I have no idea, seriously..

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey guys, I've had a fleeting image of what colleges I want to apply to, but I'm stuck here, so I'd be grateful if you guys hear me out and give me some advice.</p>

<p>I need to find some match schools, but I'm not sure where I fit in this whole admissions thing, so I need some experienced and knowledgeable members to suggest some colleges. I'd prefer it if you guys could be honest when assessing my stats.</p>

<p>My school doesn't have a GPA system. Weird, I know, but I'll get to it in a bit. Anyways, I estimate my GPA at 3.75-3.85. My SAT scores from May 2009 are 620 writing (7 essay), 630 CR and 730 Math for a total of 1980. I'm going to take the Oct. SAT this year and I'm positive I can get a 2200+, maybe 2300+. I've won several awards in biology (3rd prize in province) and chemistry (1st prize in city). I have average ECs, including theater, model UN, volunteer work, tutoring, music, etc. Nothing too special. </p>

<p>People have told me, however, that my background gives me a bit of an advantage. I was born and raised in America until the 8th grade, when I moved to China. For the past four years, I've studied at traditional Chinese schools, meaning instruction is 100% Chinese (except for English. You guys should sit in on a few English classes here; they're so lame that I was laughing the whole time during my first class..) My 8th and 9th grade teachers can testify that I knew virtually no Chinese when I came here and now I rank 25 out of approx. 140 students at a very competitive high school (even though my Chinese still lags behind my classmates').</p>

<p>Yup, I have no idea what colleges I can get into. If you guys could give me some matches, I could perhaps find a few safeties and progress with my planning. Thanks, everyone!</p>

2

<p>R3d3mti0n -</p>

<p>Your background now is more like that of an international student as already discussed in your other thread. You absolutely need to get in touch with the counselors at [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.state.gov/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.state.gov/) They are the people who are best qualified to interpret your Chinese school record for the US market. I used to volunteer in one of their offices in South America, and I assure you that if the office close to you is half as good as that one, you will get excellent advice.</p>

<p>You also need to find out about your financial situation. All the “academic matches” in the world will do you no good if you can’t afford to pay for your studies. Have your parents run the EFC calculators 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) and at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) so that they know what the colleges/universities will expect them to pay. Check the regulations for in-state status at the public colleges/universities in the state where you were living before you moved to China and in any states where your parents own property (if they do), you might get lucky and qualify for in-state tuition and fees.</p>

<p>If you are two years away from college (the equivalent of a junior) read up on the PSAT. You would need to make special arrangements, but you can take the PSAT, and possibly qualify for NMS. Here is the link for you [PSAT/NMSQT:</a> Students Outside the U.S.](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>International Students and PSAT/NMSQT - SAT Suite)</p>

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

3

<p>happymomof1, thank you for your reply! How do I get in touch with EducationUSA? It’s all way the in Beijing and I’m in Shenzhen, which is a 3-hour flight away.</p>

<p>I’m a senior this year, so I don’t have time for the PSAT =, and even if I took it in my junior year, I doubt I would’ve done very well anyways. I just want a benchmark, so please assume that finance isn’t going to be a problem. Anyways, thanks again for your reply.</p>

4

<p>Email the EducationUSA office, or call them on the phone. They should be able to give you some help long-distance.</p>

<p>College Confidential also has a sibling website specifically for international students: [American</a> Universities and Community College Search Service](<a href=“http://www.usaeducationguides.com/]American”>http://www.usaeducationguides.com/) I am not very familiar with the content, but perhaps you will find useful answers there.</p>

5

<p>Okay, thanks I’ll try and get a hold of their office then. Bump?</p>

6

<p>Bump!</p>

<p>I asked my parents and they said tuition shouldn’t be a problem. I got a hold of my HS transcript today and did a GPA calculation. My GPA is 4.31/5.0 weighted, of course. My school doesn’t do UW GPA. I took 3 AP tests this year after self studying and got three 5’s (Calculus AB, Chemistry, and Physics C: Mechanics), and I’m inquiring about school’s self-studying policies.</p>

<p>Can anyone else help me find a match please…?</p>

7

<p>Have you contacted Education USA as Happymom recommended? Have you read everything on the web site? Are you sure you can “assume” finances are no problem?</p>

8

<p>^As I recently told another CCer … did you try the college board website? Answer the questions on their search engine, and at the end of the “quiz,” you’ll get a list of schools that you can start with. Then, read up on those schools (the college board site will give you synopses), and go from there. You can take the search quiz more than once. You can take it as often as you’d like. So you can change your answers to try to get fewer choices or more choices or what have you. See where that takes you.</p>

<p>There are SO many schools out there! Two simple paragraphs about stats and background are not enough information for us perfect strangers to guide you to a good fit. Sorry!</p>

<p>Once you get a list of potential colleges, you could come back to CC and ask what people think about this or that school, or whether this or that school would match your interests and stats.</p>

