Read my story, i need advice

Applying to College
1

<p>I KNOW THIS IS LONG BUT PLEEEAASSEEE READ IT, IM SURE YOU HAVE AN EXTRA 10 MINUTES TO SPARE</p>

<p>Hi I am a 15 year old girl in 10thgr and I plan on studying in the University of the Pacific in California (san fransisco). Basically Ive been to three different high schools since the beginning of freshman year. I used to live in ohio, but last summer my dad got this job in saudi arabia and we all moved there. in 9th grade, I didnt do any extra curriculars for personal matters. But my academics were good, I had a 3.8 and 3.89 gpa for two semesters, respectively (out of 4.0). I was in honor roll, and basically aced every class except for english in first semester (i got a B) and biology second semester (i got a B). I was rewarded an academic award for the school I attended. When I moved to saudi this year, I attended this private international school going by the SABIS school system. The school runs on a system in which you take an exam every single day of the year, and that is all you get graded on. Literally. Your whole grade for that school would be based on exam grades. It was torture. And the school in general was known to be hard. And being a newcomer I struggled a lot. especially since I missed out on a lot of the prerequistite (or however you spell it) class that my peers had taken, which REALLY affected my scores. But I managed to get a 78% average for the semester. For me that is very bad but for them it was pretty good, as I was ranked number 38 out of 84. I left the school immediately. Now I am currently studying at the American school of Riyadh, it is my 4th week here. The school was made by the american embassy and it is amazing. It is an IB school though so it is pretty challenging. I have always been an honor student, and have been in honors classes since 5th grade. I plan to get at least a 4.1 gpa out of 4.3 this semester. I need advice, what should I do to get into the top universities. I dont want to be a senior and say aw I wish i would have done this or done that. I feel like I missed out on a lot and like I wasted one year and a half. These are my stats for both years:</p>

<p>9th grade:
Spanish 2 (A both semsters)
English 9 (A, B)
American History (A both)
Algebra Pre-AP (honors course, A both semesters)
Biology (B, A)
Freshman connections class (kind of like a tech class, only one semester)
Personal Fitness class (gym, one semester, A)
Health (One semester, A)
Office working (not a class, but like I got credit for helping out in the main office of the school)</p>

<p>Awards:
Academic Awards only</p>

<p>GPA: 3.8 and 3.9</p>

<p>10th grade:
first semester (at SABIS school)</p>

<p>classes (which by the way I did not choose, the system gives you these required classes and thats it):
Algebra 2
Geometry
Business
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Javascript tech class
Arabic</p>

<p>Grade: 78 % average (which I believe is around a 3.1 GPA)</p>

<p>Activities:
Drama Club
Varsity Soccer</p>

<p>Student Leadership Organization (SLO):
I helped out the school in terms of helping with events and what not. It is similar to student council but not necessarily.</p>

<p>2nd semester (At american school):
classes:
Art 1
geometry
algebra 2 trig advanced
world history
english 10
spanish 3
P.E
Integrated science (chemistry and biology)</p>

<p>Activities:
planning on joining 3-4 clubs</p>

<p>Planning on doing much community service</p>

<p>Anyways, give me as much advice as possible. Clear advice, not just "do your best and keep trying"</p>

<p>I want to know how I should continue my high school career as I have no older siblings to tell me or warn me or anything. Thank you! P.S, I plan on going to either UOP or some IVY league schools</p>

2

<p>I have gone through this with 2 children now and the advice of doing well is good advice. Colleges look for progression of courses–taking algebra 1 and then algebra 2, etc. They would also like to see grade progression–if you had a tough semester, then do better the next semester. Write essays on your struggles and accomplishments. Start prepping for the SAT and ACT–tutoring should start now–take the practice tests. You will do well if you plan your journey.</p>

3

<p>Thank you,</p>

<p>were your kids able to succeed? Did they reach their goals</p>

4

<p>That is a tough set of classes you were handed at the SABIS school! I am wondering why you are considering a 78% an A-, though… I would have assumed that was a C+ on a 100 point scale, but I understand that they might have a different range. </p>

<p>If you do well on your standarized tests, I would say you are in good shape for University of the Pacific. You would need great test scores to get into the Ivies (and many of them have very, very low acceptance rates). So you probably should identify a few other colleges you are interested in, too, that fall between U of P and the Ivies. The Fiske Guide to Colleges is a good book to look at if you can get your hands on it. Also work with your parents to run the net price calculator for the colleges you are interested in to make sure they are affordable for your family. No matter what your parents say about it, ask them to run the numbers with you, because many parents are shocked at the actual costs.</p>

5

<p>Yes it is a different type of grading scale. In fact, we had this girl with us who had a 94% average and she was ranked #1 for the whole grade. Meaning she is like a genius, so their grading here is pretty tough since at any other school a 94 is pretty normal. But anyways, I plan on exceeding extremely to TRY and get into an IVY league. Its always been my dream, but after being at SABIS i felt like my chances literally died, as in they got murdered. But I decided I was going to keep trying. What do you recommend I do other than getting exceptional test scores</p>

6

<p>What do your counselors at the American School suggest? Usually counselors at that kind of school are pretty savvy about this. Ask them first.</p>

7

<p>Inspiring story.</p>