Need help with with preparations, chances of admittance? (International)

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi, I'm a Korean-born Korean-raised Korean-citizen etc. etc. In short, I have absolutely no ties to America whatsoever with the exception of the time I spent there in my pre-teen years.
I was originally planning to attend only graduate school abroad, but I failed abysmally in getting admission for college in Korea(It's a long, woeful story). People have been telling me to study another year and try again, but I've decided to flee to America for my remaining schooling.</p>

<p>I've been preparing hard to do so, but my efforts are 100% solo, and to tell the truth, I'm kind of at a loss as for what I'm going to spend my time doing until comes December. Maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew, but it'd be a dream come true to attend an Ivy League school. If anyone would take a look at my "resume" and give me some (constructive)advice, I'd be truly, truly grateful.</p>

<p>Oh, by the way, I'm an engineering-hopeful.</p>

<p>-Raw GPA 3.8 (Sadly, my school is disgustingly hypercompetitive. I think I'm going to throw up just thinking about it.) </p>

<p>-TOEFL(internet based) - 120/120 (First perfect score in my country, yup)</p>

<p>-SAT - 2380(I might take it again)</p>

<p>-SATII: Chemistry, Physics, Both Maths - 800</p>

<p>-AP: Calculus BC, Physics B, Physics C, Chemistry (All 5. I heard these can boost your GPA, but I have no idea how)</p>

<p>-Student council all three years of high school</p>

<p>-60-70 hours of community service</p>

<p>-Baksetball team</p>

<p>-School Orchestra (If it means anything)</p>

<p>-I've done a piano concert for little kids, and have eaten 17 donuts in one sitting(without beverages).</p>

<p>I'm super personable and speak perfect English, but a few hitches are making me fret with worry: </p>

<ul>
<li><p>I'm not rich. Actually, I'm barely middle class. Without aid, I couldn't attend a state university, nonetheless Ivy League, even if I were to be admitted.</p></li>
<li><p>I've already graduated from high school.</p></li>
<li><p>As I've said, I have no ties with America (I hear strange rumours of admittance-via-alumni-ass-kissing).</p></li>
</ul>

<p>What should I do to raise my chances of being admitted?? I have over six months to burn, and I alreay spend too much time at clubs, bars, etc. </p>

<p>I've thought about teaching at an orphanage or curating an art exhibit by the underprivileged for the privileged. </p>

<p>I have to spend an awful lot of money to apply for college because I need to have a third-party translate my report cards(I'm not supposed to do it personally) into English and send them to the schools I tell them to. If I don't stand a chance I'd rather save the money. Thanks in advance!!</p>

2

<p>Yeah - you've really got all the academic qualifications you need: your TOEFL is great, your SAT scores is great (really, you don't need to retake it - colleges don't give bonus points to students w/ 2400s just because they hit the magic number), and your SAT IIs are great. Now, if you could just add something on top - do something meaningful to you and preferably your community. If you could find a way to teach math/physics to students somewhere, or find a way to apply your skills to some project... I don't know what's available to you. But really, that's all about you need to do to get into a competitive school - not an Ivy mind you (you may have to do more than just some community service), but a competitive school. This is, OF COURSE, not to say that you couldn't get into an Ivy, because you certainly could, but bottom line: you're very competitive, get some nice ECs to the record, and cross your fingers. That's all you can do.</p>

3

<p>Damn, CC'ers are getting so good these days. I think people should invent a new better school, HYP is getting old.</p>

<p>Oh, ya and don't bother about the 2380. Instead, better use your time, and eat another donut. That will make the difference.</p>

4

<p>You need to contact some Korean students that have applied and needed financial aid -- you might try posting your question on the international board </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=475%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=475&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Most of the advice you are going to get on this forum will not relate to your specific situation. With your stats, if you were an American student -- we could give you tons of suggestions.</p>

<p>What I do know is that the competition for International Student admissions is fierce -- and the difficulty in getting financial aid is even more of a problem. On top of that, competitive students from Korea are a dime a dozen -- so that hurts your chances.</p>

<p>I wish you the best of luck -- but I think advice from some students from Korea that have done the same thing would be the most helpful.</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
-SAT - 2380(I might take it again)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Oh yeah...definitely retake that one. You wouldn't believe the difference 20 points can make. </p>

<p>Yeah right -_-</p>

6

<p>I love you guys. Especially Stef's mom. I didn't know there were so many Korean applicants. Jesus, there's a "Korean thread". I've also heard horror stories from others who've attempted to be admitted and fail with "perfect" resumes, so I was wondering what special something I'd have to do to set myself apart from all the other gook faces. Thanks, though. No more donuts, though. I'm rail thin but my cholesterol levels are off the charts.</p>

7

<p>Whatever you do, don't count on being admitted to the Ivy League. Harvard, Princeton and Yale are need blind for internationals but ultra competitive (it is said that Harvard rejects more than half of its applicants with perfect test scores and more than half of the applicants who are valedictorians). The lower Ivies are easier to get into but really stingy with fin aid for internationals.</p>

8

<p>Not only do you need to "stand out" from the rest of the international students, you need to "stand out" from all the Korean applicants.</p>

<p>Look at what you are interested in and see if there is a way to do something special.</p>

<p>Also -- try for some of the schools that give aid that aren't Ivy Leagues. I know that the Ivies are much better known outside of the states -- but you could go there for graduate school and still have that Ivy degree.</p>

<p>Don't waste your time applying (or even considering) schools that do not give good aid to International students. There is no sense getting an admittance when you can't go. Read this thread: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=151609%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=151609&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>