International's GPA...have I blown it?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Oberlin College
1

<p>Hi, I'm an international student from Japan. First of all, thank you for reading this. I may just be obsessing over this, but I can't help feeling so stressed out. My GPA is on the low side (I feel terrible on CC lol), and I know international students accepted to Oberlin usually have really high grades. </p>

<p>To be frank, I didn't try my best at school during my first year. Schools in my country don't really care whether your GPA is 5.0 or 2.0 so long as you pass the college entrance exams. It's no excuse, but I just bobbed along with the crowd at this point. </p>

<p>However, after I decided that I really wanted to study in the US, I tried my best in my senior year. I took the most difficult courses available, and I managed to bring my Cs in math up to As and Bs. So, my senior year GPA converted to a 4.0 scale is 3.8, making my cumulative GPA probably 3.56. I know, not so good. And now I am constantly terrified that my recalculated GPA will end up being lower than that :(</p>

<p>I know that grades aren't everything, but it is the most important factor in admission at Oberlin. I don't have a huge list of ECs because Japanese high schools make it almost impossible to join more than two clubs, especially athletic clubs, but I showed commitment in them. On the bright side, I did get one prize in a national competition (rather strange one), a national-wide scholarship+fully-paid study abroad trip, plus 7 thumbs-up signs from my teachers for my essay. Oh no I didn't mean to turn this into a sort of chance thread O_O I won't go about listing all my ECs or anything.</p>

<p>Okay, so my main question is, how much can the essay, ECs, and other criteria compensate for a less than stellar GPA? Especially with international admissions, I know they're soooo competitive. Oberlin is my top choice, and I'm really banging my head for not A) studying my brains out from the beginning and B) not contacting the admissions office about the way they calculate my country's grades. (why didn't I think of asking this instead of those other questions...)</p>

<p>If anyone can give me some opinions, please don't hesitate to be harsh! That way I'll know where I stand. Thank you in advance, and sorry for this very long thread.</p>

2

<p>Hie kyud! I had the exact same worries when I applied.My GPA was almost the same as yours,mainly because of the difficulty of my courses,but thankfully I still got in.However I had done extsemely well on both sets of national exams,so I guess that could have made up for the transcript.My advice-Dont worry about it! They use a wholistic process,so if the rest of your app is solid and your essays well written that one blemish will not completely ruin your chances.good luck,hope to see you there in aug!</p>

3

<p>Hi macmill! Did you apply ED?</p>

<p>Thanks for the reassurance! I guess I just really need to calm down. Yeah, I think the rest of my app is solid enough, and my teachers say that I’ve really thought out of the box in my essay (not sure how good that’s supposed to be!) Anyway, the course I’m enrolled in at school is insane, they don’t let you take any art or music classes after your freshman year. (The only nonacademic class I have is P.E. lol)
So my transcript is happily peppered with 1st year: 8–> 2nd year: 11–> final year: 12 core academic classes :slight_smile: Hope they will take that into account as well.</p>

<p>Hope to see you in August!! I’d absolutely love to get in ><</p>

<p>P.S.
There’s just one thing which I’m really curious to ask the AO about recalculating grades, but is it worth contacting them, or should I let it pass? The office must be insanely busy this time of year, so I wouldn’t want to be bothering them a/o come off as a nervous wreck.</p>

4

<p>hie again,I applied ED.Your GPA is actually not bad.They definetely take into account therigor of your courses and your app is therefore viewed against that backdrop.I am confident that they will be more impressed with an Ok GPA from a challenging curriculum than an astronomically high one attained in a watered down course.So,no worries there.I wouldnt contact them at this point,because they are probably extremely busy.If your essay was out of the box,then you were right on target since Oberlin is all about being quirky and unique.Check out the Oberlin blogs on their website under Charles Grim,he wrote extensively about how they calculate GPA for international students.</p>

5

<p>hie again,I applied ED.Your GPA is actually not bad.They definetely take into account the rigor of your courses and your app is therefore viewed against that backdrop.I am confident that they will be more impressed with an Ok GPA from a challenging curriculum than an astronomically high one attained in a watered down course.So,no worries there.I wouldnt contact them at this point,because they are probably extremely busy.If your essay was out of the box,then you were right on target since Oberlin is all about being quirky and unique.Check out the Oberlin blogs on their website under Charles Grim,he wrote extensively about how they calculate GPA for international students.</p>

