International applicant, worried.

Applying to College
1

I’m an Korean applicant applying for American unversities… and I’m extremely worried.

  1. GPA: I am currently attending super competitive all girls' school.. and our school is pretty prestigeous in Korea because of our location (one of the most academically competitive neighborhoods in the country) but I'm pretty sure that the admission officers over in US have no idea about that. Our exams are extremely difficult (our average score for vector geometry & space figure exam was 24/100), and it's really hard to get good grades (many students finished the whole high school curriculum in middle school through private insititutions), and on top of that I have been through depression because of this extremely competitive environment. So basically what I'm trying to say is, my grades are bad. Really bad. I haven't calculated it to the 4.0 system, but I'm pretty sure it's lower than 3.3...? It might go down to 2.XX. not sure. and I'm about top 30% of the whole science department (we divide students into science and humanities department) Also, we don't have homework, our grade is 10% quiz + how attentive you were in class and 90% mid term/finals (test with 70% multiple choice questions.) And I worked hard, I really did. I pulled all nighters if it was necessary, took notes, was attentive in class... But I just couldn't catch up test-trained girls in my school. I'm trying to apply to top schools (Carnegie Mellon, Brown..), but I know that my GPA is rubbish compared to other American students. Will they consider these factors as they go through my application? However, I'm top 4% in the country. (we take national mock exams every month) (So I can basically go to a good~best Korean university, but I'm willing to throw that away for US universities.) Can I send this national exam score to the schools (consists of Korean - English - Math - Life Science I - Earth Science II)? If I do well on SAT I and IIs (I'm confident about my math scores, worried about W and CR section though.. working on that) can this possibly make up for my GPA? and are there some schools that weigh heavily on standardized test scores over GPA? (if there is, please let me know)
  2. Extracurriculars: I'm weak on this section too. Korean schools don't offer any sports/music (or basically any) extracurricular programs whatsoever. However, I looked outside of school, and I joined a flute orchestra that I have been part of for 4 years (We're going to have a concert at one of the nation's most prestigeous halls this year.), Also, I was a member of the volunteer group and therefore did volunteer work every month for 3 years (translating, assisting doctors at health center). Oh and I was a member of the schol debate team (I enjoyed this a lot, mainly debated about Korean admission process and education system)
  3. I was a member of scientifically/mathematically talented students program at our school. I wrote two research papers with my classmates on sleep pattern and tesslation. Do these count as extracurriculars? This is all I can think of right now. I'm worried that I have no sports record or fascinating awards or anything. Compared weak to other American students.

+should I send in my artwork and flute video? They aren’t amazing or anything but just to let them know that I’m more than a sciency nerd…

  1. AP tests: Korean schools don't offer any AP class. However, our math curriculum is pretty advanced so I basically learned AP calculus and science subjects. I'm not confident about science but AP calculus test questions seemed pretty easy. Should I take the calculus test for my application?
  2. TOEFL: I took TOEFL last year (didn't study or anything :( ), and I got 106. It's over the minimum score (100 for most schools) but below the average (about 112). Should I retake it?

Sorry about the long text, but any opinion will be appreciated. :slight_smile:

2
  1. I'm afraid schools like CMU and Brown are probably out of reach with that GPA. You can't send a Suneung score to the US (for most colleges, at least--I'd check each school's website to be sure). SAT scores will help, but they can't make up for a bad GPA, and your GPA appears to be beneath the range of international acceptances at places like CMU and Brown.
  2. It's fairly common for Korean applicants (even from places like KMLA and Daewon in their primes) to be a bit weak in ECs. Put in what you have. As for flute/art, be careful: Some schools *explicitly* do not want supplemental materials. Check each school to which you're applying. If they don't say they don't want it, it won't hurt to send that extra material.
  3. Take Calculus AP, sure. Can't hurt.
  4. No need to re-take TOEFL.

Best of luck to you!

(I’m a teacher in Seoul, btw, so I’m pretty familiar with your situation)

3

Thank you marvin100. What are the places that I actually have a chance at? (I’m pretty confident about getting 750~800 at math section) Or should I just apply for transfer student later? ;(

4

Will need to know real SAT scores before one can give useful feedback.

5

Contact the closest Advising Center for EducationUSA. The counselors there are expert at helping students like you find good places to study in the US. They should be able to tell you which colleges and universities here have admitted students with your profile in recent years.

https://educationusa.state.gov/find-advising-center?field_region_target_id=&field_country_target_id=288&field_center_level_value=All

6

happymomof1 , thanks for the info! I’ll definitely look into it.

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And I just got an email from one admission office saying that they will not calculate my grades into GPA and they will take a look at my Suneung score! Awesome :slight_smile:

8

Also, SAT subject tests would help demonstrate your skill even if your grades are bad.

9

OP, colleges will understand that you come from a different background. When I tried to self-translate my transcript, it came out to a 3.3 GPA and I thought all was lost. Then I went through a professional agency (a competitor of WES) and what do you know… they said I had a 3.95 GPA. I like to think my GPA was realistically around 3.75, though.