<p>I'm applying as a home-schooled international student from Saudi Arabia, and I'm currently doing my A-Levels. </p>
<p>I have no GPA but my IGCSE grades round to 3.925.
My predicted A-Level grades: AAB
But my AS result are my weakest point: BBC</p>
<p>Rank: no rank but my teachers put me in the top 1%.</p>
<p>ACT: My results will appear in a few weeks and I expect a 31/36.
IELTS: 8 out of 9
SAT II: I will be doing Biology and Math IIC in December and I am expecting 700+</p>
<p>Teacher Recs: One Biology, One ICT (my teachers shared them with me and they were very good)
Additional recommendation: excellent too.</p>
<p>Extracurricular activities:
Women rights conference (12)
Volunteered for an anti-sexual harassment awareness campaign (11)(not in saudi arabia)
Participated in the 'we will ride bicycles' campaign (11) (also not in saudi arabia)
Tennis 9,11,12
Basketball 9,10,11,12
Ballet 9,10
Track 9,11,12
Swimming 9,11,12</p>
<p>I don't know if it counts but I read ALOT. I have read over 150+ books throughout my high-school years. </p>
<p>Job:There are no jobs offered in my area if we're under 18 but I do part-time modelling 11, 12</p>
<p>Awards: Nothing significant but I have a CIE award for the highest ESL IGCSE grade in my region.</p>
<p>I will be asking for lots of financial aid though but I already have done enough research to know which colleges give financial aid and which don't. My main issue is where to apply with these stats and I not be in the bottom 10% of the applicant pool. </p>
<p>Since you already know which schools give financial aid, you also know how incredibly competitive they are. Your next step should be to research private institutions where your stats put you in the very top of the applicant pool. Otherwise, it’s hard to advise, since you haven’t told us any of your preferences (region, field of study, etc.)</p>
<p>Field of study is Biology and I have no preference for a certain region. Whether rural, urban, suburban etc… they are all appealing. And I do not have a gpa because there is no official conversion of IGCSE/A-Levels to GPA so I would never know where my GPA is high enough. </p>
<p>You’ve got your priorities mixed up. First figure out which colleges you have a chance at - for that you will need your scores. Then figure out which ones to apply to. Lastly write your essays and submit your applications. </p>
<p>As others said, your scores are absolutely crucial in your situation. It’s the first, and most important factor universities will consider in your application, especially since you’re home schooled. Even with a 31 ACT and 700+ on SATII, you will be an average applicant for the most selective (need-blind) universities. That is why you need “safeties”, schools where you are among the very top applicants – that’s what you will need in order to get the financial aid you’re seeking. If you don’t care about area, look at schools where there’s less competition from international students - schools in the south of USA (definitely check out University of Alabama, which has automatic FA for high performing students) and in the middle of the country (the “mid-west”) Look for research institutions, honors programs or small colleges which offer research opportunities for undergraduates. Someone on this site got a full ride to Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, where she participated in research and got into a top graduate program. Prepare to have to apply to MANY schools - for an international student, getting in with significant FA is a little bit like playing the lottery.</p>
<p>Start working on the CommonApp essay if you haven’t already; it’ll be needed regardless of where you end up applying.
A student who applies from Saudi Arabia and fights for women’s rights will certainly look intriguing but the fact you stopped when you moved to Saudi Arabia will be a mark down since, well, that sure is a place where it’d be useful to find ways to help girls’ and women’s rights (don’t put yourself in danger but isn’t there a way for you to continue your action?)
To find whether you’re at the top of the application pool, type collegedata + name of college in your browser, then look at the admission statistics. You’ll be able to see where you stand. As an international who needs a lot of financial aid, you should be applying to schools where you represent the top 5%, the top 10%, and the top 25% - nothing below. Once you’ve made that list, you can add a few “dream schools”. Since you need a lot of financial aid, make sure your counselor checks that you qualify for a fee waiver due to parental low income.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 I did not move to Saudi Arabia, I was born and raised there my entire life. Some of these were done when I visit my home country in the summer (which has one of the highest sexual harassment rates in the world). I did not stop I do internet blogging and have started my own campaign on the internet but I doubt that would matter very much. The culture of volunteerism is not developed here and voluntary organizations are hard to find.
I don’t need a fee waiver I can actually pay the application fees and about $10000 as EFC.
I’m trying to get a rough approximation of my GPA, and I have no idea if that is done using predicted a-levels or as-levels.</p>
<p>The fact you did not stop DOES matter a LOT to colleges. </p>
<p>For your GPA, you would use: GCSE results total, 50%, + ALevel (official) predicted results, 50% - where this CIE/Oxford conversion British Scale is used
A*, A= 4
B= 3.7
C = 3.3
D= 2.7
E= 2
F= 1
G, U = 0</p>
<p>In addition, you’d need a TOEFL score and possibly SAT Subject scores.</p>
<p>EFC 10,000 would be considered very low since most universities will cost 35 to 65,000 per year.
You may even qualify for fee waivers (check with your counselor).</p>
<p>Are you a boy or a girl? If a girl, you’d be a definite interest to most women’s colleges.</p>
<p>Yup I am a girl and I would love to go to Scripps but too bad they’re not known for good financial aid (only 13/40 international students receive an average of $30,000). Wellesley is prestigious and I love the academic exchange with Harvard and MIT but it’s a bit too selective for my liking. As of now Smith and Mount Holyoke are definitely on my list. </p>
<p>With a 31 ACT, you would be a strong candidate for Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. They have a reputation for good financial aid for internationals and the Minneapolis-St. Paul area has a large Muslim population.</p>
<p>Lawrence University in Appleton WI might be another college to look at. They offer good financial aid to internationals–both need-based grants and academic scholarships. They also have an excellent biology department with good research opportunities.</p>