<p>I am <em>not</em> from Nepal but I do know that there are many of you who have done A-Levels and could be of help.</p>
<p>Basically, I did well for my O-Levels but I messed up when I started my A-Levels. And I do mean really messy. I was, however, able to overcome those bad grades and in the end, when I retook my A-Levels in the next available session, I was able to get two Bs and a C, with an A in GP.</p>
<p>In terms of extra curricular activities...it's all good. I'm confident that if it weren't for my crappy grades, I would be competitive for top 15 LACs. So, that shouldn't be a problem.</p>
<p>Essays and recommendation letters shouldn't be a problem. As for SATs, I can get ~700 on each section. Same for the subject tests.</p>
<p>Yes, I will be needing lots of financial aid to attend. My interests are within the humanities (probably get a minor in philosophy) and physics/math.</p>
<p>Could you guys suggest any colleges I could apply to? Do you know of any people who were able to get in (with aid) with those grades?</p>
<p>Pick schools from the top 25-top50 LACs. Look at the percentage of international students in the school, the grant money they give in aid, etc. Then make informed choices.</p>
<p>I don’t really ask people about their grades. Trust me, high school grades doesn’t matter s-h-it in college. No one cares. What matters is how you do in college. I’m saying, if you have everything else near perfect, then grades will have lower weight. Of course, go for safeties too.</p>
<p>I’m majoring in Mechanical Engineering and it’s awesome. I didn’t really know it until my sophomore year, and discovered that I love Mechanical Engineering, specially with the liberal arts environment. Couldn’t have been any better!</p>
<p>Maybe I was wrong in assuming that it probably won’t work out. Holistic review for the win? </p>
<p>Interesting. Well, I don’t know if that’s your kind of thing or not but the department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at Cornell are doing some really cool stuff!</p>