<p>But right now, there’s just not enough information.</p>

<p>Good luck, my friend! :)</p>

9

<p>I’ve done that before, and I got USC, Vanderbilt, Carnegie Mellon RPI, NYU, Emerson, USD, and Colgate. I’ve done various searches, based on current SAT scores and future SAT scores, etc. All I’m asking is which schools could be matches for my stats?</p>

<p>And Erin’s Dad, I’ve tried to contact them but I haven’t heard from the office yet. I didn’t find anything on the website particularly useful to my situation. I’m just taking my parents’ words that they won’t have too much trouble with finances, but yes, I’m personally concerned about tuition and fees myself.</p>

10

<p>^But, darlin’, your stats are above average and slightly generic. There are TONS of schools that match your stats. Probably literally over one hundred. </p>

<p>Did any of your search results appeal to you when you looked further into them? And did you put your stats on the college board website and then compare them to the school’s stats using the “How do I stack up?” feature?</p>

<p>Several of the schools you came up with are very good schools. Are you looking for some that are easier to get into, like safeties? Or, I guess I’m asking, why are you looking beyond those? What don’t you like about where your search has taken you so far?</p>

11

<p>Thanks for the reply, SimpleLife! I haven’t tried the “How do I stack up?” feature yet, so I’ll use it right after I finish typing this reply. Um, I’m not looking for anything specific. Most of those schools look really nice, but I just want your opinion on which of those schools could be potential matches or reaches or safeties. It’s not like I’m posting this thread to finalize my college list; I just want a few recommended schools according to my stats so I get a general sense of where I want to go and where I can go. Perhaps I was a bit unclear in my first post. I have a very general idea of which schools I want to apply to; it’s just that I have no idea what schools I CAN get into. Apparently these last 10 posts have gotten me nowhere. I’m still as stuck as I was 10 posts earlier.</p>

12

<p>^Yeah. I think that’s because there are so many schools out there, and so many you can get into with your stats. The possibilities are nearly endless. In this case, you’re really going to have to do the research yourself and then the rest of us can help you weigh various choices. Otherwise, we really don’t have enough information about you to help you come up with a list at this point.</p>

<p>You do know, don’t you, that you can also find the middle 50% stats range on nearly every college’s website, right?</p>

<p>Good luck. It’s a cumbersome process, but really only you can do it! :)</p>

13

<p>R3d3mpti0n,</p>

<p>I would recommend that you and your parents draw up a budget for your education. You can start with finding the Cost of Attendance (COA) at a couple of the universities that you are considering right now. Each will include:</p>

<p>Tuition
Fees
a Housing plan
a Meals plan
Books and Materials</p>

<p>There also may be an estimate for:</p>

<p>Personal Expenses
Local travel</p>

<p>To this you need to add your own estimates for travel between your family residence (currently in China) and the university (usually two trips each year for winter break and summer vacation), and for expenses that you could incur during fall break, Thanksgiving break, and spring break since it would be difficult for you to go home then.</p>

<p>If your family continues to live in China, your annual COA could easily top USD 60,000 once all of the travel expenses are factored in. Quite frankly, unless your parents have been extremely fortunate in their lives, I have trouble imagining how they will come up with that kind of money. You do indeed need to get more details from them about how your family will pay for your education.</p>

<p>If it is determined that you won’t be going back to China twice a year, where will you spend that other break? With family? With friends? Working? Back in the last century, I knew a number of international students who did not go home for the entire four years. Would that strategy work for you and your parents if it were necessary to save money?</p>

<p>One thing that you haven’t discussed here, is whether or not you want to study at a university near where you used to live in the US, and where presumably you may have family or friends. Is that a factor in your decision-making? Another consideration, is whether you plan to return to China after your studies (better to get a degree at a U that is more recognized there), or if you plan to remain in the US (better to study in the part of the country where you think you’d like to build your life).</p>

<p>As SimpleLife has written, there are many, many places that you can get into with your stats. You will get in somewhere. What you need to do is try to make that somewhere actually be a place where you can thrive.</p>

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

14

<p>Thanks again for your help. I see a lot of recommending threads on this forum, but I can see why I have to do the research myself. I’m in my senior year already, so my time for college research is pretty limited. Anyways, there’s a 7-day break coming up so I’ll have plenty of time to polish/rewrite essays and research schools.</p>

<p>To answer happymomof1’s questions, my breaks will most likely be spent with family in California or working if I need some extra cash. I might visit China again for a week or two each break, but I’ll wait until I start college to think about those things.</p>

<p>I really don’t mind where I go, but preferrably somewhere urban or suburban (somehow I can’t stand rural settings, and urban/suburban areas have more internship opportunities). The only thing left where I used to live is an old house occupied by tenants I don’t know, so I’m not in much of a hurry to go to someplace close. I haven’t decided where I want to go once I graduate. My thoughts are to let all the variables fall into place in time.</p>