<p>Hi! I just wrote about 9999999 words and they mysteriously disappeared therefore I'm gonna be brief. Thanks a lot beforehand. :) </p>
<p>I live and study in Venezuela, last year I made a gap/exchange student year in the US. And now i'm looking forward to transfer to a college in the U.S., I've researched literally hundreds of schools but I haven't found anything that fits my interests and where I could, actually, go according to my stats. </p>
<p>Current stats:
- Studying at the best ranked university in Venezuela, 399th on Engineering in the World. It's mainly a college that offers tech careers and it has a very internationally reputable alumni (eg. the dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering of the Univ of Toronto is an undergraduate from my Univ)
- 4.00 GPA in the first quarter (1st of a 1200 people class, position shared with no more than 3 people)
- Major: Production Engineering
- 19/20 (95%) GPA in High School
- 1730 SAT 650M / 570W / 530R (I did it when I just arrived to the US as an exchange student, didn't study for it at all and my english was quite weak, I think I can increase it to a 2000)
- 107/120 in the TOEFL IBT test. (Fine for about 99.5% of colleges in America)</p>
<p>ECs: (I don't have many, there are no clubs at schools here and I spent most of the time commuting and learning english)
- Worked about 10 hours each week with my father managing our family business. 20 during vacations. 50 in Christmas season.
- Volunteered for a political organization during elections. (Also went to lots of rallies in my lifetime)
- Built entirely multiple websites, including the Solar Car team one which I joined this year.
- A paper I wrote for social sciences will get published in a college magazine. I know I cant get a really good recommendation from that teacher.</p>
<p>Reasons to transfer
- Very very inflexible curricula where you can't choose any of your classes. (Maybe a couple of "general studies"). I'm very interested on politics+economics and my school just doesn't allow me to take them!
- Very very low budget which means: Labs with no money (they're starting to see labs in Youtube because of the lack of materials)
- Lack of any kind of high tech, we're lagging about 10 years on any technology.
- Decreasing investigation.
- Teacher quality is heavily decreasing (teachers die and the new generations are expats somewhere else)
- Awful political environment for any kind of innovation.
- Student body lacks of the Silicon-Valley-kind of ambition, there's not that feeling I got in the U.S. where people were really competitive and wanted to make their ideas to become true.
- It's very unsafe to live here, there are multiple kidnaps and murders each week in Caracas. It's the unsafest city in South America :(.</p>
<p>Now here is the part that has been limiting me in my research for colleges, I have 2 brothers and we can't afford more than 20-25k (Tuition+room), so I'd be needing some kind of financial aid. But I don't really want to study in a college worst than mine. I also know that is not convenient to try this during freshman year, but my guess is that they won't transfer more than 5-6 classes by the end of my sophomore year, so I'd have to start, anyway in the second semester when I get to the U.S. </p>
<p>Thanks thanks a lot. Have a great day!</p>