US citizen educated outside the US harm college admissions?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm a US citizen, but I've done all my education in Jamaica. I am about to enter my final year of secondary education this September and hope to gain admission in a college in the US for fall 2010. I am considering moving to the US (Florida) to finish my secondary education, though I'm a bit reluctant. If I move to the US now and do not complete my final year at my current high school, I'm giving up becoming the President of a club that I founded as well as assuming a position of high responsibility in the student government (I would have been awarded these posts in my senior year). I am however, willing to give it up if it will put me in a more favorable position for college admissions.</p>

<p>So will moving to a US high school significantly increase my chances for college admission? Also I find the US secondary education system a bit confusing. I read some of the classes you take such as AP & honors and I am wondering if I move to the US will I have enough time to take all these classes, even if I was to repeat my junior year?</p>

<p>Also, if anyone here knows about how the high schools in Florida operate I would really appreciate some advice. I reviewed some high schools in Broward County (If I were to move to Florida thats where I would live) and I noticed that they were given FCAT letter grades ranging from A to F. Most of the high schools (public) I saw had a grade of "C". I am currently enrolled in one of the most prominent high schools in Jamaica (It's consistently ranked in the top 10) and I would not be comfortable to know that I left one of the best high schools in Jamaica to enter a high school in the US that is below par. Can someone please explain the importance of the FCAT grades and what they represent? Please and Thank you</p>

2

<p>No, if anything it probably helps, assuming you got a similar quality of education to what you would have gotten in the U.S.</p>

3

<p>You should contact the school district in Broward County to find out which HS you would attend given your address there, and whether there is more than one option. You also need to know how they would treat your foreign transcripts. Would you only need to be there for one year? How many Florida State requirements would you have to complete in order to graduate? Would those requirements take up most (or all) of your classes for that year? Would you be eligible for the Bright Futures (Florida state scholarship program) with only one year in HS there? How badly would you need the Bright Futures money (and will that money be there given the current financial crisis)?</p>

<p>Each school district determines how it will treat transfers from international schools. If you aren’t able to take courses you want to take because of state and school district requirements, you may be ahead to remain at your current school until you graduate. Many US citizens graduate from foreign secondary schools and then come to the US for college. Any college or university that you apply to will be able to interpret your international transcript. Don’t worry about that.</p>

4

<p>The FCAT is a very simple test that is basically a graduating requirement. If you take a challenging course load in Jamaica then you would have absolutely no problem passing the FCAT. The letter grades you saw for the FCAT probably represented the percentage of students who passed it in the school.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for your help but i think I’ll just finish high school in Jamaica.</p>