Chance me!! Korean Australian

Applying to College
1

<p>So...I'm Korean Australian female (born in Korea/ Australian citizen)
living in Queensland (flooded big time atm) and I'm class of 2011 (we graduate in nov).
I want to know my chances for Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Stanford/Duke/Columbia/Cornell/UPenn/Brown/Dartmouth/MIT...... My parents aren't that keen on sending me to US colleges and so they told me that they would "only" allow me to go if I get accepted into the really prestigious ones.....So yeah...I don't have much choice! :-(</p>

<p>It's really hard for Queenslanders like me to apply to US colleges because no one here ever applies overseas...My school counselor doesn't even know what Ivy League is and most of aussies are american haters which makes me feel bad. I have virtually no support here but I doubt the college admission people would know about this... Queensland is a totally different story to Sydney...would they know about this?</p>

<p>MY STAT</p>

<p>SAT: 2300 (will take again)
SAT II: Hopefully 3 X 800 (Chem, Bio and Maths II)
GPA: N/A but I usually get 6-7As out of 7As. (Apart from my epic fail grade 9 report fml)
Rank: N/A but top 5% (selective medical high school)
IB: predicting 43</p>

<p>ECs </p>

<p>I have a very weak list of ECs :(
there are virtually no volunteer positions available for teenagers like me in queensland (because of insurance reasons only 18+ can volunteer)
and there are no "leaders" in our school.......we don't even have school captains fml</p>

<p>choir (10,11,12)
environmental club (which I created...but there's no real leader there) (11,12)
Tzu Chi volunteering (visiting aged care, food aid to poor people...etc) (11,12)
Dancing at school (10,11,12)
Tutoring lower grades at school (11,12)
Book club (11,12)
Involved in homeless connect project with the local city council
4+ years of working as a waitress in a jap restaurant
many years of playing an instrument
sport (1 year of squash, 1 year of volleyball)
gymming at school (11,12)
summer camp thing at university of qld
.........and other really minor activities...........</p>

<p>AWARDS</p>

<p>1st state science research comp
semi-finalist national science research comp
foundation for young australians - sciences scholarship
top 1% in science comp, maths comp for numerous consecutive years
csiro crest award - gold (only 11~13 every year get them)</p>

<p>in terms of the app, i'm trying to write EXCELLENT ESSAYS because I have a very weak EC list..i'm not sure if my teachers would write a good recommendation for me because they have no idea what it is (never written one before) and they won't "flatter" me because they don't know how important that is. They'll write something like she listens and does her work ...but nothing like "I have never met a student like this...blah blah..." you know..</p>

<p>Chance me!!</p>

2

<p>You need to read through everything, and I do indeed mean everything, at [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/) Then you should get in touch with the counselors at one of the advising centers in Australia. [EducationUSA</a> - Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/Australia]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/Australia) Even if you can’t visit in person, they should be able to help you by email or telephone. They are the experts at helping Australian students find good places to study in the US.</p>

3

<p>This may sound ridiculous and almost taking advantage of great misfortune (I don’t mean it that way), but if you want a really good EC, you should try and help out with the flooding and then see if you can tie it in with the environmental club (climate change) and the homeless (post-flood) thing you do. You’d also be able to write a good essay with that.</p>

4

<p>I went through similar experience. I’m done applying to some colleges now, but I had quite a hard time doing so. I come from a city in northeastern Brazil, where statistically 99% of the high school students stay in town for college education. Ah, I even get tired mentioning the various meetings I had with my school’s principal and teachers to get recommendation letters and transcripts done/translated.</p>

<p>Not to worry though. Though it will depend mostly on you, it is INDEED possible. Your SAT scores are great and should allow you to apply to any prestigious college. Take commitment with outside-class experiences. Pick something you love doing and go as deep as you can into it. For example: if you love playing (music), do everything you can to play on concerts, competitions, etc. Passion is something that American colleges, mainly the top ones, use to distinguish regular applicants from ‘‘outstanding’’ applicants (regarding that everyone has the same grades and stuff).</p>

<p>I too initially thought I had a weak list of ECs, but when I looked around, I realized I had many; I just didn’t call them ECs as they were inextricably connected to my passion.</p>

<p>You’ve certainly got potential; keep following your wish. Remember: there is no better victory than having taken your goal to the finish line.</p>

<p>I know the members of this forum will help you a lot during the whole process. Yet, if you still need any kind of help/advice, feel free to contact me ;)</p>