general questions about the app process

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>Hello Community, I’m an international and thinking about studying in the US (undergraduate in fall 2014)
I’m researching for some weeks now, but there are still some things I didn’t fully understand, so I hope to find an answer here :)</p>

<ol>
<li>How does the whole application process work?</li>
<li><p>Is it right that I have to send my test scores (also the toefl?) first, so that the college will know that I’m interested in applying? And then I send the common app, the supplement and the app fee and all these things until the deadline? </p></li>
<li><p>How exactly does Fee Waiver work?</p></li>
<li><p>So what do I have to do & how probable is it that the fee will actually be waved in the end?</p></li>
<li><p>Recommendation letters?</p></li>
<li><p>Are the requested recommendation letters the same as the teacher evaluation pdf-forms from the common app? Or are that real letters, in which my teacher explain my academic & personal background?</p></li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li><p>In the common app are also counselor-evaluation forms. Do I always need to fill out these forms, or only if the college requests them? Because from all colleges I considered, there was only one who said sth about a counselor recommendation letter/evaluation</p></li>
<li><p>If the college requests recommendations from teachers who taught me in academic subjects, would they also accept a recommendation from an art teacher? (I have an Art AP class which counts the same as e.g. Math AP in Germany since we have to choose certain combinations to get our diploma (german abitur))</p></li>
</ul>

<ol>
<li>Midyear & final report?</li>
<li><p>I will be already graduated at the time when I apply, so I don’t think it will make much sense, if I send midyear grades and so on. On my final transcript, there will be listed all grades from 11th to 12th grade and my grades from the secondary school leaving examinations (all these grade together result in my final GPA).
--> But as far as I got it, the grades from 9th and 10th grade are also counting in the US high school, so do I need to send my transcripts from 9th and 10th grade in addition to my final transcript?</p></li>
<li><p>Translations?</p></li>
<li><p>If the school requires report/transcript translations, did you translate (& convert?) the transcripts yourself, had them signed and send the translations along with the originals (or signed copies of the originals)? Or did you have them translated by official translators?</p></li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li>Do I also have to get them evaluated through an agency (e.g. wes.org) or does the college evaluate them themselves?</li>
</ul>

<ol>
<li>Applying online?</li>
<li>When I reviewed the common app forms, I saw that there are a lot of things that have to get signed and send directly from my school. The same is with the transcripts and recommendations. So how can I still apply online? </li>
</ol>

<p>I’m sorry for this long post, but I’m totally new to this topic and I would be really happy, if anyone will just answer some of my questions :)</p>

<p>Thank you & greetings from Germany :)</p>

2

<p>Hi Sissy, hope the following helps:

  1. you are not required to send your scores before you submit the common application or supplement (some colleges even accept scores from the January SAT after the regular decision deadline)</p>

<ol>
<li>not sure about fee waivers, but for intl’ students it’s hard to get the fee waived. I guess you have to show that your family can’t afford paying the fees.</li>
</ol>

<p>3.#your teachers will fill the form and the last section on it is blank; that’s the place where they write a detailed letter (they can also attach an additional page if they mail it, or upload the letter as a document if they do it online). #regarding the counselor rec letter, it’s required by a lot of colleges (which pages have you visited?)</p>

<h1>Dein Lehrer vom Kunst-LK kann eine Empfehlung schreiben. Aber pass auf: du kannst Leistungskurs nicht AP Class nennen, die für Deutschland zuständigen admissions officers werden schon wissen was LKs sind</h1>

<ol>
<li><p>You should include your transcript from year 10. Grades from year 9 are not required if you do 13 years of schooling.</p></li>
<li><h1>Just translate and converse by yourself and then have it signed by your school. maybe you wanna explain a bit (like 50% of each grade consists of the mündliche Note and the rest is the schriftliche Note). Actually the AOs sort of know the German grading system so conversion is not really that necessary.</h1>

<h1>only use an agency like wes if a college requires it.</h1></li>
<li><p>Most stuff can be submitted online. rec letters don’t even have to be signed when teachers use their own account (you have to invite them on your commonapp). transcripts and their translations can be signed, scanned and uploaded. but you can only have one document containing all grades. and it must be smaller than 500 kb. if you can’t do it then you must ask your school to send via post</p></li>
</ol>

3

<p>Sydneyuni’s answer is quite comprehensive. Just to add a few more points:</p>

<p>If you have already graduated, you won’t have to submit midyear or final school reports because the initial report is already complete. When you translate the transcripts, I would model the format after an American transcript: put all grades on a single page rather than one page per semester/year. (MUCH easier to read!) </p>

<p>Do not convert your grades; report them on whatever scale they are. (Probably 1-6 or 15-0.) The international supplement to the secondary school report will ask you for an approximate grade equivalence. I suggest you use the one used by WES:
A = 1-2
B = 3
C = 4
F = 5-6</p>

