<p>I'm currently a 11th grader in a French International school. I plan to go to the US to attend college. We don't have AP classes, clubs. I have 10 classes in total in junior year :French, History-Geography(grouped together) PE, English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Maths, Physics-Chemistry(also grouped together), and Biology. I constantly get bad grades in French and History-Geography since 9th grade (9.9 average in those subjects on a scale of 20). My 11th grade average/GPA is low (13.4). While I consistently get 16s 15s and 14s at subjects such as Maths, Physics, Biology, English, Chinese, Vietnamese ( I believe that's A in the American scale). My GPA in 9th Grade is 15.3, 14.0 in 10th grade. So my cumulative GPA is 14.2 ( Is that an A?)</p>
<p>I don't play sports.I don't have any leadership positions yet, I ran for class president but lost to a more popular/competent friend. As far as extracurricular activities, I have only worked for this one company. I'm planning to scram everything I can do into this summer before I apply. </p>
<p>I have not yet taken the SAT I nor the TOEFL, but I took the SAT II Maths 1 two weeks ago and I'm waiting results. I plan to take the SAT in October and the TOEFL in July.</p>
<p>I'm also wondering if I plan to major in a branch where expertise in French and History-Geography is not important, will I have a chance to get into a good university or even top 40? If not which universities match my achievements. Also do you know how to correctly convert French grades onto the American grading scale? Because each and every site I go to, give a different conversion. </p>
<p>I know this is a very weak resume and you're probably laughing reading this but please help me out.</p>
<p>It’s only a “weak” resume if you’re applying to the most selective American schools: the Ivies, Stanford, MIT, etc. Those schools are a reach for everyone, attracting elite students from around the world. </p>
<p>For most other American universities your background will be more than sufficient. The big question is can you afford an American education ($40-$50,000 per year.) If you will require extensive financial aid that narrows your options considerably. </p>
<p>By the way, don’t worry about converting your grades, etc., into the American system. Universities here understand the French education system; they also are not as demanding in terms extracurricular activities as they are of their American counterparts.</p>
<p>Can you please give some schools that I match so I can know where I’m at?</p>
<p>Impossible to give you a match without your SAT scores. You can look up average GPAs and SAT scores at individual schools on their website. You can also take a look at the individual school threads on this website (under Colleges and Ivy League) where students post their stats after they’ve been denied/accepted.</p>
<p>Just keep in mind, that at MOST schools (the ivy leagues and MIT are exceptions plus one or two others), your ability to pay the full tuition will make a difference in whether or not you will be accepted. In other words - you may have the grades and you may have the SATs, but if you need extensive financial aid, you may not get in (or get in without any FA… amounts to same thing.)</p>
<p>If you are interested in a science/math/engineering major and your SAT scores are strong, you might wish to look into the [Association</a> of Independent Technological Universities: AITU](<a href=“http://theaitu.org%5DAssociation”>http://theaitu.org) schools. Some of them do provide some financial aid for international students.</p>
<p>@injunioryear, I’m in the exact same situation, and we pretty much have the same averages (I also go to an International school). I will be applying for financial aid, and I’m absolutely terrified I won’t get in because of that, so I completely understand your problem, although I’m afraid I won’t be of any help whatsoever…</p>
<p>Good luck though! :)</p>
<p>injunioryear:
First, read threads started by French students (tadamfr, wowthere, 75014…) you will find lots of answers.
Extracurriculars: get yourself elected to the CVL or to your school’s CA - this will look extremely good and it’s not overly competitive since it’s such a commitment. (You’ll also learn a lot :p)
Do you study Vietnamese because you attend a French-patterned school in Vietnam, or did you pick VIetnamese as a foreign language due to your heritage or personal interest? Do you pursue anything related to Vietnamese culture beside the language (be it music, cooking, sport, dancing…)
Are you a boy or a girl? If you’re a girl, elite women’s college tend to be quite generous with the students they admit.
