<p>Hey this is my first post everyone.I am nigerian.I was born and raised here and I am done with high school.Right now I am doing a-levels and i am hoping to start college fall 2011.
Funny thing is what i see on this website for most american students is that they have so much ECs and GPA is generally high and they complain when they have a lot.getting high GPAz is very limited to an extremely minute portion of a class in Nigerian schools.ECz are hard to come by because they are limited and only the greatest are encouraged.I hope we international students can come together to help each other because I get really worried when i see american students profiles and see mine.I feel far back.I would appreciate any reply to this thread.Thankyou guys!
p.s us students are please welcome to offer any advice!</p>
<p>Hi. I am Ghanian. What college are you going to? I lived in Nigeria for some time. My parents advised me to apply to only safeties because I needed to have a full scholarship. Now I am stuck in an anti-intellectual HBCU. What kind of help do you need?</p>
<p>Hey beejai i would like to know which schools you are applying to.I am a nigerian and i dont agree that we have little ECs.In fact I for example will be enrolling next fall.I have excellent ECs,awards and positions,coupled with outstanding academics and scores.However i may agree concerning the issue of GPA.To be sincere i dont really know how my 3.94/4 gpa translates in the US.I plan to apply to several top tier and upper 2nd teir schools mostly liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>Bee jai I meant ‘did you apply to’ not applying to.i.e what college do you currently attend.</p>
<p>Hey. Intl from Romania here. Where are you guys applying?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>ECs are not that important for international students. What would get you an acceptance is</p>
<p>(1) High SAT scores (At least a 2100+)</p>
<p>(2) A letter from your Guidance Counselor that you are one of the best students he has seen in the history of the school would be ideal. Also a class rank of you being in the top ten in your whole school would be good. However ideally you should be in the top 3 with an attestation that you are a valedictorian/salutatorian</p>
<p>(3) WAEC results would be ideal. I have not heard of anyone getting into a top school without having WAEC results. Usually they prefer at least the A-levels but I think they are nicer to people with superior WAEC results. At least 5 A1 grades would be expected. I have seen people with 8-9 A1 grades before lol, a kid from my former high school who went to Williams College, and another who went to Wash U. Most people I have heard who went to Ivies+Top schools were in the 6A1 bracket.</p>
<p>I am also talking about people requesting for financial aid. If you are full paying this does not apply to you much. ECs are not that important for international students. Though they do carry some weight but keep in mind that they are aware that most people could make things up and they have no proof. Infact some of my friends had to email the schools their awards for veracity purposes.</p>
<p>Goodluck!!!</p>
<p>Also you are not being compared to Americans. I dont know which I would categorize as more qualified though during the admissions process. Most people claim Internationals are better (Yes in general they are) but some american students I have seen do take the cake in terms of academic ability. However at schools like MIT and Caltech you would be competing with international students who represented their countries in chemistry, mathematics and physics olympiads especially those from Russia, Bulgaria and Hungary.</p>
<p>I dont know how some average international students (average of course meaning close to or at least in the top 1-3%) enter MIT to be honest and what is the spark in their Applications. However they do enter and they do over some math and physics olympiad representatives. SO its all crapshoot and luck</p>
<p>Hi. I’m from Japan. Kinda new here (my first post). Are you guys applying to LACs?</p>
<p>p.s. Just wondering, are there any Japanese students on CC that are applying this year?</p>
<p>I’m was born in Nigeria, but have lived in Canada since I was 8. In between those times I lived in 2 different countries in Europe.</p>
<p>SAT: 2160 - 740 CR, 730 M, 690 W
SAT II: Math II 800, Chemistry 730
GPA: 91%
Lots of good ECs
Great teacher and counselor recommendations</p>
<p>Waiting to hear from Duke Early Decision right now. :D</p>
<p>Okay,so you guys have gone quiet.How far is everyone with the application process?As africans we always seem to be behind lets not lag behind guys revive this this thread and lets help one another…</p>
<p>I’m also nigerian. It’s really nice to see other africans on cc. Right now i’m not really worried about my grades. It’s the ECs that worry me. I have my fair share of academic competitions, but no volunteer work at all. I worked with some clubs in school. Does a summer job in my dad’s office count?</p>