vipevipe

Hello international ccboard-Members,
I'm currently in my senior year and i want to apply to some Ivy colleges next year - Does it make sense to "spice up" my regular application (SAT scores, TOEFL etc.) with (for example) the results of my GRE test, my Cambridge CAE certificate or my Spanish DELE certificate etc.?

Thanks for all replies,
vv.

b@r!um

Don't waste your time. Of course it won't hurt to submit additional strong exam results you already have, but the exams you listed won't impress anyone. (Scoring well in the international math olympiad, on the other hand, would be quite impressive.)

If you want to "spice up" your application, do it with extra-curricular engagement. American colleges would much rather see you run a club, play a sport or work a job than studying for useless exams.

vipevipe

Thanks for your quick reply, Barium! - I've already passed the GRE for my "back up university" in Switzerland. Regarding EC's: I see alot 'awards/prices/honors' on most application cv's on CC.com but only a few with job experience - In Europe it's vice versa, that confuses me alot!

katliamom

I'm confused: are you applying as an undergraduate or grad school? What university demands the GRE for undergrads? And how do European teenagers get more job experience than American kids? In any case, if you're an undergraduate international student, you won't be held to the same ECs/work experience as American kids. Rather, your competition will be other foreign students. Admissions committees realize opportunities for young people differ from country to country.

vipevipe

As an undergraduate.
The HSG (University of St. Gallen []Universitt St.Gallen | Seite nicht gefunden) wants the GRE / GRE Revised, for example.
I think most kids here would rather apply to a summer job at the marketing dept of a large german car manufacturer than trying to win some chemistry awards etc.
I'm holding a dual citizenship, so: 'american kids' competition + international "rules" = bad conditions for me?

b@r!um

Dual citizenship (if one of them is American) is great! Your accomplishments will still be evaluated in a foreign context, but you wouldn't be subject to any of the pesky rules for international applicants. Quotas and limited financial aid resources, for example.

Not that it matters, but at my high school a part-time job was the "default" EC - if you did anything organized outside of school at all, odds are you were working a job. In the US, competitive sports and school activities (or church activities in some places) seem to play that role.

vipevipe

Thanks for all the useful information, Barium! ...But is it a bad idea to add my non-SAT/TOEFL test results to my applications?

b@r!um

Personally, I'd only submit test scores and certificates that add something to my application. That means:

I would not submit GRE scores because the GRE is too similar to the SAT. And frankly, submitting GRE scores looks like you are trying too hard to impress with test scores.

I would not report the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English either. Concordance tables suggest that the CAE requires about the same level of language proficiency as the TOEFL iBT. Not worth reporting.

With the DELE, I'd say "it depends." If you did NOT take Spanish in high school, I would report whatever certification you have. If you did take Spanish in high school, I would only report DELE certificates at or above the B1 level. The AP Spanish exam should be somewhere between the B1 and B2 level.

vipevipe

Wow, thanks again Barium for all your in-depth infos!
Why I'm asking all this: Besides the SAT, I'm going to take the French/Spanish SAT (Spanish, also for my school leaving exam), the Math II SAT (again also at school - test duration 4h; school type is scientific-orientated thus extremely rigorous/competitive compared to other exams) and wondered if that's sufficient

happymomof1

vipevipe -

Just saw your thread today. Have you asked at the closest office of EducationUSA what there experience is with citizen students such as yourself and these exams? They should have ideas for you. Follow the links here to get the contact information for the advising centers in your country of residence: EducationUSA | Find an Advising Center