Hi everyone,
I am thinking of becoming an international student. I just have a few concerns:
I would like to get a Major in Biology or something similar.
My problem/concern: I didn’t go to a high school with classes like biology, scients or physics. I had the classes in my 9th year but not in my high school 10th, 11th and 12th.
Does it matter if you didn’t had the classes in high school to study biology or something similar in college/university?
Can you get the classes at a college?
Maybe a community college?
I guess the question is what did you take for sciences? Typically students need 4 years of lab science for higher education admissions into science programs. 3 years of lab science usually works for non-science majors. Yes, if you are missing those classes community college would be the place to start.
Was bio/Chen/physics offered or were you in a high school track without them?
If your school offered them and you were tracked into the non science track: apply to LACs and colleges that don’t make you apply by major.
Why biology?
What science did you take?
How will you manage in science classes if you haven’t taken pre-requisites?
What’s your budget (always a concern for internationals)?
What country do you live in and what’s your record compared to others in your country? Have you taken the SAT, ACT, or TOEFL?
Short answer: yes, you can major in biology without having taken biology in secondary school. You will be at a slight disadvantage, but that is what the introductory courses are for. Just be prepared to work a bit harder from the beginning, and use all of the resources that are available.
My high-school didn’t offer any biology, science, physicians or any classes like that. My high-school is a high school that focus on business.
I think I would do okay in the science classes and I will try my best to get a really good score.
My budget is not too high. In my country my record was in the middle. I am preparing for the SAT, ACT and TOEFL.
If you did not have physics or biology in high school, you may not be admitted to a 4-year university in the US. Most require such subjects for admission.
But you can meet these requirements in community college and then transfer for a 4-year university.
However, realize that there is almost no financial aid for international students at community colleges. You will have to pay the full costs at the community college ($9,000-$15,000 per year) and the full costs of a 4-year college ($20,000-$60,000 per year) without the hope of financial aid because there is almost no financial aid for international transfer students.
In fact, you will have to show that you have the money to even get a student visa.
For now I can only pay for one year in a community college but I plan to get more money before I want to apply.