For sure fore sure. This definitely caught my interest and I will look into it. Thanks 
Good question. I don’t know.
Are you fluent in German?
Hey man thanks for your effort.
For sure, I already realized I’m not extremely competitive after this reality check of a thread and a buncha other ones.
I’m still gonna work on building my application a bit, and I definitely gave up on Canada, unless I somehow find a way to immigrate there first, so yeah. There are no steps I would rather not take, as long as I can convince myself that this is the best route possible, then I’ll embrace the steps, so that’s not an issue. I just need to know my route and take the initial steps, then it’ll be smooth sailing for me.
Right now Germany is looking real enticing, but I’d prefer if I could learn the language to a preferable degree before going there. The “plan” you mentioned isn’t really a plan or a hope, it’s just a passive alternate route that I could hitch-hike on whenever the opportunity comes.
I’ve steeled my will now, but I’m not ashamed to say that I’m still beat down from this reality check. I’m not gonna blabber about it since there’s no point, but it is what it is.
If you have any suggestions, please do share, I loved your writing; very informative, blunt and straightforward. I really appreciate it.
Nope. Don’t think I need to be “fluent” either, probably a B1 is enough and attainable within a few months, and I can attain a B2-C1 fluency over my 3-4 years of study there. I’ll start working on it as soon as I finish my research on some things, just to confirm that it will be my new goal.
I am wondering why your English is so good. You appear to be well educated. Is there no one from your years before you started homeschooling who can help you with information or recommendations?
Maybe you could get work as an interpreter. Or try applying for a competitive language scholarship. Some countries will offer these to students of any nationality to study their language.
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You mentioned UAE residency, do you hold a UAE passport too?
Well I’ve been speaking English for about 9 years now, I’m definitely at the C2 level. I believe there really isn’t anyone. My parents were really slack, only concerned about grades, which made me slack too, so I didn’t build up relationships with teachers up in middle school. And of course, I had to leave right at the beginning of high school, so I don’t think there’s anyone out there who has my back in this regard.
I like the idea of working as an interpreter, I’ll keep it in my mind and look into it. Can you provide more details on the language scholarship?
Unfortunately not. It’s only given to those who are born from Emirati families, or people who marry Emirati men.
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Honestly, just start googling. I don’t know for sure. Indonesia has one, I think. I just googled. Foreign Language Scholarships - ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
Ohh. Checked some out a bit, but I wonder if it works if I take a language minor rather than a major. I dunno, I think this is something that I’ll have to decide on after I test the waters in the university, to check how much time I can assign to my tasks. It’s definitely a handy weapon, because I think I do love to learn languages if given the right community and resources.
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And i know you don’t like the idea but I would not rule out colleges in Syria if that turns out to be the only affordable option.
I’d rather jump off Burj Khalifa lol. I’m not living in terrible conditions for 4 years, no way lol. I could go to another middle eastern country like Jordan, but still, I prefer European and Western culture by an infinite margin.
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@ScrollG I would like to offer a different perspective on your situation. My observation is that many US colleges admit – and fund – international students precisely because they DON’T fit the standard mold. Colleges seek to build a diverse class – covering all types of diversity, including diversity of life experience. They often admit students who can contribute their personal perspectives to the campus community both in and out the classroom, especially those who have experienced hardship through war, displacement, poverty or other conditions outside of their control. Syria and Middle East conflicts in general are hot topic issues.
There are a lot of gaps in what you’ve explained about your life and education. I appreciate your desire for privacy, but those gaps may just be what will help you make a compelling case for yourself as a deserving but non-traditional applicant.
Specifically, why did your family leave Syria?
Why did you quit high school?
Who “homeschooled” you? Your parents, other adults, yourself?
Other than studying for exams have you had any structured classroom experience in the past year or two?
I think you need to take a step back and think about how you might compensate for the application elements that you lack. To me, the most important issues are not extracurriculars or special awards, but letters of recommendation from an adult (or adults) who are in a position to vouch for your intellectual ability and your readiness to enter a US college. You really need an advocate.
I would also suggest you get in touch with Education USA.
Keep your narrative simple and scrupulously factual. For example: Your family left Syria and relocated to the UAE. You dropped out of high school because of finances. You self studied (or were home schooled by someone else), took the A levels and did well. You would like to attend college in the US. You need substantial aid.
