What are a South African's Chances?**

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Hey, please would you tell me what my chances are or just give me some advice about getting into Brown or any other of the Ivies for that matter </p>

<p>BIO:
-Male
-Caucasian
-South African
-17 Years Old</p>

<p>ACADEMICS:
-I have an 85% Aggregate</p>

<p>-SA Does not have AP, Honours Classes etc. Everyone writes the same exam in their final year.</p>

<p>-I know that SA's curriculum is a little bit harder than that of the USA. I have spoken to my councillor. Therefore my GPA will be let’s say roughly a 3.8.</p>

<p>-I take seven subjects. </p>

<p>Compulsory: English, Life Skills, Afrikaans (We have to take a 2nd language), Mathematics (We have a choice between Maths and Maths Literacy).</p>

<p>Other 3 (We have to choose only 3 more): Physical Science, Dramatic Arts and Accountancy.</p>

<p>-I will be taking the SAT this year.</p>

<p>AWARDS:</p>

<p>-School 'Colours' for Surfing and Academics.</p>

<p>-School 'Half Colours' for Drama.</p>

<p>ACHIEVEMENTS:</p>

<p>-Prefect 2009-2010.</p>

<p>-A Council member of the RCL. (Representative Council of Learners)</p>

<p>-Completed a Certified Leadership Course.</p>

<p>-Completed a Certified Television Presenting and Communication Skills course.</p>

<p>-Accepted to participate in a youth exchange programme (short term).</p>

<p>-100 Hours CS.</p>

<p>-Member of the Rotary Interact Club.</p>

<p>SPORTS:</p>

<ul>
<li>Rugby, Field Hockey, Soccer, Cricket, Sport Climbing (1st Team), Surfing (1st Team).</li>
</ul>

<p>-Chess (1st Team).</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>yay, another international looking to just get into “an ivy” and not cornell specifically</p>

3

<p>Do you have money? They don’t like poor internationals…</p>

4

<p>Overall, it’s not very impressive. I say no chance at all at this “any other Ivy”.</p>

5

<p>I meant because I am looking at the Ivies in general, but am focusing on Brown.</p>

6

<p>well wrong forum…no shot. hah thats a joke you’re assuming your school is harder than every school in the us and they make up gpa for you?</p>

<p>edit: your gpa is about a 3.0</p>

7

<p>well since ur white you cant put down african american, although you are from africa dumb afirmative action haha, well since ur not black good luck on getting in buddy</p>

8

<p>haha, he technically IS african though. Might as well try to get the URM status?</p>

9

<p>The application lists it as “Black or African American (including Africa and Caribbean)” so he’s a legit URM, looks like.</p>

10

<p>How can you decide what my GPA is? The 3.8 is before adding 10% or changing any of my grades…</p>

11

<p>Do have an advantage over me in the USA too? I thought I only had that problem regarding uni’s here…</p>

12

<p>He was determining your GPA based on your 85% aggregate. But what exactly is an aggregate? If it’s similar to percentages in the US, then it makes little sense that your GPA is a 3.8 while your average is 85%.</p>

13

<p>^ keep in mind that it’s relative based on his location. i know kids in some parts of canada who have like an 85% and that’s considered an A or something like that. i also know that in france, as long as you get like 16+/20, you’re considered goldddddd.</p>

14

<p>have URM status, but other than that, its not that impressive. and how does the GPA system works?</p>

15

<p>yeah, very good point CC102, itr sure would be nice to see some SAT scores…</p>

16

<p>how is he urm status? it says blacks from africa and carribean not whites? </p>

<p>[Ethnic</a> group - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_group]Ethnic”>Ethnicity - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>it mentions race…not location, although the location will affect qualities of the person</p>

<p>edit: cc has a point…but it goes both ways. if you look at it 16/20 in america is a B. schools can re calculate gpa based on how they see things. So if his 85 is an A in africa…i doubt it’ll be an A to colleges here</p>

<p>and to answer your question rex(not sure if this is what you meant) People from other countries dont have good chances getting into universities in america…especially if they need aid</p>

17

<p>FTA:
“An ethnic group is a group of humans whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or presumed.”</p>

<p>So you’re saying white South Africans, even though they’ve been part of the continent for hundreds of years and have their own distinct culture, don’t count as Africans?</p>

<p>But yeah, internationals who need aid get the short end of the stick. If you’re rich, or from India, then it’s different.</p>

18

<p>I actually have a question about how colleges in the states look at grades from international schools. </p>

<p>I live overseas and our school doesn’t rank, but not many people get A’s here since the grading is very tough. No one in my grade even has straight A’s and maybe some of them have half A’s and half B’s, but for the most part you’re considered an excellent student if you have B’s and above. Most people get half C’s and half B’s. </p>

<p>How does that come across to college admissions in the US? Do they look at you grades in the context of your school even if it doesn’t rank?</p>

<p>Go ahead and chance the OP. I didn’t want to go off topic or anything, but I was just wondering.</p>

19

<p>We don’t use GPA’s. I had to seek help from a prof in New York to convert it for me.
Aggregate is similar to average, but it is slightly different. Your Math and English marks weigh in at about 1.5 times more than the other subjects.</p>

20

<p>What makes Indians different?</p>