<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I need some advice from "professionals" :)</p>
<p>I'm 17 and living in Turkey. I'm in countrys 4. best highschool ([url=<a href="http://www.sg.k12.tr">http://www.sg.k12.tr</a>]</p>
<p>No ideas?!</p>
<p>gordionsknot</p>
<p>Start by reading the information at:</p>
<p>Undergraduate</a> Study EducationUSA</p>
<p>Then, contact the Education USA Advising center nearest to you:</p>
<p>Educational</a> Advising Centers ? EducationUSA</p>
<p>The advisors at the center in Turkey are the real experts on helping Turkish students find the right college at the right price in the USA.</p>
<p>Don't overlook Canada and Australia either. Contact their consulates in Turkey for information on educational opportunities in those countries.</p>
<p>In the USA Law is a post-graduate program. You must complete a full undergraduate degree before being admitted to law school. Architecture and engineering are undergraduate degrees. As an international student, you will be eligible to work for one year to gain practical experience after you complete your undergraduate studies, but you cannot expect to get a permanent job in the USA. The immigration situation here is not stable, and you should not count on being able to stay here after you finish your degree.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>
<p>well..i was kinda in the same position with you. im not a very great student and my parents only hv about $20k/yr for all of my expenses.</p>
<p>im living with my uncle now and go to comm college for my 1st yr..
it doesnt help alot since my parents still end up pay around $15k/yr,,but if you compare it to other alternatives,,that's the most reasonable one..
after this,im transferring to 4yrs uni with scholarship..it will still cost about $22k/yr for my total expenses.. but i will be able to work on campus, so it's still in my parents' budget.</p>
<p>i think comm college will be a good start for you,,though dont expect much "real us college life" from that. try to apply to univs that give scholarship/fin aid to international student..what i did was,,i realized that i dont hv great gpa (my HSgpa was 3.3 in on of the best schools in my country) and my parents dont hv much money..so i really chose univs that reasonable financially and academically for me..
i suggest you to not put too much expectation on top 50 univs..(unless you hv an excelent sat)..top 100 univs is OK. try to look "us news: best value univs"</p>
<p>about your major,,honestly architecture and law will take a long time to finish your degree and since you're an international student,,will you get alot of chances to work here with your major? besides,,architecture and law in here will be completely different from your country's,,so i dont think you can practice it too in your country right after you graduate. (i mean with your major, if you want to work in your country you should hv had experiences in here before)..</p>
<p>well,,thats only my opinions,,hope it'll help.
good luck</p>
<p>Thanks for answers! At weekend I'm going to the Educational Advising Center in Istanbul to see what I can do. Is it possible for me to get in UCLA or USC or is it just daydreaming what do you guys think?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I dont want to dampen your hopes, but to be realistic, the chances are slim. only a small % of the UCLA student body are internationals. 93% of the student body are california residents. dont forget there will also be OOS applicants but american citizens applying as well, so youre not going to have first priority.</p>
<p>however, all is not lost. work on that GPA, have some great ECs, do well for SATs, get good rec letters etc.</p>
<p>In my school there's nothing called EC. What is this exactly?</p>
<p>extra curriculars. stuffs that you do outside of your academic studies. work, sports..etc etc</p>
<p>Thanks! Actually I'm not sportive, but I like doing charity work. Is this enough? Like reading papers to the elderly people?</p>
<p>its okay if you are not sporting, you dont have to be a sportsmen. ECs includes lots of things. charity work is definitely included. you might want to include other stuffs as well.</p>
<p>Sorry I've been offline for a few days due my connection problems... What is possible besides charity work ? Can you guys give some examples ?</p>
<p>Many thanks in advance.</p>
<p>your work outside school, charity events, community involvements etc etc.</p>
<p>Do you mean like joining Green Peace ? Collecting money for poor families in AFrica ?</p>
<p>Those are options. You could also write for the student newspaper, take guitar lessons (or play in a band or sing in a choir or act in plays), work in a supermarket, participate in academic (or other) competitions, tutor younger students, babysit your siblings etc.</p>
<p>yes, barium is right. there are alot of options really.</p>
<p>Well than awesome! I have a band we'll record a couple of songs and send it on YouTube. About work thing... My uncle's a lawyer and my neighboor has a market. Which one do you prefeer if you were me? And how do I proove that I worked there? I know I'm kinda asking stupid questions, but please forgive me this is an extraordinary subject for me.</p>
<p>If you work with your uncle or your neighbor and the job is interesting to you and/or necessary to support you and/or your family, then this will give you something to write about in your essays. Don't just go to work for one of them (or worse yet claim that you work for one of them if you really don't) in order to put it on your application.</p>
<p>Every culture is different. It is common for high school students in the USA to play a sport, join one or two clubs at school, and work a part-time job during the summer vacations or during the school year. The college application process takes this into account. Students the same age who are living in different cultures use their time in different ways. Part of your task as an international applicant is to present your real self, and your real life in your home culture, to the admissions committee. The admissions committees want to know what it is that makes you a unique individual. How are you different from everyone else in your country, your neighborhood, your school, your band? Why are you gordionsknot rather than someone else? Extracurricular activities are one set of things that are likely to be unique about you because it is uncommon for two people to participate in all of the same activities, and hold all of the same offices/play all the same musical instruments/play all the same positions on a team.</p>
<p>One or two extracurricular activities that are meaningful to you, that you can describe with enthusiasm, and that say something about your personality and character, probably are enough.</p>
<p>Many thanks..</p>
<p>So finally I need </p>
<ul>
<li>High SAT score</li>
<li>Good ECs</li>
<li>Good recommendation letters</li>
</ul>
<p>And anything else? I wanna apply to NYU or UCLA or USC..</p>
<p>you need to have a really good GPA, especially if youre applying as freshmen.</p>
<p>Oh that's a big problem for me.. Mine is like 3.1 - 3.2.. But my schools is one of the hardest in country. Will they tolarete this.. If not what can I do exept improving it? (It's really hard..)</p>