<p>Hi guys</p>
<p>I live in Switzerland and here it's really hard to do any extracurricular activities or join any clubs, because our schools don't offer them.
We have a totally different school systems and I did an apprenticeship for the last 3 years ( I worked 27 hrs per week in a Swiss Bank, took evening classes and the other 2 days I went to a higher high school.)
So besides work I had to study for all my exams etc. and the apprenticeship which I did is the most demanding one.
Once a month over 3 years I participated in a program for "Young Professionals in Banking". There I had exams and lots of self-study too. (just to be clear, I do NOT have a bachelor degree or an associate degree.)
The only extracurricular thing I did was being the class representative over 3 years and whenever I had the chance to help out for my employer, I did.
Besides that, we don't get any honors or awards and therefore I don't have anything like that either. </p>
<p>My GPA is about 3.8 (I don't know how they'll look at it because of our different grading system and a 4.00 is impossible in Switzerland) and my SAT scores are around 700-720. In the French with Listening Subject Test I scored 800.
I am fluent in German, English, French and at a beginner level in Spanish and Italian. </p>
<p>Our school doesn't rank, but after 3 years we have our final exams and I scored a 5.4 out of 6 and I was number 2 out of 1000+ students. </p>
<p>My essay is about how I matured and how I changed because I started working with senior bankers at the age of 15. (I'm a girl, blond, and thanks to prejudice everybody thinks I'm stupid.)</p>
<p>What do you think are my chances to get into a highly selective college?
Should I start doing anything else to make my extracurricular activities look better?</p>
<p>I really have no connection to anybody who can help me with the admission process so I'd be really thankful if somebody takes his/her time to answer. </p>
<p>What is your total Sat 1 score? Where are you applying?</p>
<p>over all it’s 2120</p>
<p>Boston College
Swarthmore College
Babson College
Yale College
Harvard College </p>
<p>and some safe “back up” colleges </p>
<p>Have you heard of the London School of Economics? It is close to Switzerland. </p>
<p>Yes I know but I definitely want to study in the US.
My parents won the green card and because of this I’m a US permanent resident and I’m treated as a domestic student in the applicant pool </p>
<p>Well, because of your schooling, you won’t necessarily be treated as a domestic student.
You will be eligible to apply for financial aid for permanent residents, but you won’t be compared to domestic student profiles. You will be compared to similar students from your region.</p>
<p>Also, no matter where you go, you’ll be considered as an OOS applicant for public schools, so your rates will be charged at OOS prices, but that might come down a little with your aid. Your family does not pay in-state taxes, so do not assume that in-state fees apply to you. </p>
<p>You have a really unique experience with banking! I’d say you have good chances</p>
<p>A 3-year internship (apprenticeship) in a Swiss bank + class rank 2 out of 1000+ students are a winning combination in my opinion.</p>
<p>(This is assuming you actually worked with senior bankers and learned from managers, not just bank tellers and greeters).</p>
<p>Were you paid during your apprenticeship? Did you save some of that money? What is your family’s budget for college?</p>
<p>Try taking Subject tests in German and either Spanish or Italian (whichever you feel strongest in - Spanish is offered on every test date though.) It’s very rare to see applicants with high subject scores in several languages. Since you’d be aiming (I assume) for colleges with Finance/IB/Wall street connections, you’d need a high Math 2 score as a third Subject. </p>
<p>What colleges would you be applying for?
I imagine Stern, Wharton, perhaps the Jerome Fisher program, Amherst, Williams, HYP, Colgate, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Fordham, Baruch/Zicklin, perhaps Kelley if you don’t need financial aid?
An issue will definitely be whether you need financial aid and how much, though.</p>
<p>Your background would certainly be very intriguing and your apprenticeship, provided you didn’t just shadow, (hanging out at the bank counters, carrying coffee trays) would certainly be a sort of EC, in the same way that for students with a serious job commitment, the job “counts”.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you, you’re really helpful! </p>
<p>@Myos1634</p>
<p>Yes I were paid during my apprenticeship, but living in Switzerland is expensive and since I’m 17 I live on my own, so I could only save about 5000 $. (My parents and I don’t get along really well. But I know this won’t help me in the FAFSA process. They are willing to fill out everything and give me all information, but I have to pay on my own for everything. )
But I will work until next summer and save all that money. </p>
<p>Do you think it’s really an advantage if I take a subject test in German?
(Swiss German is my mother tongue, but in school we only speak the normal German. ) </p>
<p>What about Math 1 scores for the SAT 2?
The problem is my school didn’t offer any geometry class.
(But instead of this I had financial account, law, business management etc and everywhere an A throughout 3 years.) </p>
<p>I definitely want to try: </p>
<p>Amherst
Boston College
Babson College
Brown University
Columbia University
Harvard College
Fordham
Stern
Skidmore College
Swarthmore
Yale College</p>
<p>and any safe, back-up college but I didn’t decide yet. </p>
<p>I do need financial aid, that’s the problem.
But because of my US permanent resident status, I’m at least eligible for all the aids. </p>
<p>Another question:
I didn’t have biology or chemistry since 9th grade. Would this be a disadvantage for a LAC? </p>
<p>Would you recommend me to write any additional information?
Maybe about our school/ apprenticeship system? </p>
<p>If German is your mother tongue, then another language (French?? Italian???) Math 1 is very harshly curved, it’s very hard to get a high score. Can you study Math 2 on your own? I’m sure you’ve studied 75% of the stuff on it anyway, I think it goes to Algebra2.
Have you looked into the ACT? It may fit better with the curriculum you followed.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 </p>
<p>Alright thanks.
I already took the SAT 2 French Test.</p>
<p>So would you say Math 1 is more difficult than Math 2?
I didn’t have any geometry since 3 years… </p>
<p>Yes thanks I’ve already looked into it, but there’s the problem that I didn’t have or chemistry since 9th grade. So I need to self-study everything too. </p>
<p>ACT doesn’t test specific science, but science reasoning: ability to read graphs and charts, to make logical conclusions, find fallacies, etc, based on documents provided. I would imagine your logical skills are pretty high so you’re likely to do well, and most colleges consider that the ACT = SAT + SAT SUbjects, with the French test supplementing this. NOT all from your list though so check carefully. Still, it’d be easier in most cases.</p>
<p>Check out Bryant.</p>
<p>Most top schools (HYP, for instance) don’t offer business as a major as it’s considered more "vocational’ - at these schools, you’d major in applied math, economics, or basically anything that has a quantitative component, you could even major in something else entirely and minor in something quantitative.</p>
<p>What subjects HAVE you taken and how advanced were they (ie., if calculus, how far did you go)?</p>
<p>I mentioned ability in more than one foreign language above, so you’d need to pick Italian (or another one) if you were to go with another foreign language. But I think taking the ACT should make things a bit easier at least for some of your college apps.</p>