This would be a pretty long thread, so please bear with me. I don’t want to leave out any important information here.
I’m an international student studying in a college prep high school in India, Class of 2015. I pretty much bombed my Freshmen and Sophomore year GPA with a 2.26 and 2.28 respectively, our school has maximum GPA of 4.3. I know it’s 100% my own fault for slacking off and being lazy, will I be able to pull myself together for the junior and senior year to get into a decent college? I can’t really think of a field of interests or majors so I only have something like business. I use the computer very regularly although I’m not sure about Computer Science since I suck at math.
Other than that, I’ve been playing the violin since 4th grade and I’ve been in the school’s orchestra since 7th grade (that’s when I joined the school) til 11th grade now. I’ve also been in the school choir (anyone can join) and chamber choir (selective - auditions) in 10th grade and doing it again in 11th grade. The chamber choir group had a big trip to NYC last year, we had loads of fun and a fantastic experience, including a performance in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center with other school choirs as (the first) international choir festival. I’m planning to get an internship as a Network Analyst this year (as fancy as it may sound, it’s just testing out the school’s internet speed and such, and it’ll go into my transcript).
I don’t think I’ve done the SAT or any standardized tests yet, I did do the PSAT but I kinda bombed it because I felt like I couldn’t concentrate for a second during the examination. And our class of 2017 will also be the first to get the new kind of SAT, so the PSAT was worthless.
So, I’d definitely appreciate some tips from you guys as experienced adults. I’ve realized my mistake and will definitely work hard this year to up my GPA. Will I get into a decent school, I’m probably aiming for somewhere in America, and there has been people who got accepted to Ivy League from my school (but well I’m definitely not as good as them).
Just to wrap up, I really want to know if my chances of getting into a decent college still even exist, and will my extracurriculars go a long way.
I heard that there are colleges that see only 11th grade GPA, I’m not very sure about that though.
Please do feel free to ask anything, I might have missed some info but I’ll answer ASAP!
Thanks!
Let’s start with the most important question in your quest to applying to American colleges: what can you afford to go to school? What is your definition of a ‘good’ school (give me examples)?
I’ve never heard of colleges that only look at grades from 11th grade. I’ve seen a few that only look at grades 10 and 11, but most look at grades 9-11, with some also looking at first semester senior year.
ECs do not generally make up for a poor GPA.
However, there are schools that accept nearly all applicants.
Your bigger concern may be paying for college. If your parents will pay for all costs, then there will be some good schools that will accept you. If you need aid, then likely you will not be going to school in the US.
@International95 About $30k, I’m not really sure of what to look into when I’m searching for a college. What are the criterias and how would colleges stand out from each other?
@mom2collegeskids Sounds like I would have to look in some other colleges then, America is probably #1 choice, but probably other places. I was hoping I could pull it up in 11th and 12th grade.
$30k, eh? Well, there are colleges that are affordable that MIGHT take you, and which I consider ‘good’: Truman State and perhaps UMass-Amherst. You may also want to consider universities in Australia, like UMelbourne and USydney – getting in is easy (although I’m not entirely sure about your GPA-- perhaps take APs or something? Check their requirements), their reputations are great, and since the degree is 3 years long, you would probably be able to afford it.
What you could potentially do is take a year off after high school. This would allow colleges to fully appreciate that you are going to do better, especially if you rock your junior and senior years. Honestly, this is the only way to get into selective schools that offer financial aid. While your current GPA pretty much ensures that you will not be going to Harvard or Brown, unless you win some amazing award or something, like one at the World Schools Debating Championship, or some international olympiad (although even then it is not v. likely), several selective liberal arts colleges that offer financial aid might be more receptive to your improvement during your final two years of high school.
It’s hard to say anything, though. Yours is a difficult case. To compensate for your past mistakes, you need to ensure that everything else in your app is spotless. The competition for spots with financial aid at selective schools is INSANE. Think about it: why should, say, a selective school like Vassar or Tufts admit you over the hundreds of others who have better grades, ECs, and everything else, especially since Indians are in large numbers everywhere? Otherwise, it’s OK to go to Australia or something; to be fairly honest, a degree from UMelbourne will help you a lot more internationally than one from a random state university in the US.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply, it wouldn’t really make sense to go to America then. At least I’ll have to pull up my GPA this year. I have thought about going to Australia. I still don’t know yet.
Some schools in South Dakota in the US are not very hard to get admitted to, and cost less than $30,000 per year. There are also schools like University of Minnesota - Morris and Truman State.
Have you ever been screened for learning differences or attention issues? It sounds like your academic performance has been below your potential, and your description of your PSAT testing experience makes me wonder if something has been missed so far.
I would say you’d do better to look at the schools in Singapore. Big Indian student communities there, much more affordable, well known in Asia, and you can give a miss to the SAT and ACT. If you are really set on coming to the US, do it for grad school.
@ucbalumnus Thank you so much for your suggestions! I will definitely be looking into more public colleges.
@siliconvalleymom I don’t really know how to check if I have any learning disabilities, I know I can’t remain focused for a long time though.
@N’s Mom Thanks for your input, I think I’ll be looking at US more. What do you mean by “do it for grad school”?
P.S. I’m not Indian, I just study in an international school in India.
I meant come when you are ready to do a Phd (which won’t cost you anything), or with a foreign company who will pay for your masters degree. Or get an MBA (which you have to pay for yourself). Most Indians come to the US for grad school, not as undergrads.
Yeah just fixing a few things, I’m in Class of 2017 (sorry typo lol), and I’m not Indian, just an international student studying in an American college prep school in India.
What is your citizenship status? Do you attend a certain school in Bangalore?
If you are a European citizen, the Untied Kingdom would be a viable option as well, since they will most probably not look at your GPA, only a selection of AP scores or the IB Diploma/A Levels. Actually, the UK would be a good option even if you aren’t a European citizen.