<p>I'm in my final year of A Levels right now (senior year) and completed my GCE O Levels a year back. Got the following result: A's in English, Mathematics, Accounting, Economics, Commerce and Islamiat, a B in Urdu and a D in Pakistan Studies. How will this affect my application? Even if I have good SAT scores (currently have an 1860, retaking in oct and trying to cross 2100), recommendations and a good A1 (first year of A Levels) result and a good essay, will my chances of getting accepted at good colleges such as Cornell, Vassar and some other "not so good but still pretty good unis" be ruined because of this D? And is there any way that I can show universities that I didn't take this subject up and only had 6 A's and 1 B at O' Levels?</p>
<p>I didn’t call Cornell “not so good but still pretty good”. I just meant that I want to apply to Cornell along with other universities which fit the above definition. I’m not stupid enough to categorize a Cornell like that :P</p>
<p>Well, a “D” will always hurt you but because you are a US Citizen it probably won’t kill you. I hate to tell you though, but you need to be thinking of schools like Cornell and Vassar as reach schools and make sure you have a list of other schools you’d like to attend.</p>
<p>First I said “good colleges” and added Cornell and Vassar to them. Then I said other “not so good but still pretty good unis”. Didn’t categorize the former with the latter. But let’s not make this a grammar debate, okay? :)</p>
<p>And yeah, that’s obviously what I’m thinking of them. I haven’t really decided on which colleges to apply to yet. Just have a vague idea of what would be a match for me.</p>
<p>And till what extent will it hurt me? </p>
<p>[optimism]Won’t colleges look at the fact that I have A’s in more important subjects such as Math and English? Would they even care about a subject called “Pakistan Studies”?[/optimism]</p>
<p>And no, I didn’t retake that subject. Was really misguided at the time.</p>
<p>Look…A ‘D’ in any subject would hurt you…and Pakistan Studies is not an unimportant subject…it’s history and geography…which is practically highly valued…you should have resit the subject…</p>
<p>The main question is, do you need financial aid?</p>
<p>And particularly what type of colleges are you looking for?..In which state?..just list them down…and feel free to ask any question you have…</p>
<p>I have to be honest. No mater what, you got a D. Whether it was in an “important” subject or not, it shows that you slacked. As a student, you have to put your best into every subject, even the ones you don’t like.</p>
<p>There’s not much you can do to make up for it, especially since you are studying in Pakistan. I would suggest taking a similar course independently (i.e. online), and getting an A. Your essay/additional info spots on the app would be a good place to explain why you got a D and how you made up for it.</p>
<p>And just so you know, no matter how good you are, Cornell is a reach school. It might not be at the same level as Harvard or Yale, but it’s still a reach. What schools are you looking at?</p>
<p>“The main question is, do you need financial aid?”</p>
<p>Yes. I’m the son of a taxi driver.</p>
<p>And actually yeah, my circumstances weren’t very good when I was sitting for my O Level exams. My parents were being separated and some other **** was happening so I had to move to America temporarily (the plan was to stay permanently at that time) leaving my O Levels half-way through. After I came back I had 5 months left before exams and no school would take me so I self-studied and sat for them privately. I was also highly misguided at the time and people told me “pak studies isn’t important, unis don’t give a **** about it” and other similar stuff so I decided to focus more on the other subjects. I also wasn’t very passionate about studies at the time and gained a high level of interest in academics and gained knowledge about the college admission process after I started my A Levels.</p>
<p>Though I reckon if I explain all this it could go either way. To my advantage or disadvantage.</p>
<p>What do you guys think?</p>
<p>“What schools are you looking at?”</p>
<p>Haven’t done that much research as of yet. It would depend on what I get on my Oct SAT. Only have a vague idea.</p>