I am an International Student from Jamaica(A little island in the Caribbean).
Applied to 13 schools.All with great financial aid.which is a need for me.
Geography or Geology major.
my list: Bowdoin,Bates,Union,Colby,Colgate,Grinnell,kenyon,Hamilton,skidmore,vassar,Denison,middlebury and depauw.
I attend the top all boy school in the island,one of the oldest schools in the western hemisphere,founded 1729.
My stats:
didn’t do the SAT due to financial reasons.emailed all schools why i didn’t submit it, even the test optional ones.
Did Csec(basically O level)in grade 11(2018)the regional exam 6 grade ones(highest score) and 3 grade twos(second highest score).Subjects I took:Math, Eng, Chem, Phys, Bio, Social Studies, Geo, Econ,
My gpa is around 3.8,3.9 not sure we don’t get to see our transcripts.Our gpa is based on our Csec score a 1 is 4.0 and a 2 is 3.5
I came 2nd in economics was in top 3 percent at school(250 students).
I was promoted to the highly selective and optional 6th form program at my school.Here we do a regional exam called CAPE(basically A level).We complete the program in two years grades 12 and 13.First year I did Unit 1 Econ,Bio,Geo,Pure Math and communication studies.I placed top 10 in all subjects except pure math.Receiving 3 grade ones,a grade 2 and a grade 3.Top students normally get 4 grade ones i got three but i did one extra subject so added workload.I got the three in pure math and explained it to colleges that i stopped doing math in grade 11 as i did CSEc a year earlier in grade 10 so i didn’t have to do it in grade 11 so i had a gap year in math which made it a bit difficult.But what set my performance apart was that I came 4th in the whole caribbean in Geography and 1st in my school.and 2nd in economics at my school.
I am also always on the honor roll
I am also a government scholarship awardee.
My essays were good like very good talked about how i persevered through poverty to achieve my educational goal etc and that i was determined.
Ecs: I play soccer at club level and at school.club is a division below professional soccer level in my country.
Lots of volunteer-beach clean ups,drop in center voulnteer,part of an voluntary organization(OHTP)we do a project every holiday,train kids at the club academy every week
Clubs:Environmental,photography club and junior achievement club.
Leadership: junior achievement vice president,Soccer team vice captain and grade 10 form captain
Other activities: practice forex, participated in nationwide stock exchange school game
PS-ik that it’s highly unlikely that i get into any of these schools but nothing beats a try??♂️
If you care to say, how’d you arrive at some choices that offer neither geosciences nor geography majors?
most offer geology and i chose econ as the next best major.I think only one didn’t offer a geography/geology/geoscience major
Your background is interesting and impressive. It’s tough for international students who need financial assistance, but you are right - nothing beats a try, and hopefully one of these schools will be looking for someone like you. I don’t see any specific question for us in your message, but if I were to offer some advice, I suggest you double-check you’ve done everything these schools require from an international student. For example, Denison (my son’s at Denison so it is my usual point of reference) requires an International Student Certification of Finances as well as a demonstration of English proficiency (which shouldn’t be a problem for you, it’s just another box you need to get checked). Be sure to set up the portals for each school as soon as they send you the information so you can check that everything they need from you has been received. If you have any specific questions, you can always send a brief note to the admissions officer responsible for international applicants. Since you’ve already applied, it’s a bit late, but if your soccer skills are so strong, you might also drop a note to the coach with some video if you have it - can’t hurt. Also, if you have the opportunity apply for an interview, I recommend you do it. It may be difficult unless the school has alumni in Jamaica, but some do Skype interviews. Good luck to you!
heeya thanks for the advise i have done everything(css,COF, Isfaa all optional essays,emailed coaches for recommendation-colgate coach got back to me and resume)
Well, then it’s time to cross your fingers! Let us know how things turn out for you.