6

<p>Just some information to chew on:</p>

<p>[Oberlin</a> Blogs | Blog Entry: “What’s in a GPA?”](<a href=“http://blogs.oberlin.edu/applying/selection_process/whats_in_a_gpa.shtml]Oberlin”>http://blogs.oberlin.edu/applying/selection_process/whats_in_a_gpa.shtml)</p>

<p>[Oberlin</a> Blogs | Blog Entry: “Calculating GPAs for International Students”](<a href=“http://blogs.oberlin.edu/applying/international/calculating_gpa.shtml]Oberlin”>http://blogs.oberlin.edu/applying/international/calculating_gpa.shtml)</p>

<p>Your high school was also asked to submit an International School form when it sent in your transcript. This helps the colleges “translate” your GPA experience to the U.S. experience. Anything that your counselor can write to explain the grading system at your school would assist the colleges in performing this “translation.”</p>

<p>The problem you’re describing is not specific to a penurious international grading scale…as you were perfectly capable of pulling up your grades once you applied yourself. Your earlier, lower grades seem to be the product of a lack of initiative and too much willingness to go with the flow (which, yes, may be an environment created largely by culture). This sort of malaise afflicts American high school students as much as it does students from abroad.</p>

<p>I would not suggest trying to get too much of a boost from the argument that you were being slack because everyone around you was being slack. Instead, I might try to get my counselor or teachers to communicate the idea that your performance this year is truly indicative of the kind of student you are and that the corner you turned is not just a phase – or a short sprint or a last gasp or a final hurrah – but it is the kind of effort AND performance that colleges can expect of you throughout your college career, even when there’s no outside force that’s lighting a fire under your posterior (assuming they can honestly make that case on your behalf). That will be a tough sell, but I think that’s the sort of position that they need to take to give you your best shot.</p>

7

<p>Thank you D’yer Maker for your thoughtful response.
Yes, I’ve been through the blog posts before, and my counselor did submit an International School Form along with my transcript. I guess I shouldn’t have to worry so much about those recalculations.</p>

<p>I do realize that my earlier grades were mostly due to slack (although a fairly large part of it was also because I took time to adjust my weekly routine during the first year), and there are countless times when I wished I hadn’t followed my classmates and just worked to my full capabilities. I realized too late that if I really applied myself to something, I could accomplish the task. One thing I am certain of is that this is no “final hurrah.” I am positive this year is when I finally found my solid work ethic that I can maintain throughout college. The thought of being considered as a slacker making a last gasp never crossed my mind though. Would colleges receive that sort of impression?</p>

<p>All my applications are in already, so I don’t think there is much that I can do. There were several other factors concerning my earlier low grades, but I didn’t think they were worth explaining. Thank you very much for your advice though, I will bear it in mind.</p>

8

<p>If your school’s mid-year report is not in yet, that’s an excellent opportunity for your counselor to address the idea that this “new you” seems to be “sticky.” To have made that assessment earlier in the year would have been premature.</p>

<p>EDIT: Oh, and good luck!</p>

9

<p>Ah, yes…my mid-year report is in already (it got sent in along with the secondary school report). However, it seems one of my teachers took into consideration my courses and involvement in sports, and noted in his recommendation about how I have matured over the years, and that he now commends me on my solid work ethic. Not much, but a slight reassurance there I guess.</p>

<p>All I hope now is that the rest of my application is solid enough, and that Oberlin will get the impression that I am not a short-time sprinter, but rather a late-bloomer-long-distance runner (wait, does that sentence make sense? :() If I do manage to get in, I am going to work my guts out throughout my years at college. If I don’t get in, then there’s one hard life lesson I will have learned. </p>

<p>Thanks so much D’yer Maker and macmill! I truly appreciate your comments. I will just keep up with my studies, and wait and see what will happen. Guess you never know how things will play out anyway.</p>