Chance me + suggest colleges/match me (international student)

Chance Me / Match Me!
, ,
1

chance me!!!

demographics:
middle eastern (israeli, not white) female, jewish, lgbtq+, higher middle class(will be able to pay full tuition, but aiming for some merit aids from colleges who automatically put applicants in them), regional high school, no hooks

i finished high school this year, and am planning to start applying for colleges in sep 2024 (‘24-‘25 admission cycle) due to mandatory military service :slight_smile:

stats:
cumulative GPA (self calculated): 90.6, there’s no class rank in my country
will be taking the sat in june/may

In my country, the highest amount of units you can take for math and english is 5. i took 4 units of math, and 5 units of english, which i finished a year earlier after getting into a special advanced class.
when it comes to advanced classes, (kinda like APs in the US but not quite), you can take up to maximum 2 majors of your choice. I got permission to take three - music (which includes music theory ((musicians know how tough that is)), music history, band, and more / art history and studio / psychology and sociology ((social sciences)) ). since two classes overlapped, that made me deal with an insane amount of pressure and manage my time throughly.
in my freshman year, i took Intro to Chemistry and intro to Biology, and Physics. and obviously during high school i took more classes, some mandatory. in my sophomore i took 10 units of computer science.

extracurriculars:

  • during school, i took three advanced and difficult classes (music theory, music history (music), art history, psychology instead of two - which is maximum amount of classes that is allowed to take.
  • self study languages. have studied Korean, French, Italian and Norwegian along with my fluent knowledge in Hebrew and English.
  • as part of being in my school’s student council, i led and helped organizing an autistic representation day at my school + lgbt+ support group.
  • during summer i was assisting a first-grade teacher with her students during post covid summer school - helping them with assignments while being there for the teacher as they went on a field trip.
  • i wrote a 45-page research paper discussing the development of serial killers from multiple perspectives and history, using respective sources and my own knowledge.
  • during my mandatory military service, i am serving as part of the adjutant corps. my job is to visit injured soldiers at home and in hospitals, while providing them mental, psychological help and turning them to the rightful authorities if they haven’t received financial or any sort of mandatory help. + visit grieving families who lost their children and walk them through the grieving process.
  • formed 2 hard rock bands, and was part of my school’s band - performed at the holocaust memorial ceremony in front of 3500+ students and holocaust survivors.
  • art: have been drawing + painting for 10 years . participated in 3 exhibitions (1 solo) and sold 10+ of my artworks for $1000+.
  • co-leader of my school’s eco-garden - hosted yearly food stations in the garden, helped planting seeds and growing them, built and painted benches for the garden
  • cashier at local large art store - memorized all the store’s items and prices (it is a huge store), provided assistance to tens of costumers a day

LORs:
english teacher, social sciences teacher, and counselor

major: i’m mostly planning on majoring in psychology. if the school offers that, i would like to dual degree in psychology + anything art related, but that’s not what i’m striving for. just if the opportunity is there.

college list so far - depaul, uchicago, fordham, the new school, clark university.
chance me and suggest more colleges please!

and before you begin with the questions about why i wanna study in the US instead of my home country, please don’t. i’m only here for advice and suggestions, i’ve been thinking about this for a long time and am very certain in what i want to do.

1 Like
2

Smith College or Mount Holyoke would suit your interest in the study of psychology, with Holyoke, I believe, providing the greater chance for merit scholarship recognition.

2 Likes
3

Sounds like you prefer urban schools, is that correct? Besides Chicago and NYC, any particular cities or regions you prefer? Are you open to the South, West coast, Midwest?

4

The first thing that comes to mind is that there are a LOT of universities that are very good for psychology. It is a relatively popular major.

The second thing that comes to mind is that grade scales differ quite a bit in different countries and in different high schools. In the high school that I attended (in Montreal) an average of 90.6 would have made you either the #1 or #2 student in the high school (and would have pushed me down a notch). In the local public high school where we live now (in the US) an average of 90.6 would not put you in the top 10%, and I don’t think that it would put you in the top 20%. Do you have some sense how your grades compare with your friends and with others in your high school?

One daughter took AP Music Theory. I know how hard it is!

How do you feel about large schools compared to small schools (such as what in the US we would call “liberal arts colleges”)? The US has quite a few excellent large universities, but also has quite a few very good liberal arts colleges.

Have you considered Canada as an alternative to the US? McGill for example is very good for psychology. The fact that you have studied French would not be necessary, but might make living in Montreal a bit more interesting.

5

I think we can better provide suggestions once you have your SAT or ACT test results. There are some colleges that require this for merit aid consideration and/or admissions.

6

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. If you’d like to reply, please flag the thread for moderator attention.