Please Help, undergrad admissions.

Applying to College
1

<p>I did my 9th, 10th and 11th grade in india, after moving there from california in my 8th grade. I am currently a green card holder (recently reactivated it), and am planning to do my 12th grade in the US (at my relative's place). After showing the American school my transcripts, they evaluated it and gave me a class rank and GPA.</p>

<p>class rank: 144/371
GPA: 3.33 UW
GPA : 3.66 W</p>

<p>They awarded me a few APs (Chem, Phy, Calc) for my junior year, and gave me all As.
For my freshman and Sophomore years, they gave me almost nothing at AP level, but considering the fact that i never had the option to take AP classes there (syllabus is predetermined for all students), I do not feel that the class rank should be applicable to me as i never studied here in high school. In india we only have a final exam, in which i got excellent grades for 11th grade, good in 10th grade and ok grades in 9th, this is because i had to move from america to india and had to take the languages hindi and sanskrit which i did not know at all, along with indian history. So I have a valid reason for my 9th and 10th grades, and also my grades have a positive trend.</p>

<p>Also if i study 12th grade in the US, i wil have to take US history, Gov/pol, and biology to graduate. I want to be an electrical engineer, so I feel these are a waste of time. </p>

<p>Now my question is: Would it make a difference to apply as a green card holder from india (in this situation i wouldn't be submitting a class rank, but instead my results from my high school years in india), as compared to applying from a US high school as a green card holder as well.</p>

<p>My profile is:</p>

<p>11th grade : Math, Physics, Chem, French, English (AT A RIGOROUS AND HIGH LEVEL) all A's
SAT: 2160
SAT subject: MAth II : 800
SAT subject: Physics : 750</p>

<p>Extra Cirriculars:
organizer of Nandi Foundation programs (Leading teams to rural India to provide education, safe drinking water, new irrigation techniques, and food). I did this every weekend for 3 years</p>

<p>Organizer of classical Indian musical programs at the Rotary Club India</p>

<p>Indian Carnatic music vocalist</p>

<p>Play the tabla (indian instrument), also give concerts.</p>

<p>Basketball - National and international level for India( for 9th 10th 11th)</p>

<p>Environment Awareness programs in my city in India</p>

<p>School Spelling BEE</p>

<p>Consistent attendence for all major technology conventions in my city (at the universities)</p>

<p>I have a diverse experience, I have studied in both India and AMerica, and this diversity allows me to excel in any given environment.</p>

<p>consistently ranked 1st, 2nd or 3rd in my class of 50, during all the phase(term) examinations in Junior year.</p>

<p>Held Vedic Mathematics conventions in my neighborhood, providing free tuitions for underpriviledged children of my neigborhood (all 3 years)</p>

<p>and many more, and all of these i have been doing for the past 3 years.
I also have been employed in the RCA (chartered accountancy firm) for 2 years as a summer job.</p>

<p>MY dream is to get into MIT, i need help and i would like to know which is the path for me to get there.</p>

<p>Please Help me, I would very much appreciate it. THANK YOU.</p>

2

<p>Help please.</p>

3

<p>This is a question to ask the admissions people at MIT, if that’s your dream school.</p>

4

<p>If you stay in India, you will risk your green card status and it will be much trickier to revive it a second time - especially after you are a legal adult. Since you have the opportunity to move back to the US and complete your education here, you should do just that.</p>

<p>Yes, you want to go to MIT, but so do a bazillion other students whose records are as good as, or better than, yours. Since you will be living (and presumably eventually working) in California, it will be relatively easy for you to establish state residence for the California public system. US history, US government, and Biology seem to me to be a very small price to pay for in-state fees at one of the UCs.</p>

5

<p>yes, that is the advantage of coming to the US, but what I’m afraid of is that if i come back, the will give me a GPA and a class rank which are very low and I believe unfair, so if college admissions were only dependent on whether I have a green card or not to be considered an american student, then I see no difference in studying my 12th in india or america. Also if i come to the US, the GPA and class rank will only work against me, along with the US history, Gov, and biology. </p>

<p>Thank you very much for your reply, i appreciate it.</p>

6

<p>I’m in a dilemma and should decide whether to study my senior year in India/America, someone please help me decide. If i study in India, my GPA and class rank that the american school predicted wouldn’t be sent to the colleges. I think that would be an advantage if i studied in India. Also I would not lose green card if i came for a few weeks and went back, and i would be back anyway by june next year for college. Also if in America i would have to take biology, history, gov/pol, and those would detract from my mech/ electrical aspirations. </p>

<p>I would really appreciate any suggestions.</p>

7

<p>My close friend has a green card. She is currently working overseas because her job transferred her there on short notice. She has to come back to the US at least every six months in order to keep USCIS happy. This means that she isn’t saving a cent from the increased income from that international posting.</p>

