Thank you in advance for taking the time to assist me.
I am a student at Sts. Cyril and Methodius (Economy High School) in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia and currently I am in 10thgrade. The things is that I have double citizenship. I am an american citizen but at present studying in Macedonia and the school I’m going to is a state school. Because I’m not in an international school where the school curriculum is on english language I was wondering: would the high school diploma I will get here be valid to american universities when applying. If so, do I have to additionally take the TOEFL test besides SAT for college admision? Here we have something called Matura which is exam you take with which you can go to university, so I was wondering can the universities on which I will be applying accept my Matura from here knowing that I am us citizen, or I will still need to take the SAT? And will I have the same benefits like other us citizens about using scholarships finishing the high school in here and getting into the university with my Matura from here if is accepted?
Do I have to take the TOEFL test after finishing two years of us high school in the us,if I transfer to an american high school for the third and fourth year in the US? For example If i take the following eleventh and twelve grade from autumn 2018, would the two out of four years of american education be enough to prove my english language comprehension or I would still have to take a foreign language comprehension test like TOEFL because I don’t have a complete american hight school education? And will the first and second year of my high school education from here will be significant also there? I have also heard about the community college option, and as I know there you can pursue your education after finishing high school and as I have read it turned out helpful for international student who wanted to start their first step towards us education but it also was helpful for them about learning the English and It helped them about the preparation for US university, while ,meanwhile they were earning associate degrees. I have read some where too, that if you earn an associate degree as a international student more precisely you continue with your education after finishing high school on some other educational institution such as college or university for the next two or more years where the whole educational process is in English the toefl might not be required,but I’m not sure if that’s about some particular university or if that’s the case with most of the universities. I also want to ask about the enrolling process,how it goes and what will I need to enroll and will my foreign high school diploma will be accepted when enrolling into community college? Will I need to take the toefl for enrolling into community college or after finishing the community college and transferring to the university? Will I need to take the SAT for the process about transferring to the university after community college or my Matura from here will be accepted as a us citizen? I do not have detailed information about how the whole process goes so every experience and information you can share will be much appreciated.Which option do you think is the better one given the facts? Timewise and moneywise, given the circumstances, any real life expirience information would be usefull. Since my parents are curently living and working here and the incomes are tremendously different from those in the USA we would truly appreciate if you give us some data of the possible advantages and disadvantages, one scenario versus another or sugest someone with the same or a similar situation who has gone through the necessary process already, to guide me to the right path. Any contact would be appreciated.Any recommendations and directions about where I should ask and be informed about my entire process would also mean much to me, given the fact that there are many universities in America and all have specific requests and certain information.I am determined to achive this goal I have set to my self and I belive whoever will give me the chance and the help I need won’t be disapointed since I’m the best student at my school in my generation, a straight-A student.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Have a nice day.
Congratulations on your success as a high school student! I cannot answer all your questions, but I can share some information.
Community colleges are different from one another based on where they are located and their own particular policies, so I cannot give you a blanket response. They operate under state or local control. I suggest you consider where in the US you might like to live and then look up the community colleges in that region to see what their policies are for international students. My guess is that many of them will accept your high school transcript; however, they will want you to take the TOEFL. The college websites will give you the specific information you need.
Some colleges with larger numbers of international students that you may want to consider are Miami Dade College, Northern Virginia Community College (outside of DC), or LaGuardia Community College in New York. All of these are large and used to having students from all over the world. Another very high quality community college is Valencia College in Orlando. They have a strong transfer agreement with University of Central Florida. I am not sure if they will have as many international students, however.
You will initially not have state residency which means it’s possible you will need to pay “out of state” tuition at least the first year.
Once you obtain the associate’s (two-year) degree, many 4-year universities will not require you to submit an SAT (or ACT) score. (Some more selective universities may want an SAT score.) You would apply to transfer using information such as grades at the community college. Some community colleges have ‘guaranteed’ transfer pathways to local 4-year universities which make it even easier.
Good luck!! You are very brave for being willing to travel so far for college. I am sure you will do well.
Can you get a copy of Admission Possible or The College solution 2/e, plus the Princeton Review’s Best Colleges? Old copies are fine. These will really help.
Since you’re one of the best students your school has seen in a generation, stay there and have teachers testify to that fact. Your maturita results or predicted results will matter AND you will have to take the SAT+ Subject tests OR the ACT (if act, subject tests are optional but European students often do well on those.) Some colleges may waive the TOEFL if you have a high SAT EBWR score but not all will.
Those tests are extremely expensive compared to the Macedonian cost of living so repare for them thoroughly - Khan academy (free, online), the “xiggi and silverturtle method” presented in the testing forum on this website. Some books help but I’m not sure you can find them in Macedonia (Melzer’s EBWR SAT, Pwn the sat math…)
Most students need to take the test 2 or 3 times but you may only be able to afford one test so only test when your practice tests are almost perfect and within timing.
As a US citizen you will be treated with US citizens for financial aid. It’s a very favorable situation compared to internationals.
However only about 85 universities out of 3500 “meet need”, meaning that they provide their admitted students with how much money they, the colleges, believe you need to attend their college. That money can include an institutional grant, a Pell Grant, a federal loan for 5.5k. All 3000+ other universities won’t care - they may admit you but how you pay is not their problem. Unless your test scores are really high and thus they pay for you to choose them with and provide you with a merit scholarship.
You can find a lot of helpful information at www.EducationUSA.state.gov follow the links at the top of the website to find information about the Advising Center in Moldova.
