<p>Hey,
I'm a 16 year old guy in S. Korea who stayed in America for 6 years and practically grew up there (finished freshman year of HS in the US). The F-1 visa (that my father had) was getting way too expensive to maintain so we had to come back. After going to school here for half a year, repeating half of ninth grade, I don't want to stay here any longer because the schools are terrible and underfunded. IMHO People who say the US should copy the Korean school system are either 1. terribly misinformed or 2. closet fascists.</p>
<p>So after some thought, I decided to take the GED plus the SATs and the SAT subject tests in the upcoming months and go to college in the fall of 2014 (I would be 17 by then). I've always had an interest in medical care so I decided to pursue a BS of Nursing. I realized quickly that colleges don't really want to deal with internationals (poor ones, anyways) yet alone GED takers. Because my family currently has no income, is in debt, and will have two kids including me in college by 2014, even a $20,000 tuition, room + board is hard to ask. </p>
<p>Because of my unique and frankly twisted situation, I'm at loss for what I should do. In my freshman year in the US, I had great records; I was second in my class, participated in marching band, jazz band, wind ensemble and I was on accelerated science and math courses(finished bio, chem, and algebra II). Plus I actually had a social life. The thing that ****ed me off the most when I had to leave was the fact that I couldn't learn physics or calculus because I honestly enjoyed learning. </p>
<p>If I stay in Korea to finish high school, not only am I going to have to spend 11 hours a day in a school that doesn't teach, I would have no time for extracurriculars or anything that makes me unique from the other students. It doesn't bode well with me to be made a memorizing machine. </p>
<p>If I drop out of high school and go to college early, it's a more immediate financial burden to my family. It also sucks that the colleges I can go to have to be under $20,000 AND are limited to mediocre ones because of me dropping out of school. A friend told me that if I stayed in America, I would have had a shot at UPenn, which has been my dream school for years with the beautiful campus and the nation's top nursing school(!). </p>
<p>Of course I will be working on-campus when I get to college, but in most schools I will be eligible for neither financial aid (international) nor merit-based scholarship (GED). </p>
<p>I'm incensed by how unfair college is, or life for that matter. I'm a student who tried and still wants to go to a good college not necessarily because of the respect that comes with a brand-name uni but because I just really like learning and want to be the best at what I do. I still try to keep up with what everyone else is learning in America by teaching myself US History and physics and reading all the classic novels my friends are reading in school. This might sound like (and be) an annoying whine but I just feel stuck. </p>
<p>Has anyone ever dealt with a situation like this, worked with a student like me, or was one? If so (or not), do you have any advice for me?</p>