Chance a Swede (me)!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, I just realized a couple weeks ago that I want to go to college in the US. I have signed up for an online course at Collegeboard and I have been practicing alot! English is the most difficult subject for me, because I study it as a second language (Swedish as my first). Am I compared to everyone who applies to college or only to students like me who have English as a second language? I have only done one SAT pretest so far and my score was:</p>

<p>710 in math (will do better when I learn math in English)
550 in CR
520 in writing</p>

<p>Will do my first official SAT in a month from now. I will practice alot so my goal is 600 in writing and critical reading and atleast 750 in math.</p>

<p>I attend the best high school in Sweden, since you need the highest grade in every subject to get in. I have nearly two years left and so far I have the highest grade in every course I have taken. You also need to be good at an instrument to get in to my school. I have played the saxophone for nine years soon.</p>

<p>Honors:
honors mathematics
honors chemistry
honors physics
honors biology</p>

<p>Awards/EC's:
Diploma for having top grades in every subject
Diploma for being best in the science-related subjects in my school
Awards from competing in golf (5 years), soccer (7 years), tennis (7 years), school athletics (every year in school) and skiing (national level for 4 years).</p>

<p>Don't have any volunteer work, because in Sweden the universities only look at your grades, the "Swedish SAT's" (it's not called that) and an interview with the school. I know that in the US basically everything you achieve counts. I don't know if the lack of volunteer work will affect me as much as US citizens.</p>

<p>My chemistry teacher is during the summers teaching educational science at Harvard University to other teachers at Harvard. He is going to write one of my letters of recommendation.</p>

<p>I will spend the whole summer if it takes to write the best essays I can! This will not be a problem.</p>

<p>College choices in order: Harvard, Yale, MIT, Dartmouth, Cornell, Brown, Princeton and so on... I do not know very much about lower ranked colleges. Any suggestions? I will need financial aid. Even if I do not get in to any of these schools, I will always have a free education in Sweden which is very good too :)</p>

2

<p>Anyone? I would be very greatful! Doesn’t have to be a very detailed response :)</p>

<p>EDIT: Also need to say that I will be applying for college in over a year from now, so I will have time to improve my SAT’s and take the subject tests.</p>

3

<p>No chance at any of the top-tier schools you are applying to. They are all far out of reach. Your SAT scores all but guarantee this, especially since you are an international applicant. You should shoot for minimal 2300 SAT given the competitive nature of the international pool, and moreover, without any AP or IB courses, it shows that you clearly have not been thinking about US schools for very long. Limited English will annihilate your essays, which are your only hope. Sorry mate, but that’s how it rolls.</p>

4

<p>What subjects are you planning on applying for?</p>

5

<p>ya what is your major? and i would like you take a moment and answer my Q plz</p>

6

<p>Mathematics!</p>

<p>@Justanothertry, ok thanks for being honest! Just wondering if it is only because of my lack of depth in the english language that will keep me from reaching my goals or is there something else that I can improve?</p>

7

<p>AP does not exist in Sweden, but I go to the most advanced science high school in Sweden which must count as AP (I think). I thought “honors” and “AP” was the same thing. Isn’t it?</p>

8

<p>Bump! Please chance me :)</p>

9

<p>I’d hate to break it to you, but it is a farrrrrr reach for you if you want to get into those universities. To improve, you seriously need to boost your SAT grades up to at least a 2100, at LEAST. I feel like most of the schools you are applying to will require at least 700 in all three (CR, Writing, and Math). </p>

<p>Since you are applying for a math major, there is no reason why your math should be 720, get it to the high 700’s at least. </p>

<p>Since you are from sweden, and not that proficient in English, it would be very hard to write a good and genuine essay. I’d suggest looking at some other essays, or maybe take a course to improve your writing. </p>

<p>Lastly, since you have no volunteer work, that would hurt your chance critically. All these top schools look at what you do outside your school, and service to others. </p>

<p>Therefore, unless you are absolutely amazing at the sports you listed, and recruited, the chances of you making those universities are slim to none. </p>

<p>Good Luck, and sorry for for being so harsh.</p>

10

<p>To answer your question in #6: yes, it’s your English skill that is the problem. The top schools get so many applicants that they can demand near-native proficiency. I don’t see that lack of volunteer experience is a big deal, since it is not expected in your country.</p>

11

<p>@luc722, yes I will probably get 800 in math, but for the moment I only know the Swedish terms in math, so when I understand all the math questions I get, I will be able to produce the right answer. I will also probably hire a tutor in English and I will maybe go to one of these colleges’ summer courses.</p>

<p>In the US every student tries very hard to seem as a great student, so when they apply for college their EC’s, honors and etc. will look really good. As a Swedish student you only need to be smart, have good grades and make a good impression in the interview to get into the best schools. If I would have lived in the US I would also have done all these outside school related projects to get into good schools, but unfortunetly I don’t live there. Why should the fact that I am one of the few students in Sweden who has only the highest grades in high school, make it more difficult for me to get into an Ivy League school than someone who has worse grades, but is better at English and has done some volunteer work? It doesn’t seem very fair (not that the world is fair)… Anyway, thanks for the reply :slight_smile: I have more than a year to improve my English so hopefully that will help!</p>

<p>@greennblue, so you are sure that even though I have English as my second language, I will still be compared with for example students from Great Britain? This doesn’t seem fair either :frowning: I will do my best to work with my English and thanks for taking your time to respond!</p>

12

<p>It’s not the volunteering or activities that’s your problem.</p>

<p>These schools expect you to succeed far beyond your school. They want national awards if not international. </p>

<p>As for scores, they receive thousands of applications from kids who’ve never set foot in an English speaking country who have near perfect reading and writing scores. You need to land at these schools highly proficient in the language to be competitive.</p>

<p>Most American students who are the top students at their school and in their communities don’t get into these schools. You’re talking about schools that take an average of 10% of their applicants.</p>

<p>If you’re serious about going to school in the US, up your scores and add some of the fine colleges that don’t require what harvard does.</p>

13

<p>@Redroses, I understand the difficulty of getting into Harvard. In Sweden you apply even for high school with your grades and less than 1% of all students in Sweden has the grades of getting into my high school and I am among the best in my class. This has to have some value when I am applying for these schools? You say they take an average of 10%. Well I was one of the 5% of the total amount of applicants who got into my high school.</p>

14

<p>Understand the full picture. First, half of the places at top schools are taken by recruited athletes, minorities, legacies, staff kids and the rich and famous.</p>

<p>Harvard takes about 3% of unhooked applicants. They want kids from all 50 states, as many countries as possible, kids who play oboe, brilliant artists, urburban kids, rural kids…this is not about taking a test.</p>

<p>In America many also take tests and go to elite high schools. Few of them get into Harvard.</p>

<p>I’m not saying you don’t have a chance. What I am saying is you have a great chance of not attending college in the US unless you add some less competitive schools to your list. You are competing here against the best globally.</p>

<p>If you can significantly raise your scores, make them see you as an interesting person and are the top Swede applying, you have a shot.</p>

15

<p>Yes, I am going to improve my scores. In Sweden you can only get into high school by your grades unlike in the US. I haven’t made up my mind about going to another college, because then the schools here in Sweden are just as good and they are free!</p>

16

<p>haha i want to go to sweden! Im currently at University of California Santa Barbara.</p>

17

<p>haha, let’s switch countries :smiley: Sweden is a great country, but I want to travel :)</p>