<p>It may be different for you if you have the time when you are in the US to process a re-entry permit. My friend’s transfer happened so quickly that she couldn’t get that done before she left, and when she is here it is never for a time period that would be long enough to take care of the paperwork. It is my understanding that you need to allow at least a full month for the processing. Talk with your immigration lawyer and get solid professional advice about this one.</p>

<p>What is your back-up plan for if you don’t get into MIT? If you are in the US, depending on the choice of state, you may be able to establish residence for in-state tuition and fees at a public university. If you wait to get here until you are actually in college, it will be almost impossible for you to do that while you are studying. Have you and your family run any of the EFC calculators? There are good ones at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board) Do you know just exactly where the money for your education is going to come from, and just exactly how much there is? Once you know the answer to that question, you may be better able to approach the issue of where it is you want to pursue your college education, and hence where it is that you should spend the next school year.</p>

8

<p>If I can just make a trip to the US (for the sake of my green card), would that make the situation any different? I am actually applying to the universities: CMU, Caltech, Georgia Tech, University of Illinois, as backups. With my application and my active green card would studying my senior year in America make a difference(as my goals are all out of state, as i would live in Maryland)? Also if i come to the US, the schools projected GPA and class rank would be very low. Also, for the physics math and chemistry i took in Junior year in india are equivalent to the highest possible courses here in high school, so i would not be able to take those classes in a more advanced versions. I would be able to take them in a community college, but i don’t have a license to drive there, and hence that would be out of the question. </p>

<p>Also would it hurt my chances if i apply from india with a green card, as compared to applying from america, but with diminished GPA and class rank.</p>

<p>As i am a green card holder, i think admissions to MIT etc are need blind right? But i do require some aid.</p>

<p>look forward to your suggestions. thank you</p>

9

<p>Is your long term intent to live and work in the United States? If not, and the reason you want to come to the United States is to take advantage of the educational opportunities, then staying in India for your senior year is the right approach. That you’re dependent on Financial Aid may make that difficult since most US universities are not need blind for International students, and those that are are very selective. But you’ll get maximum credit for your academics, and you can focus on subjects that matter to you in the long term.</p>

<p>If your long term intent is to come to the United States and live and work there, then your attitude will derail you :frowning: I encourage you to rethink it. Consider what it means to become a US resident. Why not take US History – and so on. Any University with strong engineering (and that would include the University of Maryland) would be a “win” situation for you.</p>

10

<p>fogcity, i see your point, but i am a resident of the United States of America, and so doing my senior year in India would be a sort of education abroad. And I’m not sure about other schools, but MIT says that I would be considered an american student if i have a green card. In that case, studying in India would prove advantageous right? As i would get to take the subjects that would help me in the future, and that I would get proper recognition for my academics instead of a false representation through my american transcript. What is your say on this?</p>

<p>I appreciate any suggestions, and by the way, as I have had a unique experience in both academic systems (us and india), and so with this diversity, excellent essays, and recs, and SAT’s, do you think I would get in?</p>

11

<p>Even if you move to the US tomorrow, you really don’t have to worry all that much about what the US high school makes of your Indian transcript, because you will have to give a copy of your Indian transcript to all of the colleges you apply to anyway. The colleges will make their own interpretation of your foreign transcript. If you want feedback on your Indian transcript, get in touch with the counselors at the closest advising center of EducationUSA [EducationUSA</a> - Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/India]EducationUSA”>India | EducationUSA) They can tell you which colleges/universities in the US have admitted students with records like yours.</p>

<p>But I have to admit I am confused about just exactly where you are right now (USA? India? somewhere else entirely?), and just exactly how many more years of secondary schooling you have to finish. When do you want to start college - fall 2011 or fall 2012? I’m confused.</p>

<p>If you are in India now, and currently enrolled in your last year of secondary school, then you should be writing those college applications right now for fall 2011, and your whole line of questioning doesn’t make sense. You would have to be here ALREADY (or very, very soon) in order to complete your senior year in the US. Classes began almost two months ago in Maryland! Or is it that you are out of school for some reason right now, and are trying to figure out how to start again?</p>

<p>If you are currently in India, in your next-to-last year of secondary school, and you are wondering what to do NEXT year, you have some time to make this decision (other than the green card issue). In fact, you could move to the US in time to complete the second semester of your junior year here as well as your entire senior year. Depending on the school district, you might be able to eliminate some of those graduation requirements that you object to in the spring semester or in a summer course.</p>

<p>The chief value in moving here sooner rather than later would be the green card business. The second value would be that you would have the off-chance of establishing state residence. Please note that in Maryland, if you can provide reasonable evidence that you are supporting yourself, you are in-state for community college tuition and fees after three months. Read all about it at [Montgomery</a> College Catalog](<a href=“http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/Plain.aspx?id=2070]Montgomery”>http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/Plain.aspx?id=2070) The public universities require 12 months of residence.</p>

12

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<p>From my understanding, for financial aid purposes, you’re not considered an international student if you have permanent residency status in the U.S.</p>

