<p>Hi to all. Could you just take a look at my academic background and give me a suggestion about choosing the right US Universities to apply.</p>
<p>I am a high school student from Serbia, 12th grade, applying for financial aid.</p>
<p>GPA unweighted: 3.95
Rank: less than top 1%
Attending competitive high school, honors department of Mathematics. School has contract with university, most courses were taken by the university professors, holding PhD. School curricular corresponds to first two years of undergraduate studies with major in mathematics.</p>
<p>Some of the courses taken (by university professors):
Analyses and Algebra, grades 9-12
Geometry, grades 9, 10
Linear Algebra and Analytical Geometry, grade 11
Numerical Mathematics, grade 12
Statistics and Probability, grade 12
Computer Programming (Pascal, C/C++, Java, Assembler, Prolog), grades 9-12
Graph Theory and Algorithms, grades 10-12
Databases (SQL), grade 12
Physics, accelerated, grades 9-12</p>
<p>Academic Achievements:
- Won prizes on National contest in Physics
2001- First prize, 2002- Second, 2003- third
- more than 20 awards on other competitions in Physics and Math
- Twice awarded for top-level results in Physics (Department for Youth)</p>
<p>Research:
- Appliance of apsorption-desorption model on vibrated granular materials (Petnica Science Center & Scientific Computing Laboratory, undergoing)
- Modeling of prion diseases with cellular automata (PSC, project proposal)
o determining expansion of mad-cow disease
- participated on 8 seminars at Petnica Science Center, mostly in Physics.</p>
<p>ECs:
Debate and public speaking club (participated in radio debates, debate tournaments)
High school Students Parliament president (2004)
Editor of school newspaper, articles published in leading Serbian daily newspapers (Blic, Novosti)
Participated in volunteer work camps (2003-05) in Serbia, Germany and Croatia (one was about restoring a WWII concentration camp into a museum in Hattingen near Essen, Germany) (70 days totally)
Leadership awarded with Certificate of Recognition (US Department of State)
Participated in community project, involving elderly people
(around 400 hours)
Sports: swimming and rowing (no special achievements)
[many other not mentioned]</p>
<p>International experience:
visited Germany, France, New Zealand, Tunisia (Sahara Desert), Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Greece...</p>
<p>Languages: Serbian (native), English (proficiently), German (elementary)</p>
<p>Recs:
-quite good, mostly by university professors, possibly by former Director of Institute of Physics and CERN researcher or former university Rector.</p>
<p>SAT1:
Math 710, Verbal 560, writing 480
[I consider it quite low, but I didn't prepare at all, expected 800 on math but had small problems with understanding. Math raw score 50/54 questions]</p>
<p>SAT2:
Math, Physics and Chemistry - will be taken in Dec.</p>
<p>Tell me if you know some good safety university, where are good chances of getting FA... I cannot afford applying to many. Which 5 would you pick if you were in my shoes?</p>