What are my chances of getting into a good US college?

Student Lounge International Students
1

I am in my junior year, my freshman GPA was 3.2, sophomore 3.56, junior year is expected to drop to about 3.1-3.4.

As for extracurriculars:

  • I’ve been a volunteer at a library for a year now. I am the founder, chairwoman and former president of the book club there, a writing club coordinator, volunteer facilitator/trainer, a sales & activities team leader, and event management volunteer with some social media management as well.
  • I was a volunteer English teacher for 4 months, teaching English to underprivileged primary school kids whose schools could not afford English teachers.
  • I was a campaign leader for Safe Water Safe Bottle Project, sold reusable bottles at universities and raised funds for clean water and reusable bottles for kids in underprivileged schools.
  • I am a One Girl Ambassador and am going to be raising $3000AU for their campaign, providing education to girls in Uganda and Sierra Leone.
  • I was a game field coordinator in our national robotics competition.
  • I won a teen entrepreneurs challenge and came in third place at 2 public speaking competitions.
  • I was a medical translator for the Khmer Eyesight Foundation.
  • I am an ASEAN XChange Impact Mobilizer.
  • I am a female advocate and give speeches to raise awareness for women issues, gender equality, and empower women in Cambodia. In this area, I have given many speeches, worked with a woman organization, several women projects and exhibitions, talked to a school, and was featured in Huffington Post.
  • As for sports, I used to swim and play basketball but our school doesn't have that anymore. I've played the piano for 4 years and the ukulele for 2, but never publicly.
  • I am a member of the debate team at our school and might be joining Toastmasters very soon.
  • Other things I've attended/am going to attending, are the Ambassador's Youth Town Hall, IYF World Camp, UTCC Asean Leadership Camp, APU Academic and Cultural Experience Camp, and Hiroshima International Junior Forum.

A bit of background info: I’m 16, from Cambodia, going into senior year this September, am aiming for a Bachelor of Medicine or an undergraduate degree in biomedicine/health sciences. I haven’t taken the IELTS but I’m not too worried about that. SATs, ACTs, AP classes, Honors, CP, dual enrollment - those are NOT available here. I think there’s a center for SATs and ACTs testings but schools do not prep us for that. I am also planning to go volunteer at a hospital or reach out to medical researchers here, not sure how that is going to go though!

So yes my GPA isn’t very high or high enough for competitive schools. Do you think my extracurriculars are good enough to balance it out (with my essay and rec letters too)?

2

Your GPA will be an issue. US schools typically look at GPA and SAT/ACT scores before they even consider ECs.

The schools will assume that you’ve spent too much time in ECs at the expense of your grades.

How much can your parents afford?
If you need financial aid, it will be very difficult for you to get admitted or funding. As an international student, funding is almost nonexistent.

3

There is no bachelor of medicine in the US (or Canada).

4

If your ultimate goal is to become a medical doctor, the US is not a good place for you. Go to a country where you can enter medical school right away, and where education is cheaper.

In the US, you will need at least 4 years of (very expensive) studies before you can apply to med school. Your odds of getting into medical school in the US are very, very, very small. (They hardly take any international students.) Also, there is no financial aid for international students in med schools, you would need a loan from your country or have the money in cash.

5

Thank you!! I’ll do more research on that :slight_smile:

6

Look at other countries for medicine.
Also, do you attend a US school or did you convert your GPA yourself (isn’t your Cambodian GPA supposed to be something like 8, 7…?)

7

If you plan to study abroad there are many countries that offer good medical programs and a MBBS, many of these these colleges are much more affordable and easier to get in and PLUS it is argueable that they are better than many of the US universities. Some of these countries are: France, Germany, UK, India, China, Australia… you get what I mean

8

I attend a Cambodian school - our GPA is out of 50, but I converted it to a US GPA :slight_smile:

9

Thank you so much!! I will look them up - that was very helpful! :slight_smile: