Chance a US German Asian! Any comments will be appreciated!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Hi all, you may wonder what a German Asian is :>, I was born in China, and moved
to Germany when I was nine. I went to a US High School in Michigan for the junior year and will graduate 2012.</p>

<p>The purpose is to decide whether I should go American for college or rather German, because in Germany there are great colleges such as Munich, Heidelberg or Aachen, those are on the same level as ranked ~#20 US colleges and they don't require tuition, in addition to that I have good chances to get in them.</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>*** I speak German, English and Chinese fluently(all three are on the same level, all "first language") I have an A2 degree in French(equivalent for SAT II with listening) I have studied 2 years of Latin and 2 years of Ancient Greek**</p>

<ul>
<li><p>ACT: 29(I took it 3 months after I arrived in US, language barrier etc.)
Will take one/two times more, looking forward to get at least a 32</p></li>
<li><p>SAT I: Will take in Oct</p></li>
<li><p>SAT II: Will take in German, Chinese, Math, Physics and Chem</p></li>
<li><p>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.0 in 1st semester, 3.7 in second (I was straight A in Germany)</p></li>
<li><p>Rank: School neither ranks nor release val GPA</p></li>
<li><p>AP: Will take in Chem, Physics and German</p></li>
<li><p>Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, AP Literature</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Individual Awards- (weakness on my application): Non(there are no such awards in Europe)</p>

<p>Team Awards- all in Germany/Europe)
* Basketball:two-times U16-Division II Champions
U16-European Championship Ro32
* Tabletennis: ITTF junior-world-championship Ro16</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Extracurriculars: Basketball(SG/PG, teamcaptain), Lego NXT robotics/programming team(Teamcaptain), choir(3 years), Chem Lab</p></li>
<li><p>Summer Activities:
-Volunteered in a orphanage(200 hours) and church basketball league(50 hours)
-travelling: I visited about 30 countries on 3 continents, visited all EU countires plus UK, Swiss and Norway</p></li>
<li><p>Work: FIBA licensed basketball-referee for Division IV, about 15 games experience</p></li>
<li><p>Essays: Working</p></li>
<li><p>Teacher Recommendations: N/A</p></li>
<li><p>Counselor Rec: N/A</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Other</p>

<ul>
<li>Apply for Financial Aid?: No</li>
<li>Intended Major: Math or Physics(I have a passion for Fusion Power technology)</li>
<li>State: MI</li>
<li>Country: US(my high school)/Germany(permanent residency)</li>
<li>School Type: Privat</li>
<li>Ethnicity: Asian</li>
<li>Gender: Male</li>
</ul>

<p>I recognize there are certain glaring weaknesses in my application, also do I realize that I lack awards. The fact that I'm Asian (east Indian) may hurt me; however, my stay in Germany, US and my language skills should make it up. I just hope all of the above factors and whatever weaknesses you may see will add up to multiple rejections from all of these top schools.</p>

<p>Best Regards and Good Luck to everybody else applying!</p>

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<p>Im so confused. SO you are apparently an Indian guy who was born in China and grew up in Germany who then decided to come to Michigan? Interesting… Awesome that you speak so many languages.</p>

3

<p>-Numberwise, it may be a little difficult to tell, because all we have to go by is the 29, with no SAT I, SAT II, or AP yet. I’m not sure but maybe another CCer may help: does the fact that the school doesn’t rank go against him somewhat? Your AP classes look good, though, and balanced. But again, it’s hard to tell with some numbers missing.</p>

<p>-HOWEVER, the <em>huge</em> amount of diversity in your history/background is incredible. The places you’ve visited, the languages you fluently speak, the languages you’ve studied!! I’m so jealous xD I really think that might make up for any weaknesses there may be like awards. But then again, just reminding you, if you pass enough AP tests, you might be considered an AP Scholar with Honors/Recognition, so I think that might count :slight_smile: Writing about your diversity in your essays would be awesome, because in that aspect, you’re really unique! Good luck</p>

4

<p>So are you Indian or Chinese??</p>

<p>For an out-of-state applicant, I think it would be a slight reach to get into Cal. To answer your first question, on whether to attend university in the US or Germany: Although it might be a bit early for you at your age, I think the most important thing to consider is where you would want to live and work in the future. As you know by now, the culture is quite different in America and Germany, and you probably have some idea of where you would prefer to live. If you plan to live and work in the US after graduation, I would stay in the US for undergrad because a US degree is more marketable here, especially if you don’t plan on postgraduate studies.
If you plan on returning to Germany to make your life there, I would attend university in Germany, because as you said, many German schools are quite excellent and the extra costs of attending uni in the US are just not worth it, especially if you won’t be attending one of the top schools. I am not familiar with your field, but another important thing to factor into your decision is where the job market is better for what you intend to do. There’s no sense in living somewhere where you can’t get hired.</p>

