Homeschooled/International College advice needed

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I need advice as to what good schools I should look into applying. My situation is a bit complicated so let me explain.</p>

<p>I am a female native of Brazil and I graduated HS in the US in 2009. For My Freshman and 1st semester of Sophomore year I went to a public HS and took many Honors classes, made A's/B's, Honors society, FBLA Secretary, JV Basketball/Volleyball. I taught myself to play the guitar. I speak English/Portuguese fluently and I'm proficient in Intermediate Spanish.</p>

<p>My family moved to another state after the first semester of my Sophomore year and I decided to be homeschooled. I went to a tutorial once a week and was tutored in my classes and also took a supplemental math tutoring once a week. The highest math I took was Algebra 2 and my tutorials did not offer Honors/AP classes. I graduated with a 3.5 GPA and have a composite score of 30 on the ACT.</p>

<p>Our senior class was in charge of coming up with a couple of programs to get younger students more involved with the tutorial. I also volunteered a couple of hours at Habitat for Humanity and homeless shelter my Junior year and at a local library/ fire station my Freshman and Sophomore year. My volunteering wasnt anything extensive.</p>

<p>During the last semester of my senior year (09) I had some big problems with US immigration. The whole thing has been absolutely ridiculous and because of it I was not able to apply to college after graduating. Now things have been sorted out and I am a legal resident. During these 1 1/2 years I havent been involved in anything because of lack of transportation (couldnt drive) besides some online projects.</p>

<p>My dream school is UChicago but looking at my stats it feels like a long reach for me. I'm thinking about applying to NYU, John Hopkins, Emory and University of Washington.</p>

<p>Some of my "likely" schools are Belmont University, UCSD, UCSB. Ideally I want a school that is in an urban area or close to it.</p>

<p>An alternative I've thought about is going to Belmont University and keeping my GPA high then transferring out to another university like NYU or UChicago. Any thoughts on this?</p>

<p>Should I take the ACT again after 1 1/2 years and try for a higher score? Do you have any recommendations as to what schools I should apply? Do you think that this 1 1/2 year gap will hurt me when applying? </p>

<p>Thanks for reading my post. Also, any general advice will be appreciated.</p>

2

<p>You may want to take your questions to the Home Schooling and College Forum. Click on “Discussion Home” in the upper-left of the screen, and then scroll down. You will find that forum in the Pre-College Issues group.</p>

<p>If you haven’t tried the ACT recently, you should pick up some ACT prep material at the public library and take a couple of practice tests. That will help you know if your scores are likely to increase if you re-take it.</p>

<p>Now that you are a permanent resident, you are considered a domestic applicant. You are eligible to receive FAFSA-based financial aid. You need to have your parents run the FAFSA EFC calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board) so that you know how much the colleges/universities are going to expect you to pay. Actually, they will probably want more money than that. Once you find out from your family how much money will be available for you education, it will be easier for you to make a reasonable list.</p>

<p>It is also likely that you are classified as in-state for tuition and fees at the public colleges/universities in the state where you are living. Check their websites to find out the specific policies about that. </p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>