<p>Hi, I'm a rising high school junior (in Korea, the new school year starts next week) and I was wondering what my chances are for certain universities as an international student, plus, I have some extra questions regarding the Common Application.
Let me explain my current situation at high school so far.
- GPA: approximately 2.3, since my school doesn't use the GPA system. I just guesstimated it. I started 10th grade on the wrong foot after going through many mental breakdowns while trying to survive in the notorious South Korean high school. :(( But, I've hardened my heart to do better this year, so....
- TOEFL: My first score (which I just took out of curiosity) turned up to be 110. But due to my parent's incessant requests to try my chances at TOEFL again so that I could go to an university in South Korea as a back up plan, I'm planning on to take the TOEFL again this Sunday. Currently, there is a definite chance that I'll score over 115.
- SAT: Although I haven't taken the actual test yet, after taking multiple tests at home, I've estimated my score at around 2000. But I've planning to take them this November, so I say that's plenty of time for me to improve... Right? (Nobody at my school is even capable of reading this, because of their 'underdeveloped' English skills, so I'm studying the SATs and the SAT Subject Tests on my own. :( )
- SAT Subject Tests: I'm planning on taking the Literature, World History and Biology- Ecology at this June. The estimated scores of each tests are 600 and 500. I haven't been able to work on Biology because it's too mind-boggling... :(
- Extra Curricular Activities: I've clocked in over 50 hours of volunteer work so far, and I'm part of the school rock band, as the drummer. I've also won first place in the school 'English Vocabulary Contest' (Child's play), and second place in the 'English Speech Contest.'
- Essay: With my up-to-par writing skills, I've managed to devise and eloquent - at least on my point of view - essay regarding the hardships that I've gone through as a student with ADHD, clinical depression and anxiety disorders trying to survive in one of the most competitive countries in the world, and how I managed to survive high school.
That's all that I can say for now, since I only finished my first year in high school, but you can say that there is more to come. Anyway, here are my questions.
- What are my chances for NYU Tisch and Gallatin? If I need to improve in some fields, what are they, and how can I make them better? Please, help me if you can, NYU is like the dream school for me. I don't know how much I can emphasize that.
- Currently, I'm planning on majoring in musical theatre/theatre. What are some schools that have an excellent arts program and accepts recorded auditions and don't require credential evaluation for its international students? I can't fly to America to audition for something that there is a chance for me to fail. That's too risky and too much of a financial burden to my whole family. Moreover, credential evaluation takes too much time and money.
- In regarding my common application, how do you upload the teacher's recommendation letters? I know I might be thinking and worrying too ahead of time, but I'm still curious. Since my teachers aren't able to speak or read English as fluently as me, I have no idea how to get the recommendation letters on there. Help?
- Also, do I have to send my high school transcript and the translation by mail to the university? Or can I just upload them online or something?
- In the Common Applications Activities section, can I write about my blog (averyessmin.wordpress.com), which I've been actively running since I was in sophomore year? I've posted a lot of things up there, so I would like to put this on my application. Is something like this possible?
Thank you for taking your time to read all of this through and actually going through the hassle of answering my questions. You just saved another girl from having another mental breakdown + anxiety attack! (Questions like these have been keeping me up all night, literally.)
Good day!</p>
<p>You said that flying to America to audition would be a financial burden on your family. NYU is one of the most expensive colleges in the country and with poor financial aid(almost one for internationals). How is your family planning to finance your college aspirations, and how much can they afford to pay? That should be your number one factor when choosing a college, as very few colleges here give substantial aid to international students, and they are extremely competitive.</p>
<p>My parents are able to finance my studies, it’s just that I have to skip school to go audition in-person in the US. Many other factors including that hamper me from auditioning in-person.</p>
<p>Don’t guesstimate your GPA. (Be aware that anything below a 3.0 is not good, and to get admitted to a top school it’s expected you have a 3.7. That gives you an idea. Look at the thread “colleges for B students”, the parents aren’t asking “where will my very good student choose to go?”)</p>
<p>Make sure your counselor provides (ie., you provide your counselor) a detailed school profile, that should include:
- selection process, at each level from kindergarten on if necessary (interview, “orientation”/“tracking”, test, application, letter, parents’ review…)
- what percentage students in the school reach each grade benchmark. ie, 0.5% reach a 1, 5% reach a 1.5, 8% reach a 2, 12% reach a 2.5, 20% reach a 3, etc
- how these benchmarks compare to the national benchmarks - does your school’s “2” result in a 2 at national exams, in a 1, in a 3 (ie., is your school a harsh grader, on level, or an easy grader)?
- what are your school’s results on national competitions, exams, etc? Is your school regionally or nationally ranked in something or overall?
- school schedule (ie., 8-3pm, 8-6pm…), but add hagwon if necessary, clubs offered, etc. </p>
<p>Can you transfer into an American or International high school for this year and next?</p>
<p>TOEFL: for American colleges, once you’ve reached 100, they no longer look at the score and move on to your SAT 1 and SAT Subject results. Take that TOEFL for your parents and send the results to 4 colleges of your choice (I suggest: Muhlenberg, Occidental, NYU, and one more, perhaps USC?)
Since Biology is “mind boggling”, look for another subject where you could do well. Are you sure Math2 is too hard for you, for instance? Biology classes in the US may not cover the same material as in Korea, whereas Math is math and if you’ve taken Algebra, Geometry, a little trigonometry, a little statistics, and a little math analysis, you should be fine with math 2.</p>
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And I must emphasize that you must let go of the dream college idea.
Your goal as an international should be to find 2 schools you’re pretty sure you’ll get into, about 5 colleges you think you can get into, and then only can you add dream colleges. And this is if your parents can pay full costs for you, because if you need scholarships it’ll be even harder and you won’t be able to have a “dream college” other than to yourself, you’ll have to apply where the financial aid/scholarships are.
Realize you’ll be going against kids who’ve been doing theater, summer stock, etc, etc, since middle school (read <em>Drama</em> by Raina Telgemeier and <em>Better Nate than Never</em> by Tim Federle).
So you need to have a multi-prong approach: getting into a drama program (U Cincinnati’s, Muhlenberg’s…), getting into a college where you can major in theater or something else but be involved in drama at a high level, getting into college and learn the skills for further development while attending major productions.</p>
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Too early yet. You need to land some major roles in theater and musical theater at any level (community theater, school drama, youth group…) if there’s no club at your school, create one. Start small (1-act play, or one act from one play.)</p>
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You translate everything for them into Korean. They prepare what they want and give it to you. You translate it into English, then you give both to your English teacher for approval. Then you set up a meeting so that everything is typed into the CommonApp. You sit next to the teacher and help them navigate. Therefore you need to plan this well ahead of time. Asking in June to September is best.</p>
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Your counselor will have to upload everything. Usually with you sitting nearby to help them navigate the application. Everything will have to be ready ahead of time (school profile with grading scale, written evaluation in English, etc).</p>
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Yes, as an EC. You can list it first, not only with how long you’ve been writing, but how many readers you have, single hits, whether it’s developed into a youtube channel or whatever… Ask your local paper to see if you could write a little column for them (could be “how I applied to American colleges”… I’m sure it’d have a following).</p>