Hello I am currently a high school student in Poland and studying in US is my dream. Sounds basic I know. The prices for american colleges are WAY out of my reach so I’d need alot of financial aid. I’ve done some research (not so much since it’s my 1st year in high school) and most of the colleges that offer financial aid are extremly competetive. I have good grades (about 3.9 GPA) and I plan on taking some ECs.
Thing is I don’t know what to do. I don’t think I have any “passion” and from what I’ve read it’s pretty much required to get in. I don’t have any big achievments or abilities either. Now there is this one thing I love to do and it’s playing League of Legends. It’s been registered as a sport in America so I thought that maybe I could do smth with it but I don’t think that putting a video game on college application is relevant. I suppose it would make me look dumb.
My question is: what do you think I should do? Should I get good at this game and put it on my application or just start doing something else? What other ECs should I take? What can I do to make it possible to get in? Do you recommend any colleges?
FYI: In Poland I’m actually in the last year of middle school but in US it’s considered High School.
PS About colleges: Berea college took my attention since the first year in it is free and the following ones cost 1k$ and you work to pay for that so I thought it’s really nice. Do you know anything about it?
Berea is crazy selective among international applicants - in 2008 (the last year in which such information was publicly available), their international admission rate was 4% while their general admission rate was around 30%. It’s probably gotten worse since.
There are plenty of colleges with financial aid that are less selective than Harvard and the like. Liberal arts colleges fund a disproportionately large number of international students; and less selective larger universities often have scholarship programs open to international students.
Regarding ECs: since you’re only in your first year of high school, you still have time to work on your resume. I’d suggest you drop video games and pick up one or two more traditional hobbies. You could join a sports club or the red cross, get a job, do community service, be active within a political party, study for and participate in academic competitions, etc.
Most of your propositions are impossible for me to achieve because I’m either
a) too young
b) live in a small town
What I mean is there is no Red Cross in here and in Poland working under 18 is illegal. As for academic competitions I’ll try that since it’s possible for me However are more uhm… traditional ECs like drawing classes, school history (or any other subject) club, volunteering etc good?
OP, the colleges do consider that the foreign students do NOT have same opportunities like Americans do, so not being able to work shouldn’t affect you negatively.
that being said, you should work in other areas, like drawing, volunteering etc. Do things that you can make of or available to you.
As Barium said, there ARE colleges that reward significant amount of merit aid. The questions are:
1)How much can you pay max yearly?
2) what is your test scores?
Welp I don’t know what are my test scores since I haven’t took them yet. And how much can I pay? Well… I wish I could not rely on my parents due to some things I’d rather not talk about.
I mean if there is no other way I think I could do that but their earnings are extremely low in dollars, about 23k $ (per year) so I don’t know if it makes any diffrence. Of course I could work/study but than you still need some money of your own.
And honestly need-bind colleges are extremely competetive so I don’t know what to do.
If they are earning only around 23k per year, you should talk with your parents; how much can they afford maximum without crippling your family’s financial situation?
Also, you should apply to colleges in your country as well.
Don’t limit yourself to need-blind colleges. Need-sensitive colleges that meet your full demonstrated need are often easier to get admitted to, and they will still offer you a generous financial aid package.
The difference between need-blind and need-sensitive colleges is not the amount of aid you get, but whether the fact that you applied for aid is taken into consideration when your admission decision is made. Which school do you think is more motivated to accept you with financial aid: need-sensitive Mount Holyoke, where you might rank in the top 5% of all their applicants, or need-blind Harvard, where you might rank in the bottom 50%?
Conversely, not all need-blind colleges are generous with financial aid. Cornell, for instance, is infamous for admitting needy international students without sufficient aid to attend.
Thank you all for replies again they are really helpful. I might do some research on the colleges you mentioned. If you have any other tips for me Id be grateful to hear them.
Get a book on the SATs, and start familiarizing yourself with the format. Take sample exams you can find online, study vocabulary, work on your English. Do this every year until it’s time to take the exam for real. All of that will help you do well on the SATs. Having VERY HIGH SATs is crucial to getting into a good schools with significant financial aid.
Start researching schools. You can do this online through popular school sites (like the one here on college confidential) or through collegeboard.org and princetonreview.com. Or buy a book such as Fiske Guide to Colleges or US News Guide to Colleges. Ask questions on this forum, here, on the Parents Forum and College Search and Selection subforums. This will help you discover schools where you might be a good candidate for admission with good financial aid.
You will need some ECs. Clubs, and academic competitions definitely would be good. Do you like to draw? How about giving free drawing lessons to poor children in your town? Any activity that shows accomplishment and leadership looks good on college applications. Leadership qualities are especially important for the very elite schools, such as Harvard.
Once you’re ready to apply to universities, make sure you have a good, balanced list - elites, and lesser known schools, and in different parts of the US. This will increase your chances.
Oh, and forget video games. They are not your friend in the college search process. Quite the opposite.
I can join clubs and participate in academic competition however I have no idea how would i give drawing lessons to poor children. If you have any other propositions for leadership activities i’m more than happy to hear them :).
As for the SAT book - I think I’ve seen some on the internet so i will get one asap.
I also have one more question - I’m in the english competition at my school which consists of 3 stages. First is school only, second is town and third country. I’m currently on the 2nd stage. Is it worth mentioning in my college application if i’ll get further?
I am currently a high school student in Poland and studying in US is my dream. Sounds basic I know. The prices for american colleges are WAY out of my reach so I’d need alot of financial aid. I’ve done some research (not so much since it’s my 1st year in high school) and most of the colleges that offer financial aid are extremly competetive. I have good grades (about 3.9 GPA) and I plan on taking some ECs.
However are more uhm… traditional ECs like drawing classes, school history (or any other subject) club, volunteering etc good?