<p>I have recently been thinking about applying to grad school in the US as I have always wanted to study there. The problem is, I really don't know if I'm wasting my time, as I would like to go to an Ivy League (or other top 15) college and I would need financial aid. I am a British citizen. I have been looking mainly at Linguistics or language PhD programs. I have an undergraduate degree from a fairly well known university, in which I got 68% - just a couple of percent off the highest grade in the year. Irish universities very rarely award marks over 70-75% in the humanities. I did score 75% in my undergrad dissertation which is considered a very good grade. I also have a Masters degree in Translation from a world Top Ten university, for which I got a Distinction (71%). As our marking and degree system is so different to the one in the US, I'm finding it really hard to establish whether or not I have a good chance of getting in to a good American college. Does anyone have an opinion on this? </p>
<p>On a personal level, I speak fluent Spanish, good French and am learning Portuguese and Irish. I like to travel, cook and do yoga. I have never been a very sporty person but was a member of several societies in college (music, French, volunteering etc). I have been working full time when not in college, teaching ESL in several countries, working in tourism and am currently doing a translation internship. </p>
<p>I gather that I will have to take the GRE to have a chance of being accepted. I have never done a test like this and am very concerned about my math ability - I was not good at it at school and have not done any since I was 16. Is anyone else in the same boat? I would be quite confident about my verbal/analytical/writing skills if I were able to practice in advance. Any help appreciated!</p>