<p>I've been in the US for almost 3 years
GPA for 10th grade 1st semester: 4.0
GPA for 10th grade 2nd semester: 4.0
GPA for 11th grade 1st semester: 3.888888..
GPA for 11th grade 2nd semester: 4.0
I have taken the SAT twice:
1st: 1360
2nd: 1620
I know I'm not doing very well, but I really really want to get in college
Where should/could my scores and GPAs bring me?
I'm from the Los Angeles County</p>
<p>Your GPA is good and your SAT score is clearly impacted by the fact English is your second language. Try taking the test a third time, preparing well (use the book “Direct Hits” for vocabulary, or Sparksnotes online), hopefully you’ll score a bit higher.
You must have an interesting personal story (expatriation/immigration, adapting to a new country and a new culture…)
Are you willing to travel? Many schools in the Midwest for example would be interested in your life experience, and in your potential, as demonstrated by your ability to pull such a high GPA after only a few years in the US.
Have you taken or will you be taking AP classes? Are you enrolled in some honors classes?
In California, of course you have CSULA, but depending on your a-f GPA you would be competitive for the UC’s (at UC-Berkeley, one third students were born abroad or have parents who were born abroad, for example).
The California publics tend to be inexpensive in-state, so look at the different schools. The easiest to get into are probably UC Irvine and UC Merced.
Go to your public library and borrow books like Fiske Guide to the colleges, Princeton Review’s Best colleges, Insider’s Guide to the colleges, Colleges that change lives. Then look at schools in California and schools in the Midwest (defined broadly) since I think that’s where you have the best chances for scholarships.</p>
<p>I have not taken any AP/Honor classes, but I’m in 1-2 IB classes. I dont know if that helps.
But I’d really try to score higher on the SAT
Umm… I don’t really know if I’d like to attend schools in the Mid-West because my parents don’t want me to live too far from them, but I’d still be interested in knowing more information about that 
Thank you so much</p>
<p>Perhaps your parents will come around if you get a great financial aid package 
For your search stick to public universities in California and private schools past the Rockies because this is where you’re most likely to find good financial aid packages. There’s something called preferential packaging that the private colleges do where if they want you they will give you more grants and scholarships than loans but if you fall in the bottom half of their applicant pool they will do the reverse. Reasons for wanting you include bringing a high GPA, high test scores, coming from a state that’s not well represented in the application pool or the college - typically that means a college outside a big city and about 400miles or more from home- if you have a special talent such as sports or music …</p>
<p>Yes IB classes count try to take some and to have honor s classes for the rest. if you can handle IB you can handle honors :)</p>