<p>I couldn't help but notice that most international applicants are from either Asia or an English-speaking country. Is it too much to hope that being from Central/Eastern Europe will help me in some way?</p>
<p>I mean, my IB geo HL teacher would say things like 'people are dying and children are boring' on a daily basis, working with people like that for the past 6 years didn't exactly help my SAT scores or IB results. My application will be based solely on what an interesting, complex and passionate individual I am so I'm looking for some comforting news :(</p>
<p>All you can do is try. Might help spread the wealth of cultures :)</p>
<p>You should definitely give it a shot! - we have a fairly diverse international student population (and they make up 1/4 of my class!) However, you should keep in mind that they’ll also be taking your family’s finances into account when making a decision. Did you take the IB exams this May?</p>
<p>Yes, I did take the IB exams this May.
I don’t mean to moan but I kinda feel like I lost the race already because of limited opportunities. Most people who take the SAT around here are American kids who moved to Poland with their military parents and want to go home to study… So the exams are held in 2-3 places and apart from internet courses there is no other way to prepare yourself. My HS teachers used IB curricula from at least 1973, they certainly didn’t know what’s going to be in the exams. Also, schools here don’t have sport teams, clubs or any such things. I did all I can to have lots of EC’s but I’m not a president of 45689876 clubs, I did not play 12 instruments in an orchestra and I was never a part of a highy successful soccer team. And sweeping the floor at a hair salon is as far as internships can go.</p>
<p>I am academically driven, intelligent, extremely creative and I am passionate about a VERY wide variety of things (I love nuclear physics, geology and chemistry; I design and saw my own couture; I am in the middle of writing a vegetarian cookbook and a guidebook for friends/family of someone with eating disorders etc etc).
Is there any way of telling the college admissions committee ‘hey, I know my scores suck but just give me someone who’ll guide me and support me and I may become a genius’ without sounding like an idiot making excuses?</p>
<p>And I’m not requesting aid, even though I should.</p>
<p>The admissions committee usually does its best to be aware of the opportunities available to you, so you should do your best to focus on your strengths and how you took advantage of what opportunities you had (which it definitely sounds like you did). Strong letters of recommendation will also help in that regard.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about the old IB syllabi 
- I pretty much kicked myself for not reading the History HL syllabus earlier than April because it changed the year I took it… </p>
<p>Also, I’m not sure if you have time/if these are offered, but maybe you could take a SAT Subject Test in something that you are very comfortable in? Usually people don’t have to prep insanely for them, and they are less tricky/detail-oriented than the IB. Just a thought, although since they aren’t required, they may not help a ton.</p>
<p>You don’t have to be the president of a million clubs. In fact, when I applied, I just put down my favorite three activities. Just THREE! They are really looking for quality over quantity and passion above all else!</p>
<p>You know, I think you can maybe make your experience at that hair salon shine in your application. It is an internship only a few have. Feel free to shoot me a private message if you need some advice.</p>