Standing in the dark about this whole process. Help!

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm terribly confused as to where I stand. My SAT scores are at best, average. I'm expecting a 1900 at most. I have a solid weighted GPA of 4.3 (but everyone does these days). I haven't taken every challenging class possible because my previous counselor believed I wasn't up to par with the people in my class who were native english speakers.
Part of the discrepancies in my academic record can be attributed to my atypical situation. I am a US-born citizen by document, but I have lived in South Korea for two-thirds of my life (where I've been educated in an international school).
Here's an outline of my academic record:
GPA
9th: 3.3 (bio 9, CP Alg, Eng 9, Fine Art I, PE, Music, Spanish I, US History 9, World History)
10th: 3.7 (Acting I, Aerobics, Bio II, CP Geometry, Government, Honors Eng; Mental Health; Spanish II, US History 10)
11th: 4.0 (first semester: accounting I; AP psyc; Chem 1, CP Alg II; honors anatomy; honors english; Spanish III; second semester: Adv. Chem; Adv. Spanish III; Alg II, Anat/Phys; AP Psyc; Adv. Eng Religion 11; Speech)
12th: 4.3 (AP Spanish; AP English: Religion 12, Ap Government; Adv. Physics; Calculus; Ceramics/Graphic Arts) </p>

<p>My extracurricular activities:
Great Miami Youth Orchestra (First Violin) - two and half years
Grace Korean Church (Violin for Choir) - two years
Science Fair (first place at international school in South Korea) - 9th grade
Su Casa (community service) - one year (sr. summer)
Chesterwood Village Nursing home - one year (jr. summer)
NSLC (National Leadership Conference) - (sr. summer)
Creative Writer's Workshop (Summer program at Duke University)
Spanish Club (President) - 11th grade and probably through 12th grade
Babel Tower (a multicultural club I had started at school) - 11th grade
Psychology Club - 11th grade (no longer available in the school I transferred to.)
Big Sister, Little Sister - 11th grade (no longer available in the school I transferred to.)
Student Government - 9th grade - president; 10th grade - just transferred student; 11th grade - transferred to a new school so missed the chance to become elected so I became Rep.
I've also helped Korean immigrants who have been invited to the pastor's house with adjusting to the American culture and English.
From middle school I've worked as a translator (korean - english).</p>

<p>I missed many chances to get involved in the National Honors Society and clubs such as that because I had transferred high schools three times. I also failed to win various academic awards for this reason also. Because I had no one to provide transportation for after school activities I couldn't be involved in sports. </p>

<p>I cannot rely on anyone for guidance concerning colleges except my counselor. And in all honesty, she isn't attentive to my needs. The pastor and his wife have shed great spiritual light unto my life, but they are not familiar with American colleges and their admission processes. My parents in South Korea are also unfamiliar with American colleges. </p>

<p>Since I don't live with my parents I don't have the liberty to make college visits and such. I want to inform Wellesley, Brown and Cornell of my interests, but I don't know how I should go about doing that. </p>

<p>After reading everyone's near perfect SAT scores, GPAs, extracurricular activities, and etc I realized the Ivies are so much more competitive than I previouisly thought they were. Would anyone give me some advice as to where I stand in the admissions process for Wellesley, Brown, and Cornell?
I'm very nervous about all of this as many of you are. I don't know how I'll ever handle this by myself. Please help!</p>

2

<p>Your stats are a bit low for ivies. Did you take any SAT IIs? APs? Your have many ec's, which is good, but they seem to be a bunch of different clubs. Adcoms might think you aren't very dedicated to any one in particular. Right now, though, retaking the SAT is probably the best thing to do.</p>

<p>Just my two cents. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Thanks for replying so quickly! I've taken AP psyc and got a 4. I've taken math I and literature for SAT IIs, both of which I got around 550. I'm not math oriented and English is my second language. I wasn't familiar with US History, Biology, and other such subjects so I resorted to taking Math and Lit. Not very wise, but I had no other choice. My last chance to take the SATs is this Oct. cause this is my sr. year. so I will take that chance. My main interests are in multicultural awareness. I've started a club called Babel Tower (for multicultural awareness) and I'm pres. of Spanish club. I'm also in the Diversity and Inclusion team. Does that kinda clear up where my interests lie? Thanks for replying again~</p>

4

<p>You should explain to colleges about your unique situation in your essays.</p>

<p>Maybe you could get a recomendation from someone ouside of your school like your pastor?</p>

5

<p>Thanks for your input Sozo, but I'm afraid I didn't explain this clearly. I live with the pastor (legal guardian, not my real father; my family lives in South Korea). The pastor actually suggested the same thing you suggested. However, would colleges deem it appropriate if they received a rec. letter from the person I live with?</p>