International Student - 2 Schools and Weird Situation (Chance Me Please)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Wisconsin
1

Hi, please let me know what you think of my chances to get into Madison. Due to being in a family that constantly moves I spent two years at a very good international school in Asia, and now have returned to a public school in America that is ranked the best in our state. Unfortunately, my GPA does not transfer well as the rigor of classes in Asia was much more difficult, and my GPA there was much more impressive then it is here as a result. Also, there was no weighted GPA in Asia, so when measuring my GPA now here for ALL years of high school it is very low compared to the school average. Please let me know how this can be explained to Wisconsin. Also tell me if I should retake the SAT again. Thanks so much!

GPA - 3.71 (Increasing Trend over high school despite move)
SAT - 1930 (1320 out of 1600)

Legacy
Both Parents and Grandparent attended Wisconsin-Madison (Triple Legacy)
Third-Culture Kid

Work Experience:
Umpire/Referee in Asia (2 Years)
Snack Bar/Front Desk Employee (1 Year in US)
Painter/Maintenance/Staining (Summer Job)

Varsity Baseball
Recreational Basketball
Sports Writer

Nearly 150 Hours of Service
Service in various Asian countries - incredible opportunities abroad

Lived on 3 Continents - been to over 15 countries

Play Guitar

3 AP’s so far - Received 5 on all

Clubs
Habitat for Humanity
Glass Recycling - Leadership
Kids 4 Kids
Engineering Club
National History Honors Society
Vow of Silence Committee Leader - raised thousands in 8th and 9th grade
Student Ambassador - 8th and 9th grade
Volunteer Academic Tutor

Strong Letter of Recommendation from teacher and counselor

Special Circumstances: Asian International School, no weighted GPA, classes much harder

Dartmouth Book Award - Excellent Academics, Athlete, Intellectual Curiosity
Co-MVP - Baseball (Club)
AP Scholar

This Year: 3 more AP’s (6 total)
Challenging Schedule throughout high school

2

Make sure the School Profile from your int’l school gets sent to the colleges, along w the School Profile from your present HS.

Also, stuff from tbe 8th grade doesn’t count, unless it’s a super momentous achievement like curing cancer.

3

OK will do, and yeah I only meant to mention the participation in 9th grade. Thanks! Also do you have any idea how much UW’s tuition will go up as a result of Walker’s budget cuts (Out of State)

4

Are you a Wisconsin resident?

Do you plan to take the ACT?

5

No, out of state, but I do plan on taking the SAT again

6

I do not understand your comment about gpa/school rigor. That doesn’t matter, though- what matters is that you have good study habits and make no excuses. Some schools in Wisconsin do not weight grades and UW uses only unweighted grades. UW will recalculate your gpa to their usual standard. You will need transcripts from all high schools, these will explain grading practices and the rigor of courses available /you took. You will have a gpa from each school, not a combined one based on how the current school figures it.

Your stats seem competitive, middle of the pack.