Hi Brantly! THANK YOU so much!! The idea of having the report card translated (I think it was collegemom) is a great one! Like you said, they have experts reviewing so I should just let them do their job. 
As any Mom though I just want the best for my son and for all of his hard work to be appreciated. The explanation part does seem a bit āunimportantā considering we have absolutely no reason to spend 1/2 page telling them that basketball and track didnāt work out and complaining about the GPA conversionā¦ YES it is probably a bit much. I think the transation of the report cards are great though because in France next to the grade is actually a box for comments. The comments he received were always more important to me than the grade itself. If I can just get that translated it will be a WONDERFUL addition. Iām so exited to get going on that. Is anyone else feeling completely blocked by Covid-19 though. All I want to do seems at a standstill now. Sigh. Even the SAT/ACTs being cancelled for him. I feel so bad for our kids who have worked so hard only to have such major roadblocks put in front of them! By the wayā¦ I think I read you were a writer? In a past post? I am going to ask my son if he would let me share his essay. He comes from a European background and Iām just not sure he is on the right track? I am useless with advice but I know he said he wanted to ask his IB teacher to review it! A writer would also be amazing! THANKS AGAIN!!!
MYOS1634 ā¦in addition to my reply to you #18 I wanted to addā¦I am pretty clueless about the EFC. Lol! This application stuff is incredibly complex ;( Iām pretty sure we are International though. He has American nationalityā¦but Iāve been in France for a quarter of a century! LOL! Iām more French than anything at this point! *He did practice the Bio Subject test at home and scored a 800 (but ran 10 minutes over). I donāt know if he will ever be given the opportunity to take that test in time though. 
The most important advice I can give is to not be over confident in creating his list of colleges. The competition is crazy and the list should be focused on safety and match schools, with a small handful of reach schools to avoid heartbreak.
Know your budget and if you are planning on med school, that itās going to be super expensive.
Each college has a net price calculator on their websites. Use them. Donāt let your child apply to a school that is unaffordable.
A safety school is a guaranteed acceptance that is affordable and that your child is happy to attend. Look at schools that have over 70% acceptance rates. Thatās much harder then making a list of reaches. Start there.
Doesnāt matter where heās lived- the key is that he is a US citizen, and that puts his application in the domestic bucket, not the international one- an important difference, as the acceptance rates are so much better.
I suggest that he go back to essays in August, not sooner. There is a lot of growing, learning & adapting going on. First person essays are always hard, and even a little time can add a lot of perspective. If he gets those first essays back out in August he will be able to see real change in himself, which can be revelatory at any age, but I think especially at this age and stage. Whether he keeps/edits/dumps those essays doesnāt really matter 
B/c you have a high achiever kid aiming for med school the money conversation is important, right from the get go. Be clear about what you can do for him for both undergrad and grad. If your resources mean there no limits- happy days! but if there are limits, conversations about trade-offs, starting now, are important.
The objective is to get the MD w/ minimal debt. Med school scholarships are very finite. There are public service funded options (the AMA lists them here: https://www.ama-assn.org/residents-students/preparing-medical-school/are-medical-school-service-scholarships-right-you). For undergraduate there are some high profile (& very competitive) scholarships that will cover most/all of undergrad costs (freeing up money for med school). There are Stamps scholarships (https://www.stampsscholars.org/our-program/partner-schools/), and many colleges have a handful of named programs (Robertson at Duke & UNC, Cornelius Vanderbilt at Vandy, etc). There are also a fair few colleges that will (in effect) pay for high stats- but they wonāt have names as fancy as a student like your son may be expecting. The fanciest names typically only give $$ for need, not merit. So, this is a conversation that will probably take more than one go, but if relevant should shape the framing of college search & selection.
I can read his essay, at least to let him know if heās on the right track.
@Lindagaf ?
Donāt forget honors college essays. Most post essay topics in July at the latest.
Look up FAFSA4caster. That amount is the minimum a college will expect you to pay.
If you canāt afford it, then he needs to āchase meritā.
Being from France, heās probably never heard of LACs (Liberal Arts Colleges). He can think of them as āprĆ©pasā, with the top 25 being top drawer (think LLG, HIV, Fermat, etc). Most people have never heard of prepas in the US - even in France many families donāt know they exist till thyāre introduced to the concept, except those in the know. Same thing with LACs. The difference is that LACs grant degrees and students arenāt required to attend a top school afterwards (although many do, they can and will head to Wall Street or silicon valley).
He should keep in mind that there are 3,700 universities in the US, so that the scale should be Europe rather than France.
