Hello,
my first post even tho I have been lurking on CC for a long of a time. I am senior now and I plan to apply to the USA as a biology major or maybe chemistry (not so sure right now). As an international student who is getting together her application alone, I have few questions.
First of all is it normal to get emails from different university 'inviting' you to their universyty?. I haven't opened my email since a few days and when I opened today I got like 10 emails from different universities. At first, I was happy and overwhelmed but then I thought it was weird how universities were interested in me. I don't know if I should trust them or should I take their offers?. They looked a bit desperate...idk I am new to this.
I attended 1 year of high school in Saudia Arabia (2013) and even gave 3 GCSEs exams there. Now I am in Ireland from 2 years. And next year is my last year in highschool. The app requires transcript sent by the school?? I don't know how this work and this might take time from Saudia. The school isn't even familiar with USA's education system. I might be okay with Irish school but its that one year of school in KSA that's bothering me. :(
My Counselor is no help. Like she is racist and the first thing she tells you is 'you can't do that'. She gets jealous as well ( from my experience and I am uncomfortable with her. BTW all other Irish people I have met are one of the nicest on the planet). I know she is needed for a lot of application process and I want to avoid her at all cost. What should I do?
My parents are telling me to not worry about the cost but I was just thinking if applying for aid just in case will be alright? Then we can save for like post grad that I plan to do.
Letter of Recommendation: at first I thought of getting one from my bio and one from my chem teacher but I heard you need one from humanities. The thing is my eng teacher just left for maternity leave and idk if I want a letter from a new teacher. My french grades aren't that grade for reasons explainable and my french teacher is a scary strict teacher. So both of my humanities subjects are not available. I was thinking of getting one from my old eng teacher whom i had a great relation but idk if he will understand this. what should i do???
I know these are all weird questions and they are a lot but it’s just that I am really confused and need a helping hand
Yes, once you take the TOEFL/SAT/ACT, they can get your email address, and write to you. Usually these emails don't mean anything. They are just advertising. In the old days, students would get heaps of paper in the mail everyday.
Normally colleges require official transcripts from every high school you have attended. Ask each of the places you apply to what their policies are, and what they need from the high school in Saudi Arabia. If that school administers GCSEs, it is almost certain that they know how to handle the paperwork for colleges in the US.
For advising, you can contact the EducationUSA office in Dublin https://educationusa.state.gov/centers/fulbright-dublin The counselors there can help you with this whole process. EducationUSA is a not-for-profit organization, so if any fees are charged they will be minimal and will go directly to maintaining that office.
You and your parents need to talk about the money issues. That way you will know whether you need to pursue need-based or merit-based aid.
You don't necessarily need a letter from a teacher in the humanities. But if you do and you know how to find your English teacher, if you are very nice and polite, she might be happy to write that letter for you even though she is on leave right now.
Merit-based aid (sometimes referred to as scholarships) is financial aid awarded on the basis of your grades, test scores and academic accomplishments.
Need-based aid is when the school decides your family doesn’t make enough money to pay tuition. It’s based on the financial information your family makes available to the school. Please note that it’s THE SCHOOL that decides, not you or your family.
There’s a lot of INVALUABLE free information about this on the Financial Aid and Scholarships thread. You and your parents should check it out to help you avoid making mistakes and wrong decisions regarding the application process.
Thank you for your answer. Yeah I understand that money is something that I have to decide with my parents
Idk if my school knows how to handle sending my information to USA colleges! Should I just tell them to send my transcript? Idk how to approach this or explain it to them?
I know there will be documents the colleges wants directly from my school ‘like mid-year reports’.
Yes, speak to your school(s). It’s hard for me to imagine that any international school, even one in Saudi Arabia, doesn’t know how to send transcripts to international universities and/or American colleges. A school in Dublin should likewise be able to figure it out - even if they haven’t done it before.
First of all, you have to find out how much can you family really afford, then you will know which range of schools you will need to apply.
Your schools can send the transcript in their own system, US universities generally have people specialized in different education systems around the world.
hello…just one more question…I cant find Penn State Uni, University of Texas,Michigan State University,University of Washington and University of Alabama on common app? why is that?
Not all universities use the Common App. Go to the website of the school(s) for which you are interested and check their application process under Admissions.
Did you submit your records from Saudi Arabia when you transferred to your current school? If so, they will be a part of your school records and you will not need to request them separately.
I don’t think so when I came to Ireland and went to the principle she never asked me to submit my old record so I guess I would have to ask my old school separately
@MYOS1634 I have a question, in the common app when they ask about’ how many schools have you attended?’ Are they just asking about high school or every school?
Can I ask about English? I mean I speak Urdu at home and it is also my first language but I have been studying at schools where they speak English only…Even In KSA the schools were all English and now in Ireland obviously…my grades in English are very well too.
I gave SAT with essay and got 6/6/6 on the first try My question is , do I have to give TOEFL or IELTS to prove English proficiency?
