Possible Universities (Swedish International Student)

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hello, I'm currently a Swedish High School (which is called Gymnasium in Sweden) Student and am pondering about studying at a U.S. University. </p>

<p>I would like to know which University I could possibly get admitted to. Even if there is a small chance of me getting into that University, I would appreciate you telling me about it anyway. I would also appreciate advice on how to improve EC's, like if there is any necessity in taking up a instrument or such.
Thank you in advance, Andrew. </p>

<p>So here I go:
Rank:
In a school of ~1000 students, I would probably be ranked in the top 5 percentile, my grades are mostly A's (called MVG in Sweden in a 4-grade system IG(F,E), G(C,D), VG(B), MVG(A)).</p>

<p>Classes and Grade Median:
Of the 28 classes I've taken, 24 are MVG's and 3 VG's (comparable to B's in the american system) and 1 G (a D or C). My Swedish grade median is 19.17 of 20 possible. </p>

<p>Of what I've seen from Collegeboard.com practice questions, these classes would be the equivalent to the US Physics A-C, all the basic math up to Math AB AP(Calculus), and some more math (diff. equations, complex integers, group theory and so on).</p>

<p>3 classes in programming in Java if that counts for anything ;)</p>

<p>Basic studies in humanities like history, religion, spanish, "social studies", art.</p>

<p>Letters of Recommendations:
I'm repeatedly ranked 1st in my class in Math and Physics, and is greatly interested in Science in general. I have great contacts with both of these teachers, whom I will ask to write the Letters of Recommendations for me. I do not, however, have a "obvious" humanities teacher that could write about me (Every Social study class I've taken have been with different teachers which ultimately have led to less developed relations with those teachers).</p>

<p>Standardized Tests:</p>

<p>TOEFL (practice test) 627 of 677, I did this practice test in pretty poor condition so I'm positive that I could score better. </p>

<p>SATII Math II/Physics 700+. And am fairly confident that I would do good on the SATI, but I will have to practice my essay writing.</p>

<p>Extra Curricular Activities:
And here is where the problems come in.. Clubs, varsity sports and so on, doesn't exist in the Swedish System. School is nothing more than education and the only "extra" lessons" you can get is for strenghthening purposes only (for students in the F-D range), which goes for summer school too. Also, we do not have any sort of exchange or something like that which enables a student to study at universities while attending "Gymnasium".</p>

<p>Also, the kind of "Community Service" that students in the US do, is unheard of. And frankly if anyone heard you mention that you had done it, they would automatically suspect you of having been punished for some commited crime.</p>

<p>I myself only have a few interests and those are: Chess, Go (Japanese strategic boardgame, much like chess in some ways, I'm pretty much obsessed with it), Science (Always been a passion of mine), technology and Badminton (only sport that I could say that I'm good at). I have no medals or awards to show for any of these hobbies.</p>

<h2>Is there even the slightest chance of getting into a top University(Ivy, Stanford, Caltech, MIT) (if you exclude the possibility of getting in by the sole means of incredible essays or similar)? (And yes I know that my resum? isn't THAT impressive, but it would be interesting to know)</h2>

<p>Excuse me for any errors that might have occured, it's 2am here and I've been shifting through these forums for hours now, searching for answers to my questions.</p>

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<p>You have as good a chance as any International Applicant, try and apply to all of them and see what happens...</p>

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<p>I was in the same situation and from the same country (immigrant, but citizen) as you, except in the social sciences and I pretty much blew off my high school for political activity etc. What I did is enroll at a US community college. It's cheap, CSN loans will cover it, and there is much better chance at transfer admission once you've done two years here.</p>

<p>If you decide not to take this road, I'd advise you not to excuse yourself from EC:s simply because the system isn't set up for scholarly such. Take up activities outside of school, get active in the many MANY organizations that DO exist in Sweden that aren't affiliated with the school system. Also, I'm guessing there IS a student council etc at your gymnasium that you could get active in. You can even start your own student organizations. Admission committees are well aware of different system set-ups in different countries, and will also know that there were a myriad things you could've done on your own to show engagement and independent drive on your part.</p>

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<p>Sheed30: The thing is that I'm not rich (as I would pay myself for the ) and sending my application papers to all of those Universities would probably cost me 700$+. So if I don't have a chance of getting admitted to any of those universities I would rather spend it on something else. Although when I have a chance, I will most likely follow your advice :)</p>

<p>frrrph: Thank you for the advice.</p>

<p>It is too late for me to join the Student Council as I only have half a semester left till graduatation. </p>

<p>Your advice on Community college was interesting though. I read some topics at the "Transfer" board and found out some interesting facts, although I still have some questions:</p>

<p>Is there any community college that is "better" for enrolling to top universities, or are they all the same in status and prestige?</p>

<p>Would studying one year at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and then applying for transfer be approx. the same as applying from a Community college? As the Royal institute is my fallback plan if my applications would be rejected, also, via KTH (the above mentioned university), I could as a last resort apply as an Exchange student to an american university.</p>

<p>And some general questions:
Does working at a firm as a tele supporter give any merit? (I could get a job at Telia for the summer break)</p>

<p>Does starting a business count as a merit?
Does being self-taught in f.e. Japanese count as a merit?</p>

<p>Can international students apply for Financial Aid (my parents earn 30k a year together)?</p>

<p>Do schools consider the age of the applicant?</p>

<p>Do having being ranked 14th(of about 450 participants) Nationally in a Physics Competition count? (as my country only have 9 million inhabitants, might this rank count more as a minus than a plus?)</p>

<h2>Thanks in advance.</h2>

<p>frrrph, what do you think of the Community college you are attending, and what Universities are you considering to send your application to when you are finished?</p>

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<p>I'm Swedish, too, but I've lived in the US for six years and went to an American high school, so I can't give any advice about applying from abroad. Before you decide to attend either a community college or a university in Sweden and then transfer, make sure to research the specific policies of the colleges you'll be applying to. Transfer admissions can be even more competitive than freshman admissions, and some schools don't offer financial aid to international transfer applicants. </p>

<p>International freshman applicants are eligible for financial aid at most private universities, but not at public schools since they are funded by taxpayers in each individual state. In addition, even if a college does offer financial aid to international students, it may not be need-blind (i.e. it takes financial aid into consideration when deciding whether to admit someone). That doesn't mean that need-aware schools will automatically reject you because you applied for aid, only that the process becomes much more unpredictable-- I was rejected from the University of Chicago but accepted at Dartmouth with significant financial aid, even though neither is need-blind and Dartmouth is much more selective. As a Swedish citizen, you're lucky to have access to CSN funds; I'll be graduating 400,000 SEK in debt, and the only reason I'm not getting ready to jump off a cliff right now is that the terms for CSN loans are so generous. </p>

<p>Does starting a business count as a merit?
Does being self-taught in f.e. Japanese count as a merit?</p>

<p>I think both are impressive, as is the physics competition (to a lesser extent), but it's impossible to say how much either would affect your admissions outcomes. It would probably depend on the type and size of the business as well. </p>

<p>I have to sign off, but I'll write more later if I think of something. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about applying as an international student (even though I live in the US, I had to apply as an international since I'm not a US citizen or permanent resident). Good luck! :)</p>