<p>Hello I'm a 19 year old, I finished school 3 years ago. I got my GCSE results and screwed up big time I only walked away with 3 passes all C grades the rest were all D's and an F in Physics I decided not to continue with further education as at the time I was so fed up with school and plenty of personal problems at home to deal with (Another reason why I failed the exams) but I didn't seek out help which I regret who wouldn't considering the results I got. I'm asking for honest opinions because I plan on applying to some colleges for Fall 2011. But I'm not even sure If I'll be accepted by them, it's taken a lot of man hours, to try and find some correct answers for numerous questions I've had and to no avail. If someone would kindly take the time to help me out that'd be great. </p>
<p>The first question I actually have some information about I believe you need to have 5 Passes at GCSE level to gain entry into a US College. The second question I pose, would my GPA then be calculated from the GCSE results I got ? If so that would leave me at a horrible 1.2 GPA. Perhaps I'm on the wrong forum as everyone else considers bad having 9A's or Missing an A* but as I said I had a lot of personal issues in my final year which ultimately led to my downfall I didn't look for any excuses then and I'm not now. I'm just looking at possible ways to fix the situation I'm currently restricted to. </p>
<p>I had a look at collegeboard and saw that most/all colleges want the following : Rigor of secondary school record from what year would this start as my average GPA for high school would have been much better (except my final year which involved my GCSE exams) I'd be guessing a 2.4-2.6 on average obviously converted I know that isn't great yet again compared to the normal standards here but I was happy with it (was at Private school) and was middle of my class. Would this alleviate the necessity for my GCSE (GPA) or not ? </p>
<p>I have a couple of other plans if this isn't the case I don't know if they'd be acceptable or not but I'll run them over with you. Would taking the GED exam allow me to use my High School GPA rather than my GCSE's for GPA or not ? </p>
<p>Moving on to where I am now I took the SAT and ACT tests and got the following results </p>
<p>SAT</p>
<p>Reading : 640
Math : 590
Writing : 610</p>
<p>ACT : 30</p>
<p>well if you can help me out with a personal dilemma I'd be grateful If I can't get into a 4 year University in the USA I'll be looking Internationally! I also know there's some poor grammar but I've done this all from a phone so please don't be too harsh on that aspect of my post thanks! I've come here to find answers and help so I can better myself in the future and not repeat mistakes that led to my downfall in the first place!</p>
<p>First, are you aware of how much it costs to study in the US? As an international student you will not be able to get financial aid. But if you can afford 4 years of $50,000 a year, there may be some lesser schools which would accept you even with your low grades. (Nice ACT score, by the way.) Another option would be to start at a community college, get good grades, and then transfer. But it’s hard to advise not knowing your financial situation.</p>
<p>Yes, I know how much my parents would have to pay, for the full tuition. $50,000 would be around the cut off point, my parents would be willing to pay. </p>
<p>I forgot to add (as I’m much more worried about the academic side) that I do play Soccer at a competitive level (Amatuer) have been at some high level summer programs (For the last 3 years in Spain and Germany) also I don’t if that helps or not ? What would my chances be like of competing at D1 ? or D2 (Although this side of it is definitely on the back burner for now) because I know there’s an NCAA regulation for GPA of 2.00 I believe I’ll only make it if one of my assumptions in my first post worked out (If I took the GED my GPA would be based on high school record) not the GCSE exam I took that they usually scale to.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why you want to study in the US. You have hardly any qualifications to recommend you, and you aren’t redoing your GCSEs or taking A Levels? Why then would you ask your parents to fit that huge bill when your chances of going anywhere half decent are nill.</p>
<p>Why don’t you just do an access course and go to university in the UK?</p>
<p>Dionysus58, I’d agree with you if I didn’t have an alternative the GED. I’m just looking for answers to my original questions, do you think I don’t know my GCSE results as they stand aren’t good enough… that’s why I wanted to know if there are possible ways of getting that overlooked or not. I’d rather not do an access course, to then move on to Uni in the UK I want to start fresh in a foreign country. And the combination of GED +SAT or ACT (high school gpa) not GCSE GPA would hopefully be one way of doing that!</p>
<p>Did you come up with a 2.4-2.6 GPA using school results that were based on the GCSE? I’ve tried various ways of getting a numerical GPA equivalent for GCSE/A Level results, and they’ve always been drastically skewed one way or another. You may be more qualified than you look or feel. The SAT and ACT do suggest that there were circumstances that torpedoed your “GPA”. Nonetheless, Cs, Ds and an F won’t get you any sympathy in the admissions office. </p>