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<p>Like happymomof1 said, you can simply submit your original transcript from India since most colleges require that, if you transfer, you need to have transcripts from both past and current high schools. There are advantages of completing your senior year in the U.S.: it’s harder for colleges in the U.S. to gauge the quality of students and education of a high school abroad than one here in the U.S., and performing well in a U.S. high school may help to showcase your academic ability.</p>

13

<p>^^^ Correct. A US citizen or permanent resident is domestic for financial aid purposes regardless of where that person lives.</p>

14

<p>What all the above posts are saying is that colleges such as MIT are so selective, there’s never a guarantee that you’ll be admitted no matter how good your stats, and that your stats, though good, are in no way unusual or extraordinary for MIT applicants. You need to have safety schools that you can both afford and would love to attend in case you’re not accepted to your reach schools. By moving here early you can establish state residence so that your state public can become more affordable.</p>

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<p>For college admissions in the U.S., you should be taking a well rounded series of classes no matter how your planned major or career is going to be. It seems that you’re a current senior (are you?), and if so, please know that all the college applications are going to be due really, really soon.</p>

15

<p>Currently I am enrolled in a High School in Maryland. I am a senior, and have started my college apps. My thought was, once I’m done applying, it wouldn’t make a difference whether I am in India or America, except that I would be taking a much lighter course load in America as compared to India. (In this american school, the physics I completed in 11th grade in India is the highest available, and same goes with chemistry). to take classes in the community college, i would need transport, which i lack(license). So my courses here would look like : AP Calc C, AP Gov/pol, Independent Research, AP Stats, English 12 Honors, US history GT(AP not offered), and AP Bio.</p>

<p>But if i were in india: Math1, Math2, Physics, Chemistry, French, English, where the Math, Physics, Chemistry are of a much higher level, and I would still be involved in Independent Research. On top of that, I would be going through intense college preparatory courses which go far beyond the normal Math, Physics, Chemistry. I would still be considered an american student. </p>

<p>I have a doubt; If I do my senior year here, then in Dec. They would ask for term grades, with which they would include a class rank for all the 4 years which would work against me, and so if i were in india, i would be taking a higher level of courses and this unjustifiable rank would be out of the picture. Unless I am overlooking something.</p>

<p>In the end, if I want to show myself as a rigorous academic student, then india would be right. But I would lose on instate opportunities. </p>

<p>These are the schools I’m applying to: Georgia Tech, U Illinois, Caltech, UCal, MIT, and then a safety school which i haven’t decided yet. So for these schools, would the academic rigor in India make a difference? and what would be the advantages of continuing here?</p>

16

<p>There is no earthly reason for you to pack up and go back to India at this point. The colleges/universities that you apply to will see your Indian transcript and your US transcript, and will recognize that those two schools had somewhat different course offerings. This is no different from the situation of a student who moved to your current HS from one at the opposite end of the state of Maryland! The relative rigor of the two different programs will be clear to the admissions committees, and none of them will think that somehow you’ve stopped being a hardworking, diligent, goal-oriented student just because you are back in the US.</p>

<p>Stop fretting about this one. Use your energy to identify a couple of solid academic and financial safety schools for yourself!</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>

17

<p>Thank you, I will definitely select a couple of safety schools. Now, if i decide to go back to india for my senior year, my reason would be that The rigor of courses available to me would be much greater in India, and so to challenge myself academically, that would be the best choice (I have an A so far in all the courses here, and most of them irrelevant to my field).</p>

<p>Would admissions understand my hunger for challenge, or would it have a negative impact on them.</p>

18

<p>One last time: It makes no sense for you to go back to India now. You are already in your last year of your secondary education! Finish up your coursework here and get on with your life!</p>

<p>If the real reason you want to go “home” to India is that you are miserable here, stop using the “better academics” as your excuse. Someone recovered your green card for you. That person thinks that this is the better place for you to be living. Have a little respect for that person, and make an effort to adjust to life in the US. Pop by the public library, and pick up some reading material (and then do the reading) on cultural adjustment. The best book that I know is “The Art of Crossing Cultures” by Craig Storti. My guess is that you have been in MD long enough now to be on the downward part of the cultural adjustment curve, so that everything looks, as Happykid would say, truly horribbible. Like with the common cold, the only way to get through that stage is just to keep on going. There isn’t much you can do to speed up the process. However, in another six months you should be completely cured.</p>

<p>If you need more challenge in your life, look for a part-time job, take on more responsibilities at home, pick up a new sport, or make a solid volunteer commitment. Those would also serve to distract you a bit from the things you dislike about your current life, and can give you the social contacts that will help you find things that you like here.</p>

19

<p>“yeah sure, but can i have your resume first to have an impression of your position before i read it. Btw I’m a senior and also in the process of writing my college essays (to MIT, Caltech, U Illinois, Georgia Tech, CMU), so could you read some of mine as well?” </p>

<p>Well, you sound very “American” in this thread, a very different voice! </p>

<p>So I think you are “■■■■■■■■” & wasting everybody’s time!</p>