it happened only for the last two years of school life “after” i shifted schools. It is not that I “cannot” handle the courseload. I had been the top of my class all my school life until 10th. Even in 11th and 12th, i was in the top 30% of my class atleast (I confirmed it from a teacher) I just had a deep burnout and just lost interest. I am not *****ing about the evaluation system or cursing the boards. I know I was at fault and I am fully willing to rectify. The marks that appear in the marksheets are not the actual reflectors of my academic skills. THAT is THE BIGGEST REASON i want to appear for A-levels to testify about my academic skills which I couldn’t in the previous phase. I am not begging the schools or trying to find any kind of short-cuts. I want colleges to understand that I was in a certain phase of life where all things were going wrong and I am willing to correct them by appearing in a different form of examination.</p>

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<p>And can anyone answer me regarding my question on EPGY online course?</p>

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<p>Some colleges and universities will take good A level results into consideration. Others won’t. You really do have to investigate this on an institution-by-institution basis.</p>

<p>You write that “costs are a big factor”. In that case, you probably are better off getting your first degree in your home country, and then coming to the US for grad school. This would give you more time to recover academically and emotionally from whatever it was that happened while you were in your secondary school.</p>

<p>However, if you are determined to give applying to schools here a try, read through everything at [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/) and then make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center closest to where you live. There are several in India: [EducationUSA</a> - Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/India]EducationUSA”>India | EducationUSA) Those counselors are expert at helping students from your country find good places to study in the US.</p>

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<p>Happymomof1 –</p>

<p>I agree with your point but since I am already taking a gap year I might as well apply for Fall 2012. There is nothing to lose. Right? I tried talking to the EducationUSA advisers in my city but they are clueless about it. Probably the first time they have faced a situation like this. </p>

<p>Moreoever, I do have EC’s, actively engaged always… so i won’t have trouble writing good essays, can get strong letter’s of recommendations from teachers as well as my counselor. The only thing I feel that will work against me are the grades in 11th and 12th. So what I want colleges is to understand the situation I was in during this time, replace my CBSE results with A-levels and then take a decision on my application. So in those terms will it be worth giving A-levels? I am not concerned with college credit.</p>

15

<p>There are hundreds and hundreds of good American colleges that will accept you…if you can pay the bill. But I think CMU and UT-Austin are far reaches. </p>

<p>Funding for international students is at a premium. I can’t imagine any top 50 school easily willing to take the risk.</p>

16

<p>okay I have one more solution here. </p>

<p>I can give the national examinations from NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) and will have my results well before the application closing date. Any say that I should take chances regarding that?</p>

<p>:P</p>

<p>(Sorry for bugging all of you but I have this habit of being a solution seeker at all times. :stuck_out_tongue: LOL!)</p>