good day,
I am an American Citizen who attends a selectice Turkish school.(for admission to our school you must place in the first 3000 out of 600000, less than 1%)
School Profile:
Our school as i have noted is really selective,though not the school with the highest score.(in its category,it places 5th), but our school is one of the most successful schools in the OSS (turkish national university entrance exam), as such, our school has 136 admits to METU (middle east technical university, the MIT of Turkey), which is the highest in the country.(for turkish students that may be on this board, look at <a href=“http://www.aaal.k12.tr%5B/url%5D)Our”>www.aaal.k12.tr)Our</a> school also has many national and international olympiad awards,as for me, i was in the school’s biology olympiad team.Though i dont have a national award.We have no admits to schools HYPS or MIT and such as far as i know, in our history.
We dont have honor classes.
We dont have AP classes.
We dont have the varsity sports system.
we dont have science bowl, or rest of those good stuff.
we dont have any SAT or TOEFL courses.
we only have one or 2 teachers with graduate degrees.
shortly, our school is the type of school, where they have myabe 10 good teachers, and great students, and you conduct all the studies through dershanes or stuff.(dershane is a course, taken after school, private institution you have to pay for, unaccredited, totally based on preparing for OSS)
My Profile:
I have a few SAT AP tests i have taken, keep in mind that i prepared for ALL of them on my own. the only assistance i ever received was a 3-week (7-8 hrs a week) sat course.
here are my scores:
SAT 1 Verbal 600
SAT 1 Math 760
SAT 2 Math 1c 800
SAT 2 math 2c 800
SAT 2 biology E/M 800
SAT 2 Chemistry 800
SAT 2 Physics 800
SAT 2 history-will take because…
SAT 2 writing 460!!!
now…
that SAT 2 writing score, is actually not totally accurate, i was really scik when i came to the exam center that morning, i was only able to solve half of the test, as for the MATH 2 c and chemistry i took that day, the medicine i took helped me out, and i got permission from the proctor to sit next to the heater.
AP Scores (totally independent Study)
Calculus BC 3
Calculus BC-AB subscore 4
Biology 5
Chemistry 5
Physics C mechanics 5
Physics C electricity and mechanism 5
other facts about me:
my GPA is 5.00/5.00 highest GPA possible.
attended biology lessons at METU
I will ranked in the top 5%,didnt graduate, i am 11th grade.
attended Boston University General Honors Program
Grades at lessons
Biology 108 A
Classical Studies (greek history) B
tutored math for 3 years-this is my third year
tutored biology for 2 years- this my second year
altar server at local church since 7th grade (i actually find it unethical to write on an application, but it seems that most of the people on the board mention these kind of things)
as a national recognition i can only list that i was eligible for the national olympiad test (which is not a really really big deal,but you should understand that most of the kids who get awards are tutored by teachers at their schools, in our school is independent study- we have 2 biology international medalists, but they are rare examples, i tried to be like them, to put it promptly, i failed.one of the students i am talking about left our school in 9th grade, and started home schooling so he can study for the olympiad) and maybe if i manage to make it, i am hoping to get a medal in the antalya national mathematics olympiad next april)
I am not going to bother listing my achievements in school, but to list some of them, 3 certificates of Appreciation, 2 distinguished success certificates, and one certificate of appreciation for helping out in this and that.
I took part in the school government for 2.5 years, as class president, one year as class representitive.
represented the school in a competition.(not a really big deal)
i wrote most of the things i can remember now. You must understand that all of these were done in two and a half years,and all tests were prepared for independently, i wonder if you can imagine how hard it is, when you have a question but nobody to answer.
I am really passionate about my work.
NOW TO THE QUESTIONS
1-will they recognize or understand that i wasnt able to do the things you guys did?
2-I am planning to take the SAT 2 history test, and i think i will get a good score.around 750, now… i know that when i ask collegeboard to send my SAT 2 scores MIT, they will send all of them. Will MIT consider the History score i submit or will they look at my writing score too? if so, how can i explain to them the extraordinary situation i experienced?