If you transfer to the US and finish high school here, you might be required to take the TOEFL when you apply to college. Each college and university sets its own policies about that, so there is no way to predict. You have to check each one separately. It is likely that you would be required to take some kind of English proficiency test even to be admitted to a community college. However, after finishing at the community college and transferring, you won’t need to take the TOEFL just for admission to the next place. It is unlikely that you would be required to take the SAT or ACT then. Your community college record will be what matters.
If you move to the US with your parents, then after one year you will have in state residence for tuition and fees at public colleges and universities in that state. If you move here without them, you might or might not be considered an in state student. Again, that depends on the specific policies of each college or university.
Normally, applicants educated in other countries are still expected to take the SAT or ACT. But that depends on the college or university. You need to ask each place on your list.
If it is your family’s plan to move back to the US, it may make best sense to move sooner rather than later. Your parents should not feel that they have to stay in Moldova until you finish high school.
Thank you very much everyone for the replies,it means a lot!
Have a nice day! 
Just re-read everything, and saw that I was confused about where you are! So sorry! Just correct the country name when you read my earlier post!
Note that if you need financial aid your best bet is to score really high on the SAT or ACT and enter a 4-year university that meets need or offers high merit scholarships. Attending a CC first means no big erit scholarships and very difficult access to the meet need colleges.
Transferring to the US means you lose that “best in a generation” status and the recommendations that come with it, and could end up placed in random classes that don’t reflect your abilities. Your best bet would be to enter 10th grade in order to preserve your chances at a selective college and document the level reached at your current school in order of be properly placed (AP/honors) at your school.
Sorry I bothered you all with this much questions of mine, but i forgot to add this question in the first post:
I would also want to ask about how the process in my case for enrolling in ESL program in the community colleges goes or IELP program in the universities,and the requirements for enrolling in the community colleges or universities with this types of programms? Can I enroll in the community college and instead of TOEFL enroll in esl program, or IELP in university? I have also heard about a bridge programms but i don’t have much information.
Thanks a lot again!
@MYOS1634 I am right now second year in my high school in here, in Macedonia (10th year in High school in the US) but the year in here is already over,so if i continue my education in high school in the US i think i will be 11th year.
Again, it varies by location. Generally, ESL programs in community colleges are supported by federal funding and are either free or low-cost. You should look at the website for the community colleges in areas where you are interested in living to see what the process is. I think many have rolling programs so you don’t have to start in August/September and can start any time. You probably know this, but these are non-credit courses so you won’t be accruing credit for a degree, but they can set you up for college success. Many students in ESL are older adults who have emigrated to the US and are looking for English language skills for every day life and work. You may need to supplement your ESL with study that gives you stronger writing skills and good academic vocabulary that will be helpful in college.
@glopetreska - Why are you so afraid of the TOEFL? Your written English is pretty solid. If your listening and speaking are in that same range, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty with the TOEFL provided that you spend some time doing specific preparation for the exam.
Many community colleges do offer IELP programs. Whether you would be placed into one would depend on your score on any English placement exams. Here is the link to information about placement tests at the community college where I work. http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/admissions-registration/assessments.html
This PDF has sample questions for both the regular English and Math Accuplacer, and the Accuplacer ESL
https://accuplacer.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/accuplacer-sample-questions-for-students.pdf
Many colleges and universities have their own IELP programs with provisional admission to that college/university provided the student completes a certain level of intensive English. There also are independent companies such as https://www.els.edu/ and https://lado.edu/english/partnerships/ that have partnership programs that offer provisional admission.
If you come to the US this year, depending on where you go to school and how your record is evaluated, you could be in either 10th or 11th grade. If you have a particular school in mind, you need to be in contact with them soon to start the process.
My guess is that OP isn’t afraid of the TOEFL but can’t afford $200.
If financial aid is necessary, community college is a bad choice for a top applicant since they lose their chance at big merit scholarship.
It may be to your advantage to be placed in 10th grade so that you can establish a strong academic record.
If you were to move to the US, which date would you live to?
@MYOS1634 I am going to the US on 14th of September.
Depending on the district, there may have been between six and two weeks that school started.
Have all your papers ready with the course contents translated into English. Be ready to explain that you were in pre- IB or pre- A level (AICE if the GC wants to look it up) “or equivalent”. Course content is very important for sequential courses such as math and foreign language (if you took, say, Russian or French…)
as well as to establish whether you’ve taken biology, physics, chemistry, any other science…
If you have any of your old textbooks or graded homework, take that with you so you can share it with the guidance ciunselor as well.
Thank you a lot everyone for your replies.I took a recommendations from here from my English teacher and our head teacher of my class this year and the previous year,and a recommendation from our Peace Corps Volunteer who came and works in our school.I also took confirmation of my volunteering in here outside the school for the community and participation of volunteering activities in the school and school trainings in which i have participated.So i would want to ask you if i should take anything more regarding my activity while i was in here which might be useful for me in the university admissions process and which will strenghten my academic record? And will i need to translate the recommendations in english like i translated my high school transcripts from the first and the second year of high school in here? If the recommendations are not in english,and should i too translate the ones who are in english because some of them are written in english language? Will i need to translate the confirmations about volunteering activities too? I would be endlessly thankful if you can share come information regarding this and share some experiences and advices about which documents i should take from here which might strengthen my academic record,knowing that i have finished the first two years of high school in Macedonia.Every information will be useful.Thanks a lot everyone for your separated time,it really means a lot! Have a nice day!
If the recommendation is in English, you don’t need to do anything to it. If the recommendation is in another language, the recommender can decide to have soemone they know re-write the letter in English for them to sign, or to have the letter trnslated by a professional who normaly does certified translations.
In many cases, in smaller, developing countries such as Macedonia, you translate and show both original and translation to an English teacher who will verify it.