<p>I honestly don’t have anything concrete to add, but wanted to put in a rather more positive or encouraging comment. Frankly, many international students come here asking for help regarding a situation that is very unfavourable, especially where admissions chances and financial aid is concerned. I think we’ve become a bit weary of it all. </p>
<p>In your case, the only huge problem in your application are your GCSEs. if your parents are willing to pay up to $50,000 a year, I would look into re-doing the GCSEs June 2011 and applying for admission in Fall 2012, but you may not be able to wait that long. If you can, as you suggest, get a GED, I can’t imagine it wouldn’t help. You’re not going to be able to be picky about your schools and, as katliamom suggests, you might want to look into a community college first especially since the 4-year schools that you could get into now may not be as good as the 4-year schools you could transfer to after one or two years of solid college work.</p>
<p>Keep your chin up. Your situation may look and feel bad now, but at least you have the means, both intellectual and financial, to turn it around.</p>
<p>P.S. Someone I sort of know was actually admitted to a reputable university in the Pacific Northwest with two O Level passes, after reportedly having begged many many admissions offices to give him a chance (well, either he did or his mom did). Similar circumstances - I believe he was from a single-parent family, and rolled over and played dead academically in high school. I’m not clear on the details but I believe he was asked to complete one year at a community college to prove himself before being admitted to that 4-year university. He eventually graduated with honors. What do you know.</p>
<p>Well one piece of advice I can give you is to use your ACT instead of your SAT when applying to US colleges. Your SATs aren’t bad but your ACT is much better, your ACT is comparable to approximately a 2000-2040 (according to different sources) on the SATs, which is significantly higher than your actual SATs- about 200 points more or so. Whatever you decide on doing good luck and hope it all works out for the best.</p>
<p>@ gt607rmcf</p>
<p>I was using grade 8-11 including the 2 Years (10 and 11) I was taking the GCSE. But I now know that it may be, grades 9-11 which may drop me to the lower margins of 2.0-2.2 GPA. I don’t have a full transcript for all those years (I have 2/3 term reports for each year) So it may go up or down (If it drops below 2.0 I know it’s community college without question ) which I’m trying to avoid purely because I also have sporting desires. </p>
<p>And I know 2.0 is the bare minimum that may allow me to scrape through and qualify to compete at D1 or D2. Yes my GCSE’s are a huge barrier that I should have taken more seriously (regardless of personal circumstances) I should definitely have retaken them. (08 or 09) But it’s too late for that now so yes Community College is definitely option B if I want to move to the US for further studies. </p>
<p>As for your friend lucky him 
he realised his mistakes and did his best to make up for them! I hope I can do the same if I fail to get into a 4 year to begin with. Thanks for taking the time to respond, and for giving me a different perspective to my situation much appreciated. </p>
<p>One last thing I forgot to mention I’ve seen people who have kids in the US at private schools talking about harsher grading (If it exists) would that be a consideration for me as well or would they just overlook that (fair enough either way bearing in mind I’m not talking about GCSE’s just my high school record) </p>
<p>@ go4cornell Thanks for that piece of advice I’ll definitely be doing that then I didn’t know they scaled the ACT score to an SAT average.</p>
<p>hey,your SAT scores arent bad! To be perfectly honest,im surprised you didnt retake your GCSE and attempt A Levels.Since your parents can afford the full tab,BY ALL MEANS apply to the US state universities where admission standards tend to be lower and more emphasis is placed on SAT scores.examples are cleveland state,san franscisco state and the CUNY colleges.I believe you can make it,especialy in the US.</p>
<p>I think a US community college would be perfect in your case. Better than going to a 4 year that would accept you now. Your scores show you can do well. 2 years at a CC and you can get into a very good college. I would look at the California CC system. Good luck!</p>
<p>Study for one of those one-year a levels?</p>
<p>You can do it, whatever you choose your path to be. Good luck!</p>
<p>And the US is a great choice. I’m sure you will really enjoy it. </p>
<p>Update us on your plans sometime!</p>
<p>Well I got myself NCAA Eligible a couple of weeks ago my GCSE GPA was actually a 2.3 (As they see D’s as C passes so only needed a 82 on the ACT test (already got a decent score on that) to become eligible for participation in my sport of choice. </p>
<p>I’m assuming this helps with the application process quite a bit now as I won’t be applying until March anyway (as I have got a guaranteed place in 2 universities in Australia) and 2 in Germany now I can calm down with my previously high stress levels!</p>
<p>Liverpool, congratulations on your acceptances!</p>
<p>@LiverpoolLad: You need a qualification which is roughly equivalent to the Abitur to get into a university in Germany. In England, the equivalent qualification would be A-levels. I seriously doubt you can be accepted for university studies in Germany based on GSCE results alone.</p>