Chance me for a few colleges

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>First of all, I am an International student who lives in Stockholm, Sweden and finished high school in 2012. I applied last year as well to 6 colleges but got rejected by all but Vassar College where I was waitlisted. I aimed too high and I realize that now. Please warn me if I might be in over my head this time around as well!</p>

<p>SAT I - M: 790, CR: 610, W: 600, Total: 2000</p>

<p>It is not the best scores, but I study English as a second language and I am rather happy about these scores anyway. 2000 sounds better than 1990, so I was perhaps a bit lucky!</p>

<p>TOEFL: 109/120 (Writing: 27(/30), Reading: 27, Speaking: 27 and Listening: 28)</p>

<p>Strengths:
I have a 3.9 GPA from one of the top 5 high schools in Sweden, but sadly there is no official ranking of schools here so I hope my counselor conveys this as well as he can.</p>

<p>Teacher recommendations are great (at least one of them is). (the teachers always appreciate my enthusiasm and my ability to ask good questions in class)</p>

<p>I help out a lot in my family company as well as home, which makes it hard for me to find time for other extra curricular activities. </p>

<p>Played saxophone since third grade and this summer I played at a music festival where Robyn and other famous Swedish artists performed. I wrote this adventure in my common app essay. Perhaps I need to rewrite it a bit since I didn't get in last year :P</p>

<p>Flaws in application:
I am applying for a lot of financial aid.
Not that great ECs (like most other Swedes)</p>

<p>List of colleges I will probably apply to:
Gettysburg College
Dickinson College
Franklin and Marshall College
Depauw Uinversity
St. Lawrence University
Ithaca College (maybe)
University of Mississippi (maybe, since I would get 9 k or 15 k in scholarship there, but for 15 k I need a 3.9 GPA and mine is 3.86 if I just translate my grade point average from Swedish to English. How exact are they? :P)</p>

<p>Now, what are my chances based on the information I have given you in your opinion? Please motivate your answer! Any other similar colleges I could add to the list?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>Hejsan!</p>

<p>I’m from a country very close to yours and I am currently studying at a small liberal arts college in the same region as Gettysburg college and a few others on your list. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>The SATs
I don’t think the SATs matter that much in the end as long as you are above the cutoff limit the college admissions committee decides on. I know someone who had about the same score as you did or maybe slightly higher and were accepted at JHU (though that person was very good at sports… I don’t know if that had something to do with the admissions decision). I also applied to JHU with SAT 2200 or 2230 (too long ago…) and was rejected. </p></li>
<li><p>Extracurriculars
From what I’ve learned here, the US college admissions rely strongly on extracurriculars. Top universities and colleges have many applicants with perfect GPAs and perfect SAT scores and glowing teacher recommendations. So the extracurriculars become a distinguishing factor, which is unfortunate for students in Europe, because our high school system is not geared for extracurriculars. Most high schools don’t have high school sports teams or bands. </p></li>
<li><p>Think hard and carefully before you leave the comfort of Scandinavia
The US is a very different place than Sweden or any of the Nordic countries for that matter. We’re used to prompt public transportation, access to pedestrian sidewalks and free healthcare. Many suburbs in the US don’t have public transportation or sidewalks. If you want to go to places, you are better off having a car. If you get sick and the illness is not covered by your insurance (for example, dental care is not covered by many college insurance plans) then you have to pay for it yourself and the bill might be in the thousands. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>If you want to continue to graduate school in the sciences, I would recommend going to a large research university instead of a small liberal arts college. While you may receive more individual attention from the professors at a liberal arts college, there will surely be more research opportunities at large universities. </p>

<p>Lycka till!</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your response!</p>

<p>Yeah, I agree that the extracurriculars are very important even though that is my weaker side (+ the SAT score).</p>

<p>I think I plan to check my teeth back in Sweden every summer or so, but I have never had a problem with my teeth luckily. I used to live in the US when I was younger so I know how at least Boston is and I really miss it. Have been there a couple of times since and I have also been to at least 10 different states as well. I think I would like it there better than in Stockholm at least, since here everything is so quiet I guess.</p>

<p>I probably don’t want to study science subjects, but maybe math though. I need financial aid, so larger universities could be difficult for me.</p>