3-as you may have understood from my scores, i am weak in English, dont misunderstand, i can speak it like any of you, but when it comes to SAT Verbal and writing, i feel like i am totally disabled, will they understand that my education, and the fact that i only speak english with my father (my mom is a turk) works against me?
4-I am planning to apply to RSI, do you think i have a chance of admission?as far as my teachers have told me(i didnt see the recommendations, they sent it) my recommendations are supposed to be outstanding, and i have a solid essay?
5-other programs i am planning to apply are SSP, PROMYS, ROSS. Are there another programs that you could recommend?
6-I really want to go to the MAssachusetts Institute of Technology, i would be really grateful if you could offer me any recommendations so that i might stand a chance.Please do not underestimate my SAT verbal score, that is what i fear most, my SAT verbaland my writing score hurting me. How can i make you, and the admission officers at MIT that i tried my best at them? how can i show them that i really can make it in their college? that i can succeed and not fail? (isnt that the purpose of all these tests, to show that you can make it in their college?)
7-we are not the wealthiest American family in the world,to put it shortly, with the income we have now, we wouldnt survive in a city like boston,la,new york… as an example, even though i received financial aid, the BU general honors program, really crippled our budget. But as a family, we are ready to do whatever it takes, so i can go to MIT, FOR i will be the first person in the family who will attend an ivy league,stanford, MIT, CIT etc…as far as i know, the highest we ever got as a family, is american river university…(the name might be wrong…)
now…
i can see the look on your faces, why MIT? its a dream, its a purpose. The urop program is really wonderful… while i was attending BU general honors program, without thinking that i will go to school 7 days a week, walking 2.5 miles back and forth to do so, i signed up for HSSP, to take lessons at MIT, to make the long story short, i loved it. I loved the blackboard a lot…
I had friends at the program who were doing research at MIT, as a part of the research internship program, they said it was the most beautiful school you can attend. I took an orientation tour, it was wonderful. Maybe i dont get out much, but as far as i can see, MIT is a wonderful school.
other schools i want to apply to
Stanford
UC Berkeley
Princeton
I know with my SAT scores they all seem to be reaches or impossible schools, but i can assure you that i could have done better if i had attended one of those cool schools that cost zillions.(my school is free) I logged on to the sited of Princeton high school, philips andover academy, roxbury latin… if you know turkish, then compare our schools indexes you will understand what i mean.
If you seek diligence,i am willing to study,in such a way that you might be surprised. If you diversity in interests, i have been playing the piano for more than 10 years now, basketballfor 11 years. (in 5-6th grade i was in the school team, in the school i am attending now, our coach thinks height is everything…no wonder we have 2 awards in our 30 year history)
i can program in BASIC.(learned it by myself)
IMPORTANT: our school consists of 4 years, but you can skip the first year, so all i have written were accomplished in 2 years, i am now in the 3rd year.
i am planning to take the ANtalya mathematical olypiad test, and attend the MEF school’s national science fair competition.and attend a nice summer program.
AS I HAVE SAID, i have tried my best so far, and i really want to study physics,chemistry or electrical engineering at MIT. So i can serve the lord better, so i can serve the world better, so i can make a difference. I am not willing to be famous or rich, i just want to feel sure about using the abilities god has given me to the fullest.
I really want to go to MIT,Stanford,UC Berkeley, if cant i will go to Bosphorus University or METU, which are really loved by those schools.(look at TSA at mit, most of the students are from these schools, there are lots of graduate students from those schools in te top-notch colleges).I WOULD LIKE you to give any kind of recommendations you can to help me out, i want you to critisize me.again…CRITISIZE ME!
please do not be pessimistic, you should note that 25% of admits get lower than 1410, so nothings never impossible. I tried my best.
I hope you understand me, and help me.
Enjoy your day,
remember,
I can dream, right?