Help a US girl go International? [finding a good fit, U.K., Canada]

College Search & Selection
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Hello, all :slight_smile:

I am trying to figure out whether I should apply to some international schools. Any advice from people who have gone through the process themselves or are else well acquainted with it would be super appreciated!

I am a high school senior [State: Georgia; school: aggressively average public, 300 kids in my grade].

I find myself drawn to intl schools for many reasons – far from home! New people! Different lifestyle! Going back north to proper, snowy weather! – but a big consideration is the little emphasis that most place on extracurriculars, compared to American schools. I’m not boring or dim by any means, but I don’t have anything that I can market in the EC arena. More on that below.

I am looking at --McGill University-- and the --University of Edinburgh-- in particular.
I like that they have a culture of independence and the large university model and the opportunities it brings, but also that they are in more “intimate” cities than, say, London or Toronto. Also, both have strong programs in my areas of interest.

My stats:
GPA: 4.0 unweighted

Rank: first in class

Sat (new): 780 reading, 700 math. Am retaking it for the third time in August, hope to get 1540+ cumulative, but we shall see :slight_smile:
AP exams: 5s in ush, us gov, comp gov, Lang, psych. 4s in physics 1 and env sci. 3 in stat.

Sat II: 800 ush, am taking lit and math II in October

Course rigor, freshman-junior years: took 7 Ap classes (ush, gov, comp gov, env sci, phys 1, psych, stat). An undergrad level directed study class. A community college English class. I have taken 4 or more classes in all core subjects.

Senior year: v rigorous! Taking Ap calc ab, Ap art history, Ap macroeconomics. I am also taking Russian I and II, anthropology, and philosophy of ethics at my state flagship (nationally ranked in the 50s by USNWR)

For ECs: I have a lot of service hours, am in the process of developing a campaign for human security, do art, tennis, and leadership groups, am VP of NHS, did a 2 week program about intl development over the summer, independently learn Arabic and Russian, and take many coursera classes. But my main one is writing; I adore it! I write for several hours a week. Narrative and descriptive prose and poetry. Have completed NaNoWriMo three years in a row, will do it again this year. However, I do this completely independently. Other than mentioning it in essays, I don't know how to demonstrate my devotion to my writing. ((Ack, my ECs kind of suck on paper. It is okay, I will live :)

Awards: eh, nothing worth mentioning

Additionally: have written a 50 page original, independent paper on mass revolution and social elements thereof, and am working on another about religion and madness (I expect it will be around 70 pages). They are quality works that I am proud to put my name on; however, I have not found a way to publish them yet. I don’t know how to put these on my applications without seeming foolish/like I am trying to puff myself up…

***** In college, I am going to study global issues: I like these schools in particular because they have strong foreign language, especially for the Middle East. I will get a degree in either IR, Islamic civ, sustainable development, politics, or global health/resource systems. Maybe throw in some math for fun :slight_smile:

****MY QUESTION: Considering my scores and all else, and assuming my essays/personal statement are very strong, Do I have a reasonable shot at these schools? Should I make the financial and emotional (lol) investment of applying? Are there any things in particular that I should be aware of in applying to these schools?

N.B. On the domestic side, I have already gotten into my state flagship (bc I dual enroll there and don’t need to reapply), so in terms of having safeties, I am all set :slight_smile: (just FYI, stateside, I will also be applying to rochester and Emory)

++also, I know I won’t get any fin aid from intl schools. Still cheaper than private schools at home, lol :slight_smile:

Thank you for reading this! Have a great day :slight_smile:
-peaceprincess

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** oh, and I do know that besides scores/grades, almost nothing else matters, to McGill especially. All the extra info was just added for context so you can see where I am coming from or if you have any suggestions to help me strengthen my app in any way. thx :slight_smile:

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Our school always sends a dozen kids abroad for college. Most have substantial experience in living in or travelling abroad and are aware the experience will differ greatly from the typical US residential college experience. If you can afford it and wish to specialize in your area of study early and are prepared for the differences it can be a good experience but not one to enter lightly.

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@roycroftmom I think I hit those marks. The thing that stands out most to me is the immediacy with which I will have to be, more or less, independent. I kind of cannot wait! :slight_smile:
Thanks for replying !!

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McGill would be a safety with your stats. Unlike UK schools, the Canadian curriculum is similar to American schools.

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Your scores are fine but you don’t seem to have a major, which is important at those schools- if you can’t narrow it down further to what you wish to study (you’ve suggested very different majors) there is likely a problem.

