need help in deciding where to apply! international student.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>hey guys, im an upcoming senior and have started organizing a list of potential schools i would like to apply to. however, it seems that more and more everyday i tend to switch things around based on threads i have read around the site or rankings and i start to doubt myself whether i should even apply or not. i have an interest in marketing and psychology, and if possible would like to through a photography minor if available from the school.</p>

<p>in addition, im looking for a medium sized college, would like to have mostly international students, more of a campus feel, sports scene, clubs, just that overrall college experience. i have family living in Auburn and Maryland, so schools in the DC area or Atlanta, Georgia would be comforting for me however i would like to through some other locations nearby in the mix.</p>

<p>i dont have my full stats yet but i can show you guys this, i know stats will give a better idea but tbh my stats as of what i know are average, but i feel like my EC's and my writing for the essays will show who I am truly as not just a student.</p>

<p>-SAT, planning on redoing it
-ACT, my score hasn't come out yet
-AP's: AP Psych, Lang so far haven't gotten my scores
-Senior year I plan too take AP Stats, Environmental Science, Micro, and self-study Macro
-Grades are decent, freshmen year was hell kept a 3.25 GPA after moving in the middle of the year unexpectedly
-Have been on honor roll since freshmen year
-I am Sudanese-Austrian living in Amman, Jordan. I have moved around my entire life because my mom works in the UN, her job is very high demanding. Have lived in some of the most exotic countries and have experienced some of the most tragic things. Pakistan 2005- Bombings where my family and I had to be evacuated. Lived apart from my mom for almost a year and was emotionally and mentally for my sister and I to cope with.</p>

<p>EC's
- JV Soccer and Volleyball in 10th grade
- Varsity Soccer and Volleyball junior year and will continue up till senior year
- Won Most Improved Players for both Varsity Soccer and Volleyball junior year
- Outside of school: I dance and have been since freshmen year, I'm in an all girl hiphop crew that will be starting doing shows around Jordan :)
- Newspaper Club as of junior year
- Won 2nd in a World Languages Competition for French in my school
- TONS of community service (very passionate about community service, very important to me)</p>

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<p>Schools i am considering are
Penn (cousin who goes here, shes doing her masters)
Georgetown (close to family)
Emory (close to family)
UVa
Northeastern (alot of people from my school get accepted here)
BU
American
UMD - College Park (cousin who goes to Penn did her undergrad here)
Syracuse
Penn State (tons of people in my school get accepted here)
Pitt (mom went here for her masters degree)
UMass Amherst
Suffolk</p>

<p>--
some additional questions i would really like some input in</p>

<p>1) Would it be better going to grad school (like Penn for example) having a very high undergrad GPA or average high school GPA? </p>

<p>2) I want to pursue an MBA in the future, would it be better for me to major in Business Admin with a concentration in marketing, or straight to the marketing concentration? I don't know where I would like to work, but I imagine myself as an adverting or brand management person in like a magazine company of some sort. I have a love for photography and think that marketing could really help me with it.</p>

<p>Thank you guys again for your inputs!!!</p>

2

<p>Yeah, your list is good (of course, you don’t need to apply to all of them). But what are your current test scores?</p>

3

<p>my SAT score was really low 1440, but i’m reviewing this summer and preparing to take it again in september or october. i think i did better in my ACT though, but i’m still waiting on the results. i’m not a good standardized test taker and i believe that my transcript shows me as a better student than my SAT score. </p>

<p>is it true that the SAT is just one of the many factors college admission officers look at? it was my first time ever taking the SAT and i know i can do better if i just try, but i always end up doubting myself whether or not i should give it a shot at applying to reach schools when i know there are bigger things in my apps that show me as a strong applicant. </p>

<p>i know it might seem crazy for me to apply to those reach schools with a low SAT score like that but i intend to take it again, third times the charm right?</p>

4

<p>@international95 how can i narrow down that list of schools to 8 schools? i’ve also added Northwestern into the mix cause i was really interested in the undergrad IMC certificate, and the school is super strong. </p>

5

<p>Yes, the SAT score is only one of the many things admissions officers look at. While SAT scores cannot make an application (doesn’t matter whether you have a 2400 or a 2200), they can certainly break an application (i.e a 1440 is going to significantly hurt you for admissions). If you cannot bring your SAT score to around 2000 (30 ACT?) at the very least, I highly recommend you remove schools like Northwestern and Georgetown from your list.</p>

6

<p>1440 out of 1600? Even 1440/1600 will be in the lower half of applicant pool for some of your mentioned schools. such as Northwestern and Georgetown. I suggest you do a little research on the shcools before you finalise your list, unless you can improve your SAT by 800 points ( around 2200 to 2300). </p>

7

<p>thank you for your help @International95 @houseofcats</p>