Where the French would say Top 6 or Top 10, you should multiply by 28 to have an idea of selectivityā¦
Finally, a list is built from the bottom up. He needs to identify several colleges that admit 50%+ students that share some characteristics with his top choices, run the NPC, and see with you if the net price is acceptable.
Once heās found 2 that meet all three criteria, he can look at colleges that admit 30-50% applicants. Same process and he needs to find 3-5.
Only then can he add āreachesā, universities with low acceptance rates. He shouldnāt focus on ādream sxhoolsā at this point, exceptā¦ To dream 
. But the real work of building a college list is the process I described above.
Note that in the US cost is a HUGE limiting factor.
Also note that for top 25 universities/LACs, a 1400 is borderline. Itās good but may not be competitive. So āpreppingā may be to his advantage.
Heāll be in the domestic pool (good for him!) and heāll make the first cut if he continues as heās doing academically. Colleges know thereās been a lot of disruption with coronavirus.
If he can he should focus on the javelin as it may be a hook.
Buy a Fiske Guide and/or Princeton Reviewās Best Colleges. Have him find 10-15 colleges that heās never heard of yet likes.
It.s important because many young people think āif Iāve not heard of it it mustnāt be that goodā rather than " there are so many colleges in the US letās look into these".
The med school process is counter intuitive in the US. Basically, you should go to the college that is the most collaborative, most supportive, and the least inexpensive you got into, while being academically within the top 200 roughly.
California publics use weighted GPA but otherwise most top colleges donāt.
It can matter where heās lived, in a positive way - there are some schools where the combination of having lived overseas and being a US citizen/domestic applicant gives a little nudge. The fact that heās clearly green able to embrace a new system and still perform well is also a positive.
Though, @MYOS1634, correct me if Iām wrong, but the prepas and grand ecoles are all tiny. All about the size of LACs except specialized (so like undergrad Caltech, Babson, etc.) Just yes, in general, the relevant comparison of US colleges is to all of Europe. Academic talent in the US runs very deep (we have something like half the worldās top 50 and 100 unis with heavily weighting towards the top; something like that).
But I agree with other posters that you may be concentrating on the wrong thing. For someone interested in medicine, you should be spending a lot more time researching the financial aspects (costs, scholarships, your means) rather than fairly immaterial aspects of his HS career. As medicine is grad school only in the US (though he could try to get in to those fast-track and guaranteed admission medical programs, though there, they would look for potential as a doctor), undergrad is the big leagues, not HS. The US is not France (or many other countries), where how you do before undergrad could determine the course of your life. You grew up in the US, right?
Schools will look at your sonās actual grades. Weighted GPA is computed so differently in different high schools across the US that it is essentially useless. I agree that he should make sure that the transcript that is sent to universities includes his actual grades from the European school that he attended.
You might want to also talk about this with his guidance counselor, and have the guidance counselor make a note of it in his or her recommendation.
Is your son a citizen of the US, France, both, and/or somewhere else?
If he continues with this type of results, heās got an amazing academic&financial āsafetyā in McGill. Itās not the residential college experience students expect, more like grad school in a way, but they select based on grades and as a French citizen heād get a huge discount compared to other internationals.
As a US citizen, since you moved after his 10th grade, you had time to re-establish residency, so that he can get the in-state tuition discount at his flagship(s).
What state do you live in?
Some states have exchanges with other states (WUE for the West, MSEP for the Midwest, ACM for the Southā¦)
Some states are better than others when it comes to admission criteria, selectivity, academic quality, costs, and financial aid. If youāre in CA, NC, VA, youāre lucky, for instance, on all accounts. If you live in Pennsylvania, Illinois, AKā¦ not so much, for a variety of reasons.
Finding automatic-admit-for-stats-that-the-student-has is not all that difficult for a high-stats student (and some of these may have lower admission rates than 70%).
However, finding affordability can narrow the range considerably, depending on family finances. Check net price calculators. Also, check for merit scholarships that are automatic-for-stats-that-the-student-has.
But then the hardest part about finding safeties can be the desirability criterion. Many 4.0 HS GPA students feel like āall of their hard work in high school goes to waste if they attend a non-reach collegeā, so finding safeties that they like can be much harder than it should be based purely on automatic admit or scholarships that are more available to them than for less accomplished students.
Hi MomofSenior1!!!
