Hi, I’m currently an 11th grade student in high school in Korea. Recently, my parents received a green card, allowing them, as well as me, who is their dependent, to stay in the States. As such, my parents and I were considering applying to an American University; however, we realized that the chances of being accepted into a top college was somewhat low, due to average SAT scores, few APs etc. So we’ve sorta decided to get to Korean college first, then look to transfer to an American college after finishing freshmen year. So my question is, what would be the chances of transferring from a top Korean university (I have a very likely chance of getting into a top 3 university in Korea) into a pretty good American university (I’m thinking at least UC Davis or smth), assuming I get at least above a 3.8 GPA.
If yo are moving to California, the best route for transfer is usually to go to a community college, then transfer. This is beneficial to you in 2 ways 1) to help you assimilate to the country and 2) saves money, you would only be paying out of state rates at a community college for one year. Most likely you can still get into a really good UC via this route if you’re grades are good.
Unless you were going to SNU or KAIST, this is what I would do in my opinion.
The other usual ways for international students is to apply right out of HS or apply for grad school.
Thanks for the reply. So judging from the fact that you mentioned SNU, does it mean that transferring from SNU would be relatively easier than transferring from non-SNU schools? I kinda want to spend freshmen year in Korea then move to the States, if possible.
Nah, actually what I was inferring was that if you got into SNU or KAIST, you might be better off staying there for 4 years as both are world-ranked schools. Transferring directly to a top university in the US directly from another university much less a foreign university can be problematic.
@skieurope can you move this thread to a more appropriate forum?
Done.
Since articles are our friend in English, I included them in the header; “an American university” has a different meaning from “American University.”
It is understandable that you want to stay in Korea longer, but that is not a good plan at all. Your best option is to move to the US immediately, and attend high school here for 11th and 12th grade. You will be able to improve your English skills, become familiar with the US educational system, participate in ECs, raise your SAT or ACT exam scores, take some honors or AP classes, and get letters of recommendation from your high school teachers. By the time you start college, you almost certainly will have in state residence, which will give you some affordable options. This is especially important if you are moving to California. You want to finish high school there so that you have better access to certain state financial aid.
Staying in Korea can cause you to lose your green card if you do not travel back to the US often enough and stay here long enough each time. Transfer admission is more difficult than freshman admission. Merit-based aid often is not as good as for freshmen. If you only have one year of college grades when you apply to transfer, your high school record will still be very important. So no, that one year of 3.8might not do you ny good at all.
Pack your bags. Move here now. If your family is quick about it, you can be here in time to start on the first day of classes this fall. But even if you arrive slightly later, don’t worry. Public school systems enroll new students whenever they arrive. You can start as soon as you get here.
I guess I missed the part about the OP being in 11th grade. For some reason I thought s/he was headed to college this year. Yes, just like my original advice, better to come here to the US immediately and finish off HS here first, but the timing is quite bad.
Something doesn’t make sense though. If you’re good enough to potentially get into SNU, that must mean you have high SAT scores, or the potential for high SAT acores. The Korean SAT is generally speaking way harder than the US SAT and you’ve already probably spent years and years preparing for the English part of the Korean SAT already. So if you took the actual SAT here you probably should be ok.