International here who has studied under the GCSE system. I’m applying to the US but my situation is tricky.
During my O levels, I had 8 subjects including Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Math, English Language, English Literature, and Sociology. For these I received 5 Bs and 3 Cs.
I come from a low-income background, and I’ve had to deal with a lot of issues at home that, during that time period, made it quite difficult for me. I’m also a burn victim and have had to cope with that over these past few years.
Although over the course of my A levels I have improved. Here, I had 4 courses: Sociology, World History, English, and Economics. I received an A*, A, A, and B.
Current class rank- Economics: top 40%, World History: top 10%, Sociology: top 20%, English: top 3% School does not provide overall class rank.
I have a substantial number of ECs. Notably, I have written and presented my own research paper on the deficiencies of the public schooling system in my country. During my O level years, I was student council president and continued to be a student council member as well as captain of the Model United Nations society during my A levels. I have won an international award at the Harvard Model UN in Boston. Moreover, I’ve worked extensively with a local NGO for the empowerment of girls’ education in my country, as well as having co-founded a public cleanup campaign. Lastly, I’m also a published contributor to a well-respected news publication in my city.
I am currently taking a gap year, and would hope to major in Poli Sci or International Relations.
With this in mind, could you recommend some reach and match schools that I should consider?
See if you can find some colleges strong in your academic areas of interest that also match your academic qualifications, and which would also meet your financial assistance requirements:
Your extracurriculars definitely seems pretty impressive. Your grades, also, are pretty good, too, just make sure you put a note on your common app (there’s a separate section for this) about your situation during your O-levels. I would advise you against writing a sob-story essay unless your experience inspired one of your extracurriculars, but I would still be cautious against doing that.
Have you taken the SAT/ACT? Even though a lot of schools are going TO I think it might be beneficial for you to do it as an international applicant to see how you compare to U.S. students.
With that said, for your major I would look at Georgetown, NYU as reaches and George Washington and American University as targets.
None of those schools are likely to give the OP enough $$ to make it affordable.
OP, you are a strong but not (from what you have posted) exceptional student who will be asking a US university to give you ~$250,000+. So, for you the key is: who will accept you and give you enough money to attend?
You are looking to do a degree in a field that famously pays very poorly, especially in the early career years. The good news in this is that Political Science/IR are popular majors everywhere and even very so-so colleges will have a decent PS/IR department.
I understand.
I chose to go with International Relations and Political Science as I felt they would also relate better to my interests and profile.
However, I was also interested in business as a major. I recognize that competition for business schools can be extremely stiff but would it help in any way if I were to apply for it rather than IR or Poli Sci?
For most schools, the major isn’t the issue for admissions- it relates to earning potential when you are done. There are schools where you apply for direct-admit to the business program, so if that is a real interest for you, and give serious aid to international students, go for it.
Your stats need to be well in the top tier of admitted students, because that’s who gets both admissions and money. Some places- Alabama (Huntsville), Utah State, Southern Mississippi- have guaranteed scholarships for certain test scores. 1370 will get a certain amount of merit, but idk if they will give you enough to make it affordable for you.
@Eli34 I think @collegemom3717 is pointing you in the right direction. Many Internationals self-limit their options to an extremely small sub-set of well-known colleges. Fortunately, you haven’t done that. Collegemom3717 has pointed you toward some good universities that will reward you for your academic stats, and where you are very likely to be admitted.
One thing that would help with continued recommendations would be for us to know your budget. How much can your family afford to contribute yearly? $30K-40K? $15K-$29K? $5K-$12K? Knowing this will help people recommend schools that may offer the requisite aid to be affordable to your family.
I think I could contribute in the $5-$12K range. I know that doesn’t help my case at all, but I’m also hoping to gain residency in the USA by the end of this year or early next year.
But I am also proceeding with caution and hoping to apply to places where I could get aid as an intl.
Eli my honest advice would be to retake the sat and try to score a 1500. I know that is easy to say but the admissions process is brutal and that is what you need if you want to get to a nice place. Your
A levels are very good. Your ecs are good. And i personally think that you should definitely tell your story ( no matter how sob it sounds). If it really affected your ability to study in O levels, make sure you stress it a lot. Im not coming at anyone, and please forgive me if I sound rude, but don’t listen to people who tell you not to write a sob story. Of course, don’t lie but tell them. They should know you are a good student who went through a hard time. Strengthen your application in every way you can. Take SAT and work your ass off on it. Its possible. Try searching for external scholarships ( many people do, don’t be lazy). I’m saying bc US universities are need aware for international students, or at least most are. But don’t let that affect you. Many get full rides as well.
IF you are a permanent resident BEFORE you apply the playing field changes dramatically. You will still need to chase merit, but you wil be eligible at a lot more places.
Re: “sob story”- the % of students who have big bumps in their life between 13 & 18 is very high. Best option is to have a GC who can reference the facts of the bump, and commend you on how you handled it/overcame it. Second best is to include the simplest facts of the situation with a narrative that shows how you overcame it. The key is not the specifics of what happened but how you handled what happened.
Honestly, applying as an international student without a green card, who can only afford to pay 5-12K/yr (I assume), I think that you are going to be fighting a losing battle. What are your options in your home country? In EU? Canada? To be admitted to a school in the US with funding, as an international student, you need to be one of the best applicants from your country. Your EC’s are very interesting. But you need a high standardized test score, too, even though next year is test optional, because when you’re applying as an international student, the colleges like to see a known yardstick by which to measure you. If you have access to the ACT there, consider that, too. It’s supposed to be a little easier on the English, for those who are not native speakers of English (although your written English is WONDERFUL, sounds like that of an educated native speaker).
If you can obtain permanent resident status in the US before application time, then it’s a completely different story. But if it’s not going to happen in time, would you have better luck with Canada or EU? Canada has excellent universities, lower cost, and is more open to immigration.
May be best to wait until you have green card. Could be night and day with admissions at selective colleges, or at least to be considered for financial aid. Questbridge could be possible.
Canada and the EU are unlikely options for me. However, I think I could maybe go to Canada if I were to find an affordable option.
I have family that lives in the States and most of my close relatives are also people who attended school in the US which makes studying there favorable.
I have backup schools in my home country which are relatively easy to get into.
I would consider taking the SAT again but I’m not sure at this time. As you mention, I don’t have any significant issues with English and can write reasonably well. Although I have a slightly difficult time with Math.
agree with you there! if money is an issue for sure look at schools that will get you merit. Also in terms of SAT try and retake for a higher score (1450+ preferably) to submit. Look at the middle 50 of whatever colleges you are applying to to see what score you should aim for (a quick google works for this).
stick with International Relations or International Studies (not business) because it relates directly to your strengths and it is much less common than business for international applicants ( business is actually the #1 major for internationals).