Chances of admissions, unusual GPA

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, I am a senior at an International School in Korea and I was wondering what my admissions chances are like for : MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Purdue WL, UW Seattle, Washington University St. Loius, Georgia Tech, and Harvard.</p>

<p>My GPA is
9th: Below 2.00/4.00 I failed every class except science, math and english
10th: 2.66/5.00 C's and D's across the board, with a few B's and A's.
11th: Same as 10th
11th (Second Semester): 4.15/4.33 UW
12th: 4.19/4.33 UW</p>

<p>Basically from 9th grade to the 1st semester of 11th grade, I spent time at a Korean school when I basically knew zero Korean. On top of that, 10th and part of 11th were completed at probably the most prestigious and hard school in Korea. (Top 3) I had just arrived from the States. I got worried about my grade and transferred to an international school and my grades went through the roof. </p>

<p>Test Scores:
TOEFL: 300/300
Old SAT I: 1510, V:750 M: 760
New SAT I: 2200 V: 670 M: 790 W: 740 (Verbal might hurt)
SAT IIs: Math IIC: 800 Writing: 750 Physics: 770</p>

<p>Courses: The most rigorous courses available, but I only have two AP courses, because only three are offered and one of them is ART.
Right now I take:
Spanish III, AP PHysics, AP Calculus, Orchestra, Honors Chem, English, American Government</p>

<p>EC:
Varsity Volleyball/Soccer- 2 years
MUN- 2 years
Student Council as Senior Class Representative - 1 year
Community Service - Over a span of three years, roughly 4-5 hundred hours
Intramural Tennis: 12 years
Orchestra: 4 years
AESOTOPE: This was an international science festival/fair for European and Asian students.
Literary Magazine: 3 years, now editor</p>

<p>Awards: Honor roll 2 years running, Scholar Athlete award, most independent thinker, outstanding student (math), outstanding participation (Social Studies), Good Citizenship Award, 2nd Place Overall for Science Term Paper, and a few other "non academic" awards. </p>

<p>And I have amazing recommendations and will not apply for any financial aid. </p>

<p>The problem is my GPA. I feel like everything else is fine. I have good EC and Awards, and take the most rigorous courses, but my GPA is a bummer. By the way, by GOOD, I mean that based on what is available to me. I did everything when I was given the chance to do it. For example two AP courses may sound pathetic, but hey the school only offers two AP courses. </p>

<p>Anyways, what are my chances of admission? With those SAT scores, you might be wondering what the hell I am worried about. But my GPA is on a pretty wide spectrum and I am curious as to how the admissions office would look at that.</p>

2

<p>Interesting rise in GPA...gotta explain what went wrong in the beginning in your app. btw I graduate from TCIS last year, which school do you go to?</p>

3

<p>I go to Indianhead International. Way up in north of Seoul. TCIS is a pretty nice school, but dorms were not really an option for me, so I decided to stay in Seoul. (Disappointed in the soccer field! The TCIS website, I am pretty sure, had a picture of a green, grass field. Not the sand I expected lol.)</p>

<p>Yea I did include that in my application. All my recommendation refer to it one way or another, and I refer to it in my essay.</p>

4

<p>u went to minjok or daewon (10th and 11th)?</p>

5

<p>both daewon and minjok do not give harsh grades from what I've heard :) Glad to meet another Korean here! I think your chances are just as good as other candidates -(It's nearly impossible to tell person have a 'shot' in schools like Harvard, MIT, CIT, Stanford etc.)You'll definately have to explain the unusual circumstance, good luck!</p>

6

<p>Harvard, CIT, and Stanford are going to be longshots - and it does not appear that you have the EC's that might squeak you into MIT. Grades / class rank may also be an issue at Purdue/GA Tech - you need to determine if your GPA is going to automatically exclude you from consideration. You may be fine - but better to address the issue now.</p>

<p>IMO, you need to add private schools that are not totally numbers-driven (so your GPA will keep you out) and also not so insanely selective as Harvard and company.</p>

7

<p>i went to seoul science high school. </p>

<p>and interesting comments...</p>

<p>when I sent my applications, my GPA were seperate. I had one set for my Korean schools and another for my International school. There was really no way we could average it fairly, considering they are on different scales (4.33 and 5.00) and given the fact that Korean schools do not have credit value for courses. </p>

<p>As for EC I do admit they are on the weakside for MIT. I should have had more science related stuff. But my friend last year got in with zero science ECs. </p>

<p>If I get into any of the schools I'd be happy...it's just what if I won't get accepted anywhere?</p>

<p>I mean it's not every year that an applicant comes with such a wide spectrum of GPA. </p>

<p>One last question. Which of the colleges I've applied for do I have the best shot at?</p>

8

<p>My god, isn't seoul science high school requires that goddamn college level math and science entrance tests ? and did You passed all though you're not so confident in Korean? It's amazing O_o !</p>

9

<p>'If I get into any of the schools I'd be happy...it's just what if I won't get accepted anywhere?'</p>

<p>Your resume is such that it is very hard to predict what will fall your way and what will not - you may have multiple acceptances in the spring - and I hope you do. Adding (for example) Case, U of Rochester, and RPI would provide a broader foundation that your current list does not give you. I am suggesting these schools because they are private, and all have relatively generous admission rates, and you would have access to graduate level math/science courses.</p>