Decisions, decisions.....Advice, anyone?

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>Hey all...Im in a bit of a twist right now, so if anyone can help me out I'd really appreciate it. Any comments on my chances or general advice would be very helpful...</p>

<p>So, I'm a student in Kenya, just finished the IB Diploma programme in November (predicted grade 41, tho I'd be lucky to break 40), took the SAT I in Oct' - 790 Verbal, 660 Math (pretty pathetic I reckon - why does Math hate me??), SAT II in Dec' - 760 Biology M, 680 Math 2c (I hate Maths!), No score yet for Writing (700+ I hope...). </p>

<p>As for the other stats, decent teacher rec's, haven't finished the essays yet, decent EC's, ho hum, etc. RD Deadlines are still at least a week and a half away, right?</p>

<p>I'm applying RD to Yale (I lived in New Haven for a year as a kid when my mother was doing her postgrad at Yale - that counts for something, doesn't it?), Macalaster, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Grinnell, Tufts, Denison, Vassar, Carleton and Lehigh.</p>

<p>My main problem right now is whether to retake the SAT II Maths 2c - I'd really like to show the admissions comm's that I CAN do Math. I'd have made the decision to resit in a heartbeat, but someone told me not to bother and concentrate on the essays instead, cos' the admiss. comm's are looking for international students who don't necessarily fit the sterotypical profile of foreign applicants (i.e. Great at Math, crappy at English). So, what do you think?</p>

<p>Any advice (abuse even!) would be appreciated.</p>

<p>BTW, Ive posted this in the SAT Forum also - sorry if thats against etiquette...</p>

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<p>Yeah you should retake the math IIc if you get the chance. 680 is a bit low IMHO.... though if you think it's because you dont have the background for level 2, then I'd suggest taking level 1 instead. Or both :-)</p>

<p>But if it's not too much of a problem, I think you should retake, and not just retake, but study for it as well. good luck.</p>

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<p>Well, In myopinion, I don't think you should study for it hard.. Maths IIC has a generorous curve - so since you got a 680, that means if you didn't get only a couple of questions incorrect, you couldve easily gotten 700+.</p>

<p>Retake it if it really bothers you, but I don't think its necessary to get something like 710+. Just getting 700 looks good on your app. Yes, 680 may be low, but if your writing score does come out over 700, you might be ok. Your Biology, Verbal, (hopefully) Writing may cover for your low Maths.</p>

<p>It's true that adcoms do look for applicants without the pattern of "perfect maths, sucky english".</p>

<p>Focus more on essays, espicially since you're applying to schools like Yale, hopkins and NYU.
In Yale, everyone's stats are practically alike (the 1600s 800x3 etc). They also recieve like 16,000 applicants a year (am I right?) -
so, the only way to distinguish between applicants are to look for the 'special factor' - which means that you need to shine your special personality in your essays.
ESSAYS ARE IMPORTANT IN YALE AND HOPKINS. Not sure about other schools you mentioned.</p>

<p>Agreeing your mercurysquad, if you find that level 2's content doesnt seem right for you, take level1 - although IC's curve is stupid.</p>

<p>In conclusion, retake Maths but just revise lightly : no need to study hard and get 800 and produce a sucky essay.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>