<p>I translated Leistungskurse and Grundkurse with “higher level” and “standard level” courses. That’s the terminology used for the International Baccalaureate program and gets the distinction across quite accurately in my opinion. To avoid confusion with the actual International Baccalaureate, I would keep the German term next to the translation (e.g. in parentheses).</p>

<p>One more personal piece of advice: unless your school sends students to the US more frequently, you should be prepared to do most of the legwork for the school documents yourself and help your teachers where ever you can. For example, most teachers wouldn’t know what an American letter of recommendation is supposed to look like and would appreciate suggestions on format and content.</p>

4

<p>Okay, one <em>final</em> last thing. If you are currently in your final year of school and will apply next year while out of school, I would recommend that you complete all of the school-related paperwork this year before your teachers leave for the summer. The whole process will go much smoother if you can communicate with your teachers in person, and your teachers will find it easier to evaluate your performance while you are still their student and fresh in their memory.</p>

<p>For that purpose, I’d recommend that you use paper forms for your school reports rather than the online application system (which won’t go up until August). You can prepare all of the envelopes now (make sure that your teachers sign across the back of the envelope to show that it’s “sealed”) and store them until you are ready to apply.</p>

5

<p>Hey there, first of all I want to thank you both for your really fast (!) and detailed reply – I hadn’t expected that :slight_smile: And I’m sorry that I haven’t answered yet. It’s just that my teachers are all going kind of crazy lately because of the final exams in April. So I hadn’t found time to write. </p>

<p>@Sydneyuni:
“regarding the counselor rec letter, it’s required by a lot of colleges (which pages have you visited?)”</p>

<p>Well, as an example: On the website of Vassar C([Vassar</a> College || Prospective Students FAQ](<a href=“http://admissions.vassar.edu/applyprospective_faq.html]Vassar”>http://admissions.vassar.edu/applyprospective_faq.html)), it says that two recommendations are required – “one from your guidance counselor or school advisor and one from a teacher in a core academic subject.”</p>

<p>The website of Mount Holyoke C ([Regular</a> Decision :: Admission :: Mount Holyoke College](<a href=“http://www.mtholyoke.edu/admission/reg_decision.html]Regular”>http://www.mtholyoke.edu/admission/reg_decision.html)) on the other hand just says “give teacher evaluation forms to two teachers who know you best and can tell us about your talents and strengths” and there is said nothing about the counselor evaluation form (or at least I didn’t find sth).</p>

<p>“Dein Lehrer vom Kunst-LK kann eine Empfehlung schreiben. Aber pass auf: du kannst Leistungskurs nicht AP Class nennen, die für Deutschland zuständigen admissions officers werden schon wissen was LKs sind”</p>

<p>Thanks, that’s good to know. I wasn’t even sure if there is sth similar to the LK in the US system. So I will do what b@r!um recommended.</p>

<p>“You should include your transcript from year 10. Grades from year 9 are not required if you do 13 years of schooling.”</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I’m among the ‘happy’ pupils who have to do all the things from 13years of school in 12years. So I guess I will have to report the grades from year 9-12.</p>

<p>@ ba@r!um:</p>

<p>“I suggest you use the one used by WES: (A = 1-2, B = 3, C = 4, F = 5-6)”</p>

<p>Just as a matter of interest: Where did you find that scale? ‘cause I couldn’t find that on the WES page without paying or sth. And if I don’t have to convert grades (which makes sense), do I have to indicate a GPA? (because I think that would require a conversion?)</p>

<p>“If you are currently in your final year of school and will apply next year while out of school, I would recommend that you complete all of the school-related paperwork this year before your teachers leave for the summer.” </p>

<p>Yeah, that’s what I thought about too and the reason why I’m asking all that questions now :)</p>

<p>“For that purpose, I’d recommend that you use paper forms for your school reports rather than the online application system (which won’t go up until August)”</p>

<p>About that I have a question: Your advice makes great sense, but as far as I understood, I have to print out the pdf forms from the common app page, right? But there every form has the headlines “for fall/spring 2012 enrollment”. And I didn’t find any form for the next year(s), but maybe I did just misunderstand?
(btw: I can’t say for sure for which year I’m going to apply, because that depends from the start of my year abroad (in the US))</p>

<p>OMG, so many questions again…ahh shame on me^^ pls forgive me ;)</p>

6

<p>

[WES</a> Grade Conversion Guide](<a href=“http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/]WES”>Country Resources - WES.org)</p>

<p>

Your Abiturnote is your GPA; no conversion necessary. </p>

<p>

You are right, BUT the Common App forms haven’t substantially changed in years (except maybe for formatting and the dates on the forms). College most certainly won’t mind if you are using the 2012 forms for 2013. You can mention in a cover letter that you are using last year’s forms because you wanted to help your teachers complete the forms before you left the school.</p>

7

<p>Hi, thanks again for your reply :)</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Well, I didn’t know that this works. But if it does, then it’s pretty cool :slight_smile: So I will think about it :)</p>

<p>Oh, and thanks for the link to the WES page with the grade conversion list :)</p>

<p>Greetings, Sissy</p>