<p>Sorry, only the last question I have is about chances....
I am currently a Sophomore in a very ordinary public school in Midwest. I moved from China two years ago (my ethnicity is mixed, half white and half Chinese, so I can fill in White to evade discrimination lol). My current GPA is around 3.7 unweighted, and my current ACT score is only a 25 (I did badly for the first time, but I can now score a 32 on my practice test. I can't take another ACT until I arrive at Germany). I have literally no ECs (I own a company and a few affiliated website that are not in actual business), but I have won a full scholarship to study in Germany for a year (CBYX scholarship, which is like a national award, only 250 students in the nation are awarded the scholarship each year).
So, for getting into better colleges, I have three questions to ask:
1. Should I repeat the year abroad for all the missed AP classes and to improve my SAT/ACT?
2. Where should I go to school when I get back from Germany? Should I just waste my time in a public school, or apply for some of the best high schools like Philips Academy? What is my chance of getting in then?
I also have a secondary plan to stay in Belgium for a year after Germany, which means I will be back speaking four or five languages, would that look great on my resume? Does it weigh off the lost AP credits? Would it overall be a better choice?
3. Finally, this is about chances. What universities should I be hoping for? I can't really assess myself on that. I have always wanted to go to Stanford, MIT, Harvard and other Ivy Leagues. So say if I improve myself a bit to have 3.9 GPAs for the rest of my high school career and perhaps a few more ECs, is it likely that I will be accepted by those first-tier schools two or three years from now? If not, what can I do to best improve my chances, and what alternatives do I have?</p>
<p>Would anyone please reply?</p>
<p>The schools you mentioned are really, really competitive, so it’s hard to say what chance you would have (especially as a sophomore.) You definitely could have a shot, though! </p>
<p>I personally think you shouldn’t spend the extra year in Belgium, because you’ll already have spent a year abroad and you’re missing out on having the typical high school experience back home where you live. Colleges will definitely think it’s unusual and great that you lived abroad for a year, but they won’t necessarily think even higher of you if you do it again, so you should probably come back and finish the rest of high school normally (unless you really WANT to stay abroad once you get there!) High school isn’t only about getting into college, you also need to enjoy yourself. I don’t think it would be ‘wasting your time’ to go to public high school, unless you really hate it or something.</p>
<p>With a 3.9 GPA you would definitely be a strong candidate! Those schools have a lot of chance involved in their admissions and, I’m sure you know, reject even 4.0’s all the time. So it’s more about having great EC’s, a great essay, being a well rounded person, etc, than just your GPA; but a 3.9 will look great.</p>
<p>Definitely find some more EC’s (not random ones, ones you really like) and make sure you get your ACT up (or take the SAT!) If you do that, you should be fine.</p>