Help me! --- I need a candid and realistic advice!

Applying to College
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First time using this site!

I’m an international student at a high school in Canada who wants to go to college in the states. The major that I am hoping to study is Political Sciences or Pre-law if they offer one. I’m currently a senior and going to graduate in 3 months. I came to Canada in December 2019, when I was in something equivalent to Grade 11. As you might assume, with Covid and stuff, I really have had not enough time to catch up in terms of academics nor have I been able to even think of college applications. I got panicked that I was actually going to graduate the high school, so I started to do some research, which got me really depressed because I realised that I was too late and hopeless. Yet, luckily, I found that BYU provo is still open to admission for the Winter semester. (I’m actually LDS…). So, the question is, whether I have a strong chance for that school. The following are grades and stuff.

11th grade: English 11- 85/ ESL- 95/ French 10- 95/ Pre-calculus 11- 90/ Biology 11- 96/ Korean 11- 92
12th grade: Pre-calculus 12- 92/ Psychology 12- 93/ World History 12- 88/ Korean 12- 93
and I’m taking English 12 currently, from which I’m getting around 97.

I practically have no EC, except for some awards from school competitions back in my home country.

I play piano, flute, and trumpet. I have never participated in any contest, but I am quite good at piano, I’ve been practising Chopin Etudes these days. I can speak Korean( mother tongue), English, French, and Chinese.

As you could tell, I didn’t really challenge myself with AP class for three reasons: first, I doubted that I could even get through such rigorous courses. Second, it was a public school in a small city that is not really competitive when it comes to academics and has no AP except for English. Third, even if I wanted to take AP English, I wouldn’t be able to take it since there’s no room for more students.

I am going to write a TOEFL test in two weeks, and hopefully, I will get an 85 at least.

If I get rejected from BYU, I am thinking of taking a year to take the SATs, retake TOEFL and do other stuff that could be helpful in enhancing myself as an applicant. Then, I may apply to colleges, especially those liberal arts colleges in the Northeast. I can’t express enough how much I want to go to those schools. Amherst, Williams, Carleton, Bates, and Colgate etc. I just know that I will love studying there. I love the academic flexibility that Amherst has. Do you think if this whole idea is feasible and wise?

Additionally, I am thinking of Law school after college. I know, it is far-fetched but I am really ambitious and highly motivated.

and if there are any options that I may have not been able to think of, please do let me know.

I would really appreciate it if you could share any opinion or advice you have.

Thank you to those who have taken your precious time to read these desultory and wordy paragraphs. Please do ask me if you need any clarification.

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There are many Korean and Korean-Applicants in the US. It is a very competitive group. I think it depends on other factors like full pay vs aid, etc.

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Finances will be key. If you are planning on attending law school, you will not want to have student loan debt from undergraduate studies because law school is expensive. Financial aid for international students is competitive and not widely available. The schools you listed are very competitive for all applicants.

If you are considering a gap year before applying next year, try and do something other than studying for standardized tests. You should make up for your lack of EC’s so find something meaningful to you and get involved, maybe volunteering.

Also, if you like the open curriculum of Amherst and the setting of Colgate, look at Hamilton.

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With respect to researching colleges with strong government programs, this resource may help:

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Which province are you in (as you may know, an 85 in Quebec is not the same as an 85 in BC).
What’s your budget - will you need financial aid?
Without ECs the colleges you list are out of reach but there are lots of excellent colleges that are similar enough: look into Goucher, Kalamazoo, Dickinson, St Olaf, American University…

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I was in Ontario when I was in 11th grade but I moved to BC this year(12th). I def should look into them! Thanks.

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Thanks!!

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You’re right. I really appreciate your advice!

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Does nationality matter that much, though? (other than being international student)

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Just adding my two cents as a poly-sci major, pre-law is a track at most schools. There’s no pre-law major. Also, I would recommend looking into Fordham’s 3 by 3 program. It’s a program at Lincoln Center ( right in Midtown Manhattan) where you go there for undergrad for three years and go to their law school right after. Their law school is top 30! Also, you might be able to get a scholarship, since you should add some “safties”.

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That actually sounds super awesome.

I’m sorry but what does “safties” mean? :sweat_smile:

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So usually here we formulate our lists with

  • Reach schools
    -Target schools
    -Safety schools
    So , safety schools are schools we should get into and sometimes rely on as a backup! We usually get the most money from these!
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Of course what you do if you get into BYU provo versus if you don’t might be quite different. If you get into BYU, can afford it, and choose to go there this entire thread might not be needed. If you don’t, we can think about where you might apply if you get a chance to start earlier for the following year. Generally speaking taking a gap year is not a bad thing as long as you have something reasonable to do during the year.

We live in the Northeast of the US, and one daughter was interested in small schools. We toured Bowdoin and considered a few other LACs in the US. We also toured similar schools in Canada.

A “safety” is a school that (i) You know you will be accepted to; (ii) You can afford to attend; (iii) Has a decent program in your likely major(s); and (iv) You would be willing to attend.

The top LACs in the northeast, such as Williams, Amherst, and Bowdoin, are quite difficult for admission. They are also very expensive unless you get very good need based financial aid. You can apply and your very good grades will give you some chance for admissions. However, the top ranked ones are definitely not safeties.

Also, you should run the Net Price Calculator (NPC) for each school to get a guess regarding whether you are likely to be able to afford it. You will need help from your parents to run the NPCs. You will also want to double check which schools meet full need for international students.

If you are looking at smaller schools to apply next year then I think that you should also look at some of the small primarily undergraduate universities in Canada. In BC you might want to consider UNBC in Prince George. In Alberta you might want to consider the University of Lethbridge. In Quebec there is Bishop’s University. In New Brunswick is Mount Allison. Finally in Nova Scotia is Acadia University and St Francis Xavier. We toured the four that are in the east. We were impressed by all of them. Admissions will be much more likely than at the top LACs in the US, and the cost for an international student will be much better unless you get very good financial aid from the LACs in the US. The small Canadian universities (Canada does not use the term “Liberal Arts College”) will not care much at all about your lack of extracurricular activities.

If you are serious about law school, then you should be careful with regard to how much you spend for your bachelor’s degree. You do not want to run out of money before you finish law school. I would avoid debt for your bachelor’s if you reasonably can.

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Under the circumstances, I think that your plan to apply to BYU-Provo for January admission is an excellent one, especially since you are LDS. Have you participated in Seminary class? If not, it would be a good idea to join it now, since it may improve your chances of acceptance.

BYU is an excellent school. They also value music, so your musical accomplishments may help with admission there. Their tuition is very low for active church members - without being eligible for US financial aid, it’s probably the best deal you can get.

If you are insistent upon starting sooner, you could probably start at BYU-Idaho in September, but it has a 99% acceptance rate, so I see it as the church school of last resort for LDS who don’t get into Provo or Hawaii. From your academic achievement, I would say that you belong at Provo. I don’t know whether transfer from Idaho to Provo for January is feasible.

I think that you have a good chance at getting into BYU-Provo for January, assuming that they have space.

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Thank you for so much useful information! I really appreciate it. and I totally should consider those schools you mentioned. They also seem like viable and good options for me.

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I have participated in Seminary class!

And I really do hope that I will get into BYU Provo. I agree that it is a great school with affordable tuition and fees!

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Do you also plan to apply to BYU Hawaii and/or Idaho as backups?

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No, I haven’t thought of them yet… but I do think I should apply to them as backups!

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I wouldn’t apply to BYU Idaho. It’s really for students who had no shot at Provo or even Hawaii. Attending would make you a transfer ie., lose chances at scholarships. Focus on Byu Provo.

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