I’m an exchange student from Germany. At the moment (and for the rest of the school year) I attend a high school in Virginia as a junior. When I will go back to Germany I will attend two more grades (11th and 12th) there until I’m done with school. And after finishing school I want to go to Caltech or . I already read a couple of articles on the Caltech and Berkeley websites, but I’m still not sure how competitive it is to get into as an international applicant. My stats are not very good yet (10 years guitr lessons, 8 years tennis, exchange year) these are just the most important. It has to be said that there are not many possibilities to get extracurricular achievements in Germany (no school clubs etc). But I’m still trying to get get as good achievements as I can, by attending many clubs, probably founding a club, volunteering, attending competitions in high school etc. And I’m probably going to attend a science summer program in London (Imperial College) in 2017. My grades at school were in 9th and 10th grade around 3.7 (GPA) and here in the US it they even increase.
So my questions are,
Is it possible to get good enough extracurricular achievments for Caltech or Berkeley in about two year??
Which certificates does they require? (From which grades)
What are my chances at all / what could they be if I do erverything I can from now on?
@carloConfidential I hope you know that Caltech is one of the most selective engineering schools in the country, and if your grades/scores aren’t stellar, you might want to apply elsewhere.
As for UCB, also quite selective. How much could you or your family afford to pay if you were to be admitted?
I would need definetely financial aid. Yes I know that, and my grades will improve, my current question concerns on ECs, honors etc… what do you think is it possible to get good enough of them to have a chance in about two years?
Your current EC are not impressive enough for those school. And your 3.7 is not nearly close enough for these schools. UCB doesn’t give out anything to OOS students so you’ll pay 55k/year.
If you have financial need, look up schools that meet 100% need. If you need merit money, look up full merit scholarships. At the University of Alabama, if you make a 32 on your act you will get free tuition.
Are you repeating 11th grade? You say your a current junior then going to Germany for 11th and 12th grade?
@Jpgranier Yes I need to repeat because the grade I absolved in the US does not get accepted in Germany. Therefore I can improve my GPA a lot until I graduate. Which certificates do these universities require? Only 11th and 12th grade?
Not sure how your school does that but it that’s the case, yes you can increase it. If that’s on a 4.0 scale you could get it up to a 3.8 if you made a 4.0.