Finally, “even top 40” is highly selective. Remember that the US is 17 times bigger than France: even TOP 100 is great (essentially, top 40 national universities + top 60 national liberal arts colleges).</p>
<p>A good way for you to convert your grades is to use :3 for “W GPA” (weighted GPA).
i.e., 12 = 4.00 WGPA for example. Unweighted is more difficult to figure out so we’ll leave that for later.</p>
<p>With 9-10 in French and HG you should forget the top 5 (10?) in Lacs and National universities. But who knows if you could make that up with SAT scores?</p>
<p>You shouldn’t have taken MAth1… not sure why you did. Math2 would have worked better and meant more. You can take 3 subject tests on the same day so you should take Math2, Spanish, and physics or Chemistry, or if you take the test in November Chinese Math2 and either Physics or Chemistry. Hopefully you’ll score in the 700’s.</p>
<p>TOEFL: train/practice a lot. There are free lessons on youtube and online plus practice books. Use them. 
Once you’ve reached the threshold (90 or 100) you’re good to go. You’re not “ranked” on the TOEFL, unlike the SAT.</p>
<p>Look into COlleges that change lives or The insider’s guide to the colleges or Fisk Guide.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the much needed help. I have a few questions though. Can you help me out?
-I took Cambridge’s CAE two years ago and got 73. Will that help in any way?
-Yes, I’m attending a French-patterned school in Vietnam.
-I hear some friends say that the education in French International schools is harder than the schools in France itself? Is this true or just BS?
-Let’s say money isn’t a problem, what schools am I capable of getting to with my academic achievements and a projected SAT scores of 2000+?
-Does packing all of my extracurricular activities into this summer and my senior year make me look desperate to add something to my application?
That’s it! Thanks!</p>
<p>I doubt theCAE will mean much to adminission officers, however if you explain it and what percentile that 73 represents they’ll factor it in.</p>
<p>I don’t know whether French patterned-schools are harder abroad but since they tend to be highly selective I would imagine the actual bac exams aren’t but the grading is harsher during the year. You can demonstrate that by doing very well on your bac de premi</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the replies!
BAC Francais and HG are coming this Thursday and Friday so I’ll try to do my best but I doubt getting good grades.
One last question though, if I intend to get 2000+ on the SAT, which schools would be safeties, which would be matches, and which would be reaches?</p>
<p>I’m sorry to be bombarding with questions like this but I have one more last question 
How important is the Bac de premiere in applying for colleges? Because as I have told you, I suck at French and HG; and the Bac for the subjects that I’m actually good at is in Terminale when I have already applied for college? (I’m in the Scientific Stream by the way)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the bac de premi</p>
<p>Bac de 1e factored in heavily? Oh no, I’m doomed then. I think I can score an 11-12 in French but there’s no way I will be above 10 for HG, the material just doesn’t go inside my brain. I’ll try my best though. Thanks a lot for your help!</p>
<p>But does doing badly in French and HG throughout the year and doing badly in BAC different? I mean, I did badly normally so does doing badly in BAC Premiere changes anything?</p>
<p>no, doing (relatively) badly during the year and for the bac aren’t different, but the bac is a way for you to show you’re able to perform better than what your grades would suggest. Your grades are equivalent to B to B-, so that would keep you out from the most selective universities. However, remember that there are 3,700 universities and colleges in the US: even “TOP 100” (with Top 40 national universities and Top 60 National Liberal Arts Colleges) are top 3%… :)</p>
<p>For HG, remember that they want you to have specific examples of the ideas you discuss but most of all you must be able to show cause/consequence, correlation/effects/impacts. With lots of connecting words you should be able to manage. Good luck!</p>
<p>I had a pretty low Gpa around 2 
I wish i enroll masters degree in USA. What should i do?
Please help me please. Somenone share if they i had a same experience</p>
<p>Is that 2.00 a GPA you converted yourself or one you actually obtained?
Typically for a Master’s degree you’d need a 3.5 (As and Bs) or at the very least a 3.00, (meaning an equal number of As, Bs and Cs.)
What subject did you want to study for your Master’s degree? What’s your undergraduate major?
Also with a 2.0 it’d dubious you have research experience.
Have you taken the GRE?</p>
<p>Hey! I don’t know if you can see this but I got my Bac results. 15 in French, 12 in French(oral exam) 9 in HG and 14 in TPE. I want to ask you how does these grade look on my application. Thank you very much!</p>
<p>*how do these grades</p>