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UCAS (UK) allows you to apply to 5 “courses” so take advantage of that. For your interests, (IR/Languages) UEdimburgh, UGlasgow, UAberdeen and of course St Andrews would make sense.
You should also apply to Sciences po Reims and Sciences po Menton.
In Canada, beside McGill, look at Mount Allison, UBC, Simon Fraser.
Finally, you should include Georgetown, Tufts and Middlebury in the US.

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A former coworker had a son who went to McGill and LOVED it.

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There’s really no point to taking the SAT again given your scores.

McGill (and any other Canadian uni) Arts Faculty as well as non-quantitative subjects at Edinburgh (or any other UK uni besides Oxbridge/LSE) are almost certainly safeties for you.

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Caveat: Try for a higher SAT score only if you are trying to garner more merit money from American schools.

Merit scholarships from Canadian/UK Unis would be rare/non-existent, but total costs would still be far less than full-pay at an American private.

I would say, apply to overseas unis but also American ones as well.

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Here are a couple of unique ideas. In recent decades, Dutch universities have established university colleges, which are modeled after US LACs. The universities themselves are much more professional than US schools, and students just jump into their major on Day 1. The UCs are intended to provide students with an LAC-type option. They attract top students, are international in focus, and ALL CLASSES ARE IN ENGLISH. They cost under $15k per year for US students, and bachelor degrees only take 3 years. Here are links to some of the leading ones (you can google university colleges Netherlands to find others):

https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/university-college-utrecht

http://www.auc.nl

https://www.eur.nl/euc/academics/

http://www.ucr.nl/Pages/default.aspx

University of Cape Town in SA is ranked right around UVA in global rankings. It also has a 3-year bachelors program and costs less than the Dutch schools, I believe.

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^ The Dutch university colleges are a neat option though do note that they are tiny and so can’t offer enough courses for a specialized major (their majors tend to be ones like “Science” and “Social Science”) with the expectation that grads will specialize in a master’s program.

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@peaceprincess I would suggest that you take a further close look at the University of Toronto. With the college system there–e.g., Victoria College, Trinity College, University College, etc–you get a much more intimate experience. There are also “seminar style” programs (available through a separate application) with unusually small classes, available for first-year students (called “Vic One”, “Trinity One”, “UC One”, etc.). While McGill is an exceptional institution in a wonderfully diverse city, “UofT” is likewise exceptional. And I don’t believe it would be too much effort or expense for you to apply to both McGill and UofT and then defer your decision until much later in the game, after you have learned much more about both of those top-notch universities. Cheers, and best of luck.

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I have been looking at some schools you have mentioned for my D. You seem to have an intellectual bent and seem to be the kind of person who would enjoy and thrive in a classroom setting with discussion (I could be wrong). I wonder how you would enjoy HUGE classes. McGill for example looks wonderful in a million ways, but the class sizes, especially freshman year can be around 300 or more students. If you are okay with that then I think McGill is great. With your stats I would also look at Oxford. It’s in a great area. You also might want to research Trinity in Dublin.

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@GoldenState99 Very interesting about Toronto. Do you know if the seminar style programs are highly competitive?

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@TomSrOfBoston I hope you are right! Thanks for the input :slight_smile:

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@roycroftmom You are absolutely right. Those majors seem quite disjointed, but they piece together nicely in my head with the sort of career I might like to have. I imagine I’ll end up with a dual degree if I go to a North American school! I will keep in mind that international schools expect you to have a clear idea of what you are going to pursue. Thanks for the advice :slight_smile:

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@citymama9: I believe everyone or most (in the right colleges) get them, but they get only one or two total, I believe until you reach upperlevel seminars.

Anyway, both McGill and UToronto are massive publics with average class sizes above those of even American publics. Comparable to UMich/UW-Madison, arguably, but in big cities and not as rich.

TCD definitely should be looked in to; I would peg them as a definite safety for you; some have compared the atmosphere there to a LAC (even though it’s much bigger than one). Traditionally, they are the only other uni Oxbridge consider a peer (each may confer honorary degrees to grads of the other two).

You could try for Oxbridge, but admissions would be competitive. They would be looking for potential to excel academically in the subject(s) you sign up for.

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@MYOS1634 I did not know that; thank you! I will definitely look into those schools you recommended. I’ve been eyeing Tufts and Georgetown since sophomore year, but don’t think I have the ECs that such schools demand. I think I will apply to one of them at least, for I know I could do well there – I just have to convince the

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@bjkmom Thank you for sharing! Hearing things like that ease my worries greatly :slight_smile: