<p>I'm an international student from Brazil and I sent an e-mail to Penn explaining that I attend a small school that offers no extracurricular activities nor honors and they aswered: "If you are interested in the programs that we offer, we encourage you to submit an application. Our staff members are very experienced and knowledgeable about both the academic and extracurricular opportunities available to students in their regions. Additionally, you and your counselors or teachers may provide commentary in the application that will provide us with insight into your achievements. We understand that schools in different parts of the world offer different opportunities and place emphasis on different things this means that many international applicants have applications that look different than those of domestic students.We would evaluate you within the context of the opportunities that your school offers."</p>
<p>Do you think I should still apply? There's no such thing as GPA here in Brazil and my ACT is 32. I also need a great amount of financial aid (full ride) and I know they're need-aware for internationals. What do you think? Does the affirmative action work for international students?</p>
<p>What's the social life like? Are there any good clubs nearby? Would you label Penn as conservative or liberal? Thanx!</p>
<p>There is no harm in applying. And I don’t think you should worry about social life just yet, maybe after you’re accepted. What other universities are you applying to?</p>
<p>They really don’t have much to judge you on …
A 32 ACT isn’t stunning either. Put it this way: you would need to offer something especially special to get in.</p>
<p>In the US, most college campuses, especially urban ones, tend to be more liberal. That being said, if you’re conservative, you’ll be in good company.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it is often the case that international students are at a disadvantage for admission. </p>
<p>If you’re looking for a good party scene, it can be found at nearly every college in America. That’s a major aspect of the American college experience.</p>
<p>It is very likely that you will not be able to afford and American college.</p>
<p>I think we need more to give more educated advice. If all you are going to do is to submit an application with ACT score and say that you have no other info to add to describe yourself, then I think it is an uphill battle to get into some of these really good schools. Please describe what kind of things you will be putting in your application to present yourself and your accomplishments.</p>
<p>I’m working now. I’m gonna put it in my app. As I was not offered honors classes nor extracurriculars, I don’t have any big accomplishments ( e.g. awards, etc) to show. I’m gonna present myself through the essays (that’s my hope). I’m devoting a great deal of time and effort on them. It’s on my essays that I’m gonna tell what I do when I’m not working (I already graduated high school), what my passions are, etc. Besides, of course, reccomendations.</p>
<p>Do you think Pomona College would be a safety?</p>
<p>Again, instead of rattling off names of different colleges, you need to at least be able to describe something about yourself here before we can make some sort of suggestions. By saying I will write great essay that show my passion does not give us any info. What were your grades in school? Do you play any sports or what kind of student were you at your school compared to other kids in your class? What is your passion that you are planning on writing about? At this point I am not even sure Lafayette is a safety or not. You need someone to make some assessment of your record to make good judgement on a good list of schools that you should apply.</p>
<p>My average is 9 (on a 0-10 scale). I guess every student was the same, the only thing that can set them apart is their grades. We don’t rank, don’t have GPA, extracurriculars, etc. Here in Brazil, you can’t choose the subjects you wanna take, everyone has to take all subjects( math, portuguese, chemistry, etc.), therefore, everyone’s in the same situation, so there’s no student who has a more challenging curriculum than the other. I learned Spanish on my own and now I’m learning German, but I don’t think it’s something outstanding. For the common app essay I’m gonna write about my passion for the US and how it relates to my goals, personality, etc. I know it may seem dull, but I’m confident it’s gonna work. I guess I’m the only foreigner who has never been to the US nor has any american relatives who can sing the star spangled banner with love! That’s what I can remember right now, if there’s some more information you need, just tell me.</p>
<p>Is your “average” equivalent to a percentage? You didn’t give us any way to relate that to a form we can understand.</p>
<p>Agreed with the above posters, Pomona not a safety. It seems like you may need to dobmore college searching and open up your net a lot more.</p>
<p>The fact that you’re confident with your essay isn’t a reason to not do a thorough college search. An essay, although important, is still only one aspect of your application.</p>
<p>This is a little difficult for me as well to get a good handle of how competitive you will be when applying to US colleges. I really don’t know but I have to warn you that the list of colleges you pick is full of schools that are very difficult to get in. Only US students at the top of their respective classes will be comfortable putting together such list to apply to. Even then, most would add a few more match and safety schools to the list.</p>
<p>My recommendation would be to find someone more knowledgeable about your situation to counsel you on what to do. Maybe a teacher or a guidance counselor at other schools or at a private or US international schools in your country. They would have a better understanding of your situation and would be able to give a much better advice than anyone here can. I don’t think it is wise to assemble a list of famous colleges in the US to apply to without getting some idea of how realistic your chance is to get accepted.</p>
<p>9 is 90%-99% (not that sure), it’s equivalent to A or A-, or so I’ve read on a NCAA brochure. Despite everything, I’m still appying to Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth and Tufts. It’s my dream, I can’t give up right now, and if I do I’ll always gonna ask “what if…?”. But for my fifth and last choice, I wanna apply to a college that I have BIG chances to be admitted. So I’m still in doubt whether to apply to Penn, or to a safety (Lafayette College) but not THAT good academically. After college I wanna go to Yale law school. That’s whay I’m looking at top schools, not because they’re famous. Considering the informations I’ve written hear, what you think I should do? Penn or Lafayette?</p>
<p>You should really try taking the SAT to see if you can raise that score. a 32 isn’t going to get you into the Ivies, in my opinion. There are a ton of great schools in the US, that are NOT Ivy League schools. Many are Ivy League caliber. Only a very select few applicants get in, and many more just as worthy candidates are rejected each year. Take ttparent’s advice and get someone who can counsel you in preparing a good list that matches your stats and criteria. Good luck!</p>
<p>Frankly speaking, I think Penn is probably too far of a reach.</p>
<p>You would probably be a maybe if you didn’t need any financial aid, but since you basically need a full ride, you would probably need to be a stellar applicant that is basically guaranteed to be ivy-bound to get in and be give FA.</p>