<p>Sorry I couldn’t provide more concrete advice. I hope some of these ideas are at least useful to you. Best of luck!</p>

5

<p>I feel like your interesting life story would help you more at private schools than at UC Berkeley. Try private schools ranked between 15 and 30 on USNews. Berkeley admissions is a numbers game, and your numbers aren’t particularly special.</p>

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<p>Disagree that Cal is a numbers game for admission, many examples of very low stats people offered spots, usually for some obvious holistic, diversity, extra dimensional kind of thing. In fact, I would say chances are better than top privates, as they tend to have some stats based absolute cutoff before they look for holistic factors, thus if you don’t first make the cut you are unlikely to be evaluated for other great aspects. You can see this by the higher selectivity they have and by the lower end of the range of stats accepted to Cal. </p>

<p>Admissions at UCB will flag interesting people first, then consider them along with their stats.</p>

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<p>colapepsi12, in what language is your internal monologue?</p>

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<p>@General Wisdom:Tbh I can only speak German Chinese and English, I forgot nearly everything about French after I got the degree lol and only thing I can in Latin and Acient Greece is translating
@Lemoncat: Yeah I’m writing about diversity in my Common App essay, I hope it turns out well^^
@Applejuice: I look Indian… but I would say I’m Chinese. I have never been to India :<
My grandparents are from Bangladesh, they fled to south-east China during the Japs invasion and my parents grew up in China, too. And your advice are appreciated!
@singh2010: Well, the point is I think I will just go to a German college if not admitted to those schools, I don’t really want to pay that 200k extra, simply because there are excellent colleges in Germany, too. And they are free!
@rider730: Cal is my favorite state :> I fell in love with it during my one week stay there^^
@boboddy: It really depends haha, actually I never really payed attention to that, but what I can tell you is: I do dream in four languages, and sometimes a
dream just makes “snap” and the ppl in there(and me) speak another language xD</p>

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<p>Hey rider730, aren’t something like 98% of Cal admits in the top 10% of their high school graduating class? Doesn’t that indicate a numbers game? I agree that exceptions are often made for low test scores, but exceptions for a low GPA are less common.</p>

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<p>^I guess I’m that exception. Five years ago when I was admitted, I had a high school UC GPA somewhere between 3.75 and 3.8. I had a 2250 SAT. All 5’s on APs, and 800 on Math II, and 770 on U.S. History. </p>

<p>I was also the Varsity Basketball player at my high school. My low GPA was in part because I didn’t manage my time well, was very busy with basketball, and because I went to a very tough high school (Troy High- look it up, it was commended by President Bill Clinton on its academic record). Nevertheless, I was a bright kid, and my test scores show that. </p>

<p>I kicked ass at Cal (Got a 3.85 GPA in Pol Sci, a 171 on the LSAT). I’m going to be a second year at NYU with good grades, and if I keep this up, I’ll have a shot at a six-figure starting salary. </p>

<p>Cal adcoms knew that despite my low high school GPA, I was a promising applicant, and I proved them right. If you can sell yourself as someone who will succeed at Cal, then you will have a shot, despite your scores and GPA.</p>

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<p>I think it won’t hurt to apply at all, unless you’re trying to save cash or narrow down a long list.</p>

<p>Personally, I’m of the mindset that stats and bullet points can be a bit overrated. Obviously, you’re situation is very unique and it makes gauging things al that more difficult. But if you write will, and it seems like you do, then I’m sure you’ll have some personality to put into the essay or talk about something different. </p>

<p>Personally, I’m somewhat jealous and intrigued that you can at least dream in 4 languages. I wish I had much stronger skills in even just french which I studied…</p>

<p>jimmihendrix - yes, your background from Troy very likely did have a profound affect on how they viewed your GPA, and I’m assuming you did TT and/or IB when you talk about Troy. Most of the California schools (at least the larger ones, and all the SoCal schools) have strong opinions about Troy, and the UC’s I’ve heard a pretty favorable, which Claremont McKenna isn’t always. (That’s from a professor I’ve known for a while at CMC). So, case in point, there’s lots and lots of differences that each school looks for that will help you.</p>

<p>Remember: The only way to guarantee you won’t get in is not to apply.</p>

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<p>Thanks guys! I still can’t make the final decision, but I think I will apply for German colleges such as Heidelberg or Goettingen :)</p>

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<p>Lol, Joseph Goebbels received his PhD from Heidelberg. Good luck!</p>

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<p>but also guys like Roentgen(X-rays) for example and about 40 more nobel prize winners do, too :></p>