<p>Hi. My name is Jaqueline, I am a 21 year-old Brazilian and I've been thinking a lot about transferring to one of the CUNY schools. I lived in New York for two years as an au pair. Now I'm back in Brazil and I really want to focus on studying, except I feel as though my life is no longer here. </p>
<p>So I decided I would at least try to get accepted to a US school. I am, however, worried about my qualifications. The Brazilian educational system is very different from the American one. Here, for example, as long as you've passed, they don't care about your high school grades. And we don't have SATs.</p>
<p>Anyway, I am not aiming too high because I know I have no place in an Ivy League but I would really appreciate it if you guys told me whether you think I'd be accepted to one of the CUNY schools or maybe SUNY Purchase or Southern Connecticut State University or Kean University in NJ?</p>
<p>2.92 High School GPA
2.73 College GPA (I went to college in 2006 and 2007)
107 (out of 120) TOEFL iBT score</p>
<p>Also, any other Brazilians around here? Any help is much appreciated!</p>
<p>Tazmania is right. Usually you need two years worth of credits to be considered a transfer student.
Some might accept it though, you need to look at their transfer requirements.</p>
<p>You’re right about the Brazilian educational system. High school students don’t care about their grades most of the time. They only start studying for the vestibular and some do cursinho for it, it’s a very messed up system in my opinion. At college level it’s the same, they just study to pass, since employers don’t care about your college “GPA.”</p>
<p>About the SATs: yeah you can take them here in S</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ve been to SUNY Purchase’s campus before and I really liked the atmosphere there. </p>
<p>Now, I didn’t know I <em>could</em> be considered a freshman. I would MUCH rather apply as a freshman but, from what I’ve read, I can’t, since I did attend college before. Can someone please clarify this for me? I wouldn’t mind starting over, I think I’d be happy to. I have my college transcript here with me right now and none of my courses are in credits, just in hours. I’ve completed 720 hours total, how many credits would that be? </p>
<p>I have to agree that the Brazilian system is very flawed, hence why I don’t feel motivated to go back to school here. (I obviously will though, if I don’t get accepted at any international schools.)</p>
<p>Also, I wasn’t planning on taking the SATs, since it’s not a requirement in any of the schools I’ll be applying to. But do you think it would make a huge difference? By now, I’ve been away from school for 5 years, it’s not like I would do very well even if I did take it. Unless I took the time to properly prepare, although since I’m not aiming at Ivies, would this be a necessity?</p>
<p>You are right, you would have to apply as a transfer student. Once admitted, a few schools give you the option not to transfer any of your courses and start over as a freshman. However, you would still have to apply as a transfer student.</p>
<p>A few schools (like UCLA) will only consider applications from transfer students who have taken a minimum number of credits and/or a certain set of courses. I don’t think any of the universities you are applying to have such rules though.</p>
<p>So, no one here seems to think I’m aiming too high? Does that mean what I’m planning is probably doable? How competitive are those CUNY schools? I’m applying to Hunter, City College, Baruch and Staten Island (apparently SI is open admissions). I want to have a realistic idea of my chances of getting in. My GPAs aren’t great, I have no SATs and no extra curricular activities but I think my TOEFL score is decent and I trust my ability to write an excellent essay. I will have decent letters of recommendation and I have funds for the first two years of tuition + living expenses.</p>
<p>I am not sure that anyone here is in a position to tell you if you are aiming too high.</p>
<p>Most of us don’t know what a Brazilian GPA means. None of us know what sort of admission standards your colleges have for international students. </p>
<p>I think, in general, an SAT score or an ACT score is required for admission. However, based on your GPA, I think you can definitely get into CUNY and the other schools you listed. CUNY schools only want your transcript (GPA) and your SAT scores. I don’t know what that means for you since you don’t have an SAT score, but your GPA is definitely enough to get into CUNY. In fact, that is about the average GPA of students in Baruch, Hunter, etc. Now, for the other schools, you may need an essay. With decent letters of recommendation and essays (if required), I think you can get into any of those schools listed.</p>
<p>I think if worse comes to worst you will need to take the SAT. The average SAT score of all the schools you listed are not very high. I think you can accomplish it. But perhaps I could be wrong about needing an SAT score.</p>