Yesssssā¦ if anything we are very very realistic. Coming from France the āprestigeā of a school isnāt EVER a considerationā¦or at least MUCH MUCH MUCH less so. Institutions are usually considered equal (unless you are very arrogant) and you simply just go to LEARN. We are all about making this affordable. Iām just very worried he wonāt get into the āsafetyā group even (afraid of getting overlooked somehow). I donāt like the idea of applications in general, the fact that someone has the power to decide your future :(. In France simply ARE admitted, nearly universally if you pass HS. It is at the end of the first year of University that you either stay or go based on your grades. I WISH he would have stayed here but he was very close to my Mom and she wasnāt doing so great (health issues) so he moved there last year. He LOVES it though I think he has always wanted to speak English in school. Sooooo now he is there and we just need to make this work. He really wants pre-med too and if that is the case he needs to get some REALLY good grades and go to a āsemiā prestigious school. Any ideas for well known/ semi prestigious but CHEAP 70% acceptance schools? Its a tough bill to fill! Thanks so much for the candid advice!!!
Hey again Collegemom3717!!!
Thank you so much for that wonderful resource link! I will send it on to him. Money IS an issue and he really isnāt about āprestigeā for him so thatās great. He is SOO reasonableā¦ He wants a RESPECTED school that is known and publishes well. For the moment he is looking into schools with a high output of research and internationally reputable. Every school he has researched he calculates the calibre of their Med school into the mixā¦so he is only looking at Undergrad schools with med schools (so that shadowing and volunteering would be options for the undergrad yearsā¦). Often these schools fall in the public category. I went to Notre Dameā¦no med school thereā¦a GREAT school but that really isnāt his cup of tea! He is craving big-time research instituion and biomedical laboratory opportunities GALORE for undergrad. He has accepted that barring getting Canadian residency he will be overwhelmed with debt for med school. Its almost impossible to escape that fact, but he seems okay with it. I guess it is kind of like buying a houseā¦just an investment. The undergrad years though I think can and should economize to maximize a quality education for a reasonable price. WISH WISH WISH that we had more resources to buy him some elite program, but sadly I donāt think he will get beyond 1450 MAX on the SAT and that is great for where he has come fromā¦but it really isnāt enough for being in that top 1% getting mega scholarship bucks! Sighā¦ THANK YOU for your input as always you are so kind!! (And I LOVED the schools partnering with the Strive Foundation! LOOKS AMAZING! We will work and pray! ;))
Hi Myos1634!! You REALLY know your stuff! THANK YOU!!! You roll it out so simply and clearly and YESā¦there will be loads of concessions in this process! EVERYONE dreams of being recruited by the elite and prestigious Uni with scholarship money galore and dual degrees debt free!!! I had a full ride to ND but those days are gone. It is SOOOOOO much more competitive now and yesā¦even with a 1450 (which I believe is an AMMMMMMMMMMMAZING score for a French boy), he wonāt get much. Honestly if he had done all of his education in America though I am SURE beyond a reasonable doubt he would be in the 1550 and 4.4 for sure. That integrated math is SO different here and so spread out. A lot of what is on the SAT would be covered now in 1ere and he just hasnāt covered it yet. He has a lot of āmath gapsā which is crazy, but he is working to catch up. My eldest is at the London School of Economics and rocking hardcore stats and Calculus with her French preparation but it somehow doesnāt correlate well to the timing of the SAT test??? He is going to try the ACT and hope for better results. Based on his practice tests he should be near 800 for Bio and physics though so maybe that will pull him up? We arenāt expecting much but I was wondering if you had any ideas for a great state schoolā¦CHEAP and respected. He was thinking the University of Washington with its amazing med school, Penn State, Rutgersā¦These are all very economical (for the US at least) and great research institutions with solid med schoolsā¦ As far as the smaller liberal arts schoolsā¦ I think he really wants to volunteer/shadow in a hospital so was thinking more about larger schools with med schools attached. But even a small liberal arts school that was located in a big city with a hospital would work!!! THANK YOU so much.
Hi SJ2727ā¦
Awwww, thanks!!! Iām so so proud of him for being in a completely French school from 3 years old to 17 and jumping into an IB program in America!!! What courage that took. I would never be able to do that. Honestly he is my hero! He will have Aās for all his 5 IBs this year and it is completely in ENGLISH! It is amazing to me. THANK YOUā¦ I too think he is pretty amazing to be able to do that, but I just fear that an admission officer wonāt realize how hard that really was to do? He had never seen a PSAT test before and scored better than 96% of kids in the USA having been there 6 weeks in their language!!! I really think he is great, but I sadly think he wonāt be considered as very exceptional with his āupper averageā and not āstellarā statsā¦Sighā¦ At least I know the truth! THANK YOU!!!
