<p>Hi :)</p>
<p>I'm in my last year of High School in Taiwan, and I'm thinking of applying to Stanford, Princeton, Yale, UCLA and Melbourne Uni.
I grew up in New Zealand, so english is my first language. I calculated my GPA for year 9 and 10 (equivalent to GRADE 7&8 in America) and it was basically 4.0. I took my IGCSE's early. I got A for Math and Combined Science and C for English. So my grades have always been pretty good.
However, I moved to Taiwan in the middle of year 10 and started High School in Taiwan. When I came to Taiwan I couldn't speak, read, understand or write Chinese at all, and as the education curriculum in NZ is different from TW I had to learn everything from scratch. Not surprisingly, my grades in High School were terrible. I mostly got C's with a few A's and B's in my first year, and in my second year I even got a few D's, but mostly C's and a few A's and B's as well.
I want to explain that I my transcripts were terrible because of language barriers in my personal statement and essays. But then I'm also worried that they won't really believe me because I didn't score too well on my SAT's either. (2040 total, 760 math, 630 CR, 650 Writing) but then I scored nearly perfect for IELTS (8.5/9).
Do you think I should still take SAT Subject Tests?</p>
<p>PLEASE HELP</p>
<p>Where do you get the notion that 2040 on your SAT is a low score? It is a very, very, very good score!</p>
<p>Whether or not you need SAT Subject tests depends entirely on the colleges/universities that you will be applying to. Check their requirements. If they require subject tests, you need to take them. If they don’t, you don’t. It really is that simple.</p>
<p>Read through everything at <a href=“https://www.educationusa.info/[/url]”>https://www.educationusa.info/</a> and then get in touch with the counselors at the advising center that is most convenient for you. There are two in Taiwan <a href=“https://www.educationusa.info/Taiwan[/url]”>https://www.educationusa.info/Taiwan</a> and two more in New Zealand <a href=“https://www.educationusa.info/NewZealand[/url]”>https://www.educationusa.info/NewZealand</a> These counselors are the experts on situations like yours. They can help you come up with a good list for yourself, and they can help you get through the whole application process.</p>
<p>Most of the colleges I want to go to say that Subject Tests are optional, but if taking them will give me a higher chance of getting admitted, I think I’d want to take them.</p>
<p>I think I’m most worried about my GPA, do you think they would consider that I didn’t know any chinese? Or would they think that I’m just trying to find excuses?</p>
<p>Write your essay about it. Not as a way of making exvuses, but because it’s an interesting thing about you and you probably learned some worthwhile stuff from the experience.</p>
<p>Hi there!</p>
<p>Did you end up going to an international school or one of the local schools? Because that’s definitely a mitigating circumstance if you had to learn a new language from scratch! </p>
<p>For the schools you mentioned, you will need (or at least want) to take some subject tests. </p>
<p>I’d recommend explaining your situation in the Additional Info section of the Common App. Have you talked to your school counselor about what your GPA is at the moment, or your class rank?</p>
<p>Best of luck!!</p>
<p>I’m one of the local schools, all the lessons and exams are all in chinese :(</p>
<p>Do you think I should retake my SAT (I still think 2040 isn’t good enough to get into the schools I want) or try the subject tests?</p>
<p>I don’t have a school counselor, and no one at my school knows anything about applying to colleges in America 
They have their own system here in Taiwan, and I’m the first student in my school to apply to university overseas :/</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone’s help, it really means a lot :)</p>
<p>My GPA isn’t that great , apparently it’s only around 2.8 or something
and I’m in the top third of my year, around 90th out of 300…</p>
<p>I don’t know if that information is useful though…</p>
<p>Personally, I’m impressed that you went to a school in China and even made passing grades in a completely different language.
Consider also that US students score higher on verbal/reading tests because they have been reading and writing English while you have been reading and writing Chinese.
Most top colleges require two SAT 2 tests. I’ve seen advice for native speakers not to take the SAT subject tests in their native language. Consider the Chinese SAT 2 and one more in a topic you are good at, like math? You will likely not score as high as a native speaker ( as some do take it) but the colleges will know that you are not one, and you will likely do better than most non native speakers who studied it in the classroom.