It’s difficult to get precise admission and aid statistics for international students but some schools that appear to matriculate a relatively higher percentage of non-resident aliens and also budget a relatively higher dollar amount to international aid are the following: Grinnell, Dickinson, St. Olaf, Wesleyan (the one in Connecticut). You may not be familiar with these names, but they are all small liberal arts colleges which offer excellent academics and solid paths to US graduate schools.
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Thanks for this invaluable insight momrath!
What you said is kinda contradictory to what another user has said before, but your points make more sense I believe.
And this is might be just what I needed. I’ll definitely check with Education USA, and if this still fails, I still have my chances at learning German and going to Germany.
What you said about the letters of recommendation from adults who can vouch for my ability and readiness, was just part of my “getting awards and stuff” plan. I thought if I could find a place where I could actively manifest my talents, I would find these critical people who could vouch for me. But unfortunately, I have never found such a place yet; maybe I haven’t searched hard enough, but the UAE isn’t really stocked with such places anyways, so it certainly is difficult to find them without the help of an experienced member, which again I lack.
I never really thought my situation was that dreadful, but looking back on it, it certainly does seem somewhat grim from an outside perspective. I could certainly use it to my advantage with proper discretion.
Thank you so much for this refreshing perspective. I’ll have no one to thank but you if I do manage to work it out.
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I know that this is not what you’ve considered, but the fact is that STEM education in Russia can be very good. During the Cold War, many Soviet satellite countries and client countries (Syria was one of them) sent students to Russia for education. What with Russia having propped up the Assad regime, once again Syrian students are going to Russia to study.
Higher Education in Russia for Syrian Nationals — latest news on russian education.
Of course, you’d have to learn Russian (not an easy undertaking), but there are scholarships available. The skills that you could learn in high tech could be transferable anywhere.
Yeah Russia is an awesome place for this stuff, plus I love the weather described
there. And yeah the relationships with Syria are pretty good, but I’d much prefer it for a Doctorate or PhD, since there are many amazing labs and scientists there. Learning a language is not an obstacle for me, it’s just a little grind. The reason why I don’t want to go there for my Bachelor’s or Masters is because it’s too unfamiliar with me, and the network there is a bit tricky. Middle Europe or the west is much more direct in what I could do there. I can prep myself with general life experience and immersing myself in a not too unfamiliar culture before heading to Russia.
I don’t really stress about the university I go to for my Bachelor’s, they’re all equally impressive for me, it’s mostly the place, the connections I can make there, the geography, the culture, etc. that matter to me more, since I am gonna be spending 4 very high quality years there. And of course now that I realized I’m not currently impressive enough for an immediate massive scholarship, prices do matter (unless I find some sort of breakthrough before then).
Germany is gonna be just as viable, so it’s currently my go-to unless I discover something new or manage to get a valuable recommendation.
Thanks a bunch for the insight ;D I read and bookmarked the link you sent for future reference, it looks very useful.
I like the idea of your becoming an interpreter and getting a job doing that first if you can. It will help you save money and can possibly offer connections, plus more to put on applications.
If you’re good with languages, is it something you think could work? If you like Canada, are any Canadian firms hiring interpreters? Check with their HR departments and see what you’d need to do.
I think that you may need a reality check. Germany just took in a million refugees, largely uneducated young men from the Middle East. Germany has its hands full trying to assimilate and educate these immigrants. They’re not looking for you, they’re not going to make it easy for you to study there. Russia, on the other hand, is racing to turn the clock back to its days of Soviet glory, and from the website (if you read it), is clearly looking to bring Syrian students to study in Russia. Politics aside, the academic level in Russia is high, especially in STEM, and they’re offering scholarships to Syrian students. You’d have to do some research, since the website is out of date, and you’d have to learn Russian (but you would have had to learn German to go to Germany - no easy feat, either), but at least the possibility of a scholarship to study in Russia exists. The website mentions high performance in academic competitions as a pathway to a scholarship. This is something that you, without having attended a traditional high school with a traditional GPA, could possibly do very well in.
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I like to see people succeed, but I’d hesitate to suggest anyone go to Russia right now considering their current politics. When does the Iron Curtain come back up?
I’d definitely look into translating jobs first if possible. College can wait a couple of years. It often does for those limited by finances.
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