MYOS1634ā¦ I totally forgot to reply to your on McGill. SO FUNNY you mention that! We were supposed to meet in Montreal for our school tours last week! We had tickets and EVERYTHING!!! Darn Coronavirus! My eldest daughter was accepted into Desautels and also Econā¦she ended up opting for the London School of Economicsā¦but WE LOVED Montreal. Yes, you are right it is very advantageous for French students!!! There is also UdeM there which would work well for my son if he doesnāt get into Bio at McGill. The science program is TOUGH to get intoā¦and not having any SAT scores yet (only PSAT) he is a bit unsettled. He would be a shoe-in at UdeM though I think. The only hesitation he had was whether med schools would consider accepting from UdeM because it is in French. It is a GREAT school too, but not as elite as McGill in my opinion. He has Concordia, UdeM and McGill to consider and all so cheap with French nationality, yes! WE LOVED MONTREAL! The hitch is that I know MANY USA schools treat Canadian diplomas as āout of stateā and not āinternationalā the pool is still more limited. Probably best to go to a US school if you intend to apply to Med school in the US?? But honestly he would love living in Quebec I think. For me too it feels like a strange homeā¦French/English are so interchangeable and so funny to hear the āBonjour/Hiā greeting from everyone. JUST SO COLD THOUGH! And if it limits med schools to apply to??? Hmmmmmmā¦
Hi PurpleTitan!!!
Yesss you seem to know a lot about Europe too! You guys are great!!! I have spent 1/4 decade in France which has now surpassed my time in the US so I feel SOOOOO out of the loopā¦but YES I did my undergrad at ND in the US and was raised in America. Europeās education is so much simpler but alas he ended up in the US! You are correct that the focus should be the ultimate goalāmed school. Minimizing cost of undergrad and focusing on getting a solid GPA and education are the most important. Coming from this mentality now, I really donāt see āprestigeā as being the main focusā¦just getting into a good affordable school where he can learn and excel. Honestly even going to a state school that isnāt as well ranked would give him the opportunity for an honors program??? Do you have any ideas for schools? Theoretically he wants a school that has a med-program so he will be around high level research and have access to top not lab facilities and shadowing opportunitiesā¦ Prepas here are a waste of money in my humble opinion! Kids donāt really need it but their parents think they do! Lol!
Ucbalumnus, THANK YOU!!! Luckily my son really wonāt feel āoveraccomplishedā anywhere! We were just talking about how if he went to a lesser rated school he might get accepted into an honors program and in the end benefit from a more personal and enriching experience? Iāve looked at stats on med school acceptances and IRONICALLY they run the gamut from ācheapā unknowns to ELITE bank-breakers!!! He is one cheerful guy who just wants to get a super preparation with LOTS of lab and shadowing opportunities and EVENTUALLY get into med school. The BSMD programs are just not an option with a max score predicted of 1450 based on PSAT. He MIGHT get thereā¦but Iām not overly optimistic. The kids with BSMD acceptances just are in another leagueā¦Any ideas for a good ācheapā but amazing school that would give him the great preparation he needs for a med admit? THANK YOU!
He should separate the med school and the university link in his mind, UNLESS itās the state where he has residency. Fwiw, technically speaking, all med schools are āsolidā! In-state med schools are one of the best bets in terms of both admissions and cost. What is your state?
Pretty much any college will be near a hospital for shadowing- and more. For example, University of Richmond, which is an LAC (and offers 25 full merit scholarships) not only has shadowing but a program for pre-meds that gets them EMT certified as student, so they arenāt just shadowing- they are doing.
Also, " He really wants pre-med too and if that is the case he needs to get some REALLY good grades and go to a āsemiā prestigious school" is only half right. Any top 200 school will be more than good enough to get into med school- the cuts are made on GPA & MCAT, then LoRs, PS, and some experience elements.
Re: SAT/ACT: half of our collegekids intuitively āgotā the SAT, the other half āgotā the ACT, so it is a good idea to try both! (there are some standard tips on prepping for the ACT online). Ours arrived in the US having never taken a standardized test, and it is a bit of an art! They also had the same out-of-order problems adjusting to math as you are describing. Khan Academy or a good tutor is your friend here!
From your posts it sounds as though the best thing you can do for him is to help him find a way to graduate from college debt-free, and put any extra money you had set aside for college towards med school. So: instate publics are your first port of call followed by named scholarships (both college sponsored and others). Improving the SAT/ACT could help save tens of thousands of dollars, so worth spending some time on over the summer
ps, Canadian undergrad pre-med IS accepted for US med- itās the only country thatās true for, and he can go to Canadian undergrad and still be resident in your home state (assuming you are still living there, obvs) for med school applications. Maybe best of both worlds?