IMHO, make your essay a positive one, not an excuse. You took a risk most students would not take and you have a unique background. Tell them about it and highlight what stood out for you. I can imagine you have some interesting stories to tell.<br>
That said, I am not an admissions officer, and admission to any of the highly selective schools is never predictable. I would consider adding some other colleges on your list if you are interested in studying here, perhaps some that give financial aid to international applicants if you need that. I don’t have that information, but it can be found. There are many to choose from, and if you post what you are interested in, perhaps people will make suggesions.</p>
<p>As I’ve never actually been to America, I have no idea what colleges I should apply for…
What colleges would you recommend?
My first choices are UCLA and Stanford, because I would love to study near California, and I chose Princeton and Yale because the campuses are so beautiful…
I’d like to study something to do with business or architecture, and I do want to go to a good university…
Apart from the Ivys, what other colleges would be suitable?</p>
<p>There are so many to choose from, and many things to consider. One is finances. Will you need any financial aid? How much can you personally afford for tuition? If this is not a factor, the choices are quite numerous.
Another factor is name and prestige, for which applicants have different values about. It is possible to get a good education at many colleges outside the ones that are most known.
Then there is selectivity. It’s fine to apply to a college like Stanford, Princeton, and Yale. In fact, with your unusual background, I think it’s worth it to apply. However all of these schools admit about 5% of applicants. Having only schools this selective on a list is risky. So applicants are encouraged to apply to less selective schools as well- ones where applicants who are admitted match their grades and scores. I personally don’t like the term “safety”, as it diminishes the value of that school. Many are excellent opportunities. You are a different type of applicant, as your grades and scores reflect a language barrier, but to be safe as far as getting admitted to college, I’d include a wide range of colleges on your list.
Beautiful campuses are everywhere. You don’t need to be limited to the east and west coast for this. You might want to be reasonably near an airport to make travel easier if your family remains in China.
I’m not knowlegeable about architecture or business, so I hope posters on CC will make recommendations.</p>
<p>I don’t think finance will be a big factor (I’m an only child and my parents and I have all been working and saving up for my college fees).
My parents are obsessed with how “good” the colleges sound. I, on the other hand, don’t mind at all. As long as the college will provide me with a good education, I’m fine.
I’m a little worried about time as well though, I think I started the application process too late, and now I’m rushing everything.
I don’t want get applied to a college in America, and find that it wasn’t what it was like on websites and posters and regret studying there. (This is exactly what happened when I came to Taiwan for high school. The websites and the school faculty clearly stated that it was a bilingual school or a language school, however, when I started studying here I found that everything was in Chinese, and there wasn’t any English at all.) Both me and my parents are now very skeptical of what we see on websites and stuff, and the colleges that they’ve let me apply to have been recommended by family friends etc…</p>
<p>While websites are going to showcase the best of a school, I don’t think they are intentionally deceiving-if they offer a program, they should have it. However, it is hard to tell exactly what a college feels like without visiting. Still, students apply as you do. Recommendations from family and friends can help, but know also that college admission in the US has become increasingly competitive, and the student who only focuses on the most selective school may not get accepted at all. It’s fine to want to apply to them, but it does overlook other good possiblities. I hope other CC posters will make some recommendations for colleges. Many have January deadlines, so there is time, but yes, it is getting closer to deadlines.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help, and sorry for asking soooo many questions! :)</p>
<p>For safety schools, I was thinking about applying to Melbourne University in Australia and Auckland University in New Zealand.</p>
<p>This is the place for questions! I’m not familiar with schools in Australia, but it is good that you have solid choices in your country.</p>
<p>Do you think I should retake my SAT?
I got 2040 last time, but a lot of people are telling me that 2040 is way too low for Stanford.</p>
<p>Or do you think I should leave my SAT I’s and take the SAT subject tests instead? Only problem is that I haven’t started studying for them, and if I were to take them it would be this coming December. If I were to take the subject tests, I would probably take Math 2, Chem and Bio…</p>
<p>Some of the schools you are applying to require 2 SAT subject tests, so if you are applying to them, you need to have these tests too. Are you able to take the ACT? It could be possible to take the ACT and SAT subject tests.</p>
<p>The 2040 is on the low side for Stanford, but I think you can apply. I’m not an admission officer, but I think they would take note of the fact that you were in a Chinese school with no prior knowlege of the language.
Also, I would not compare your scores with US students who have been studying English while you were studying Chinese. Scores tend to reflect what a student is studying.
Colleges like Stanford get plenty of applicants with perfect scores. You will be different, but how the college sees your profile is not predictable. Still, they may consider your situation. You don’t know unless you try.</p>