gordionsknot

Well than awesome! I have a band we'll record a couple of songs and send it on YouTube. About work thing... My uncle's a lawyer and my neighboor has a market. Which one do you prefeer if you were me? And how do I proove that I worked there? I know I'm kinda asking stupid questions, but please forgive me this is an extraordinary subject for me.

happymomof1

If you work with your uncle or your neighbor and the job is interesting to you and/or necessary to support you and/or your family, then this will give you something to write about in your essays. Don't just go to work for one of them (or worse yet claim that you work for one of them if you really don't) in order to put it on your application.

Every culture is different. It is common for high school students in the USA to play a sport, join one or two clubs at school, and work a part-time job during the summer vacations or during the school year. The college application process takes this into account. Students the same age who are living in different cultures use their time in different ways. Part of your task as an international applicant is to present your real self, and your real life in your home culture, to the admissions committee. The admissions committees want to know what it is that makes you a unique individual. How are you different from everyone else in your country, your neighborhood, your school, your band? Why are you gordionsknot rather than someone else? Extracurricular activities are one set of things that are likely to be unique about you because it is uncommon for two people to participate in all of the same activities, and hold all of the same offices/play all the same musical instruments/play all the same positions on a team.

One or two extracurricular activities that are meaningful to you, that you can describe with enthusiasm, and that say something about your personality and character, probably are enough.

gordionsknot

Many thanks..

So finally I need

- High SAT score
- Good ECs
- Good recommendation letters

And anything else? I wanna apply to NYU or UCLA or USC..

loathed

you need to have a really good GPA, especially if youre applying as freshmen.

gordionsknot

Oh that's a big problem for me.. Mine is like 3.1 - 3.2.. But my schools is one of the hardest in country. Will they tolarete this.. If not what can I do exept improving it? (It's really hard..)

b@r!um

Do you have any idea what the average GPA at your school is? Do you have a class rank or can your counsellor provide you with an estimated rank?

For the schools you have in mind, you should be at least in the top 25% of your class, better yet in the top 10% - on the other hand, school systems vary throughout countries so that might not apply to you. If for example only the top 20% of the students in the general population might attend your high school to begin with, being "only" in the top 50% is not that bad. If your school is significantly more selective than most other high schools in your country, definitely have a school official elaborate on this issue!

gordionsknot

Here the systems like this:

you write a test (100 questions 25 math 25 turkish 25 chemistry and biology and 25 some other stuff)

32.000 people get into this test and my school is the 4 best one.

I'm 66th of 100 people in my school, but I'm pretty sure I'll be in top 50..

This is my situation in school. But I'm sure about recommendations. I'll get more than 5.

b@r!um

You only need 3 recommendations (2 from teachers, 1 from an administrator). Don't submit more recommendations just to show them that you are on good terms with most of your teachers. The person reading your application will get really annoyed if she has to read 5+ recommendations...

Just out of curiosity: do you know how well you did on this test compared to the other 32.000 students?

gordionsknot

i answered almost 80 of 100 questions but 4 mistakes deletes 1 true answer.. the average was like 40-50 true answers.

my score was 672 and average was 620 - 625.

Duygu

Thats ÖSS right? Im not familiar with the scoring, but I do know you qualify for certain universities and majors with the score you get. What did you qualify for? If it was like Bogazici then you might be good enough for NYU or the like.

gordionsknot

Nope the system above is called "Ozel okullar sinavi" and it's for highschools. The only reason for studing abroad is my beliefs. I don't believe in such a stupid system like OSS(Exam for the Turkish universities), where you study for two years withour any social activities and learn the "answers" and if you fail, you'll have to wait one more year to get in.. That's why I'm trying to study abroad actually..

happymomof1

gordionsknot -

My undergraduate college had one or two Turkish students almost every year that came from a particular high school in Istanbul (sorry, I can't remember the name). I'm thinking that your school may have relationships with some colleges/universities in the US and/or Canada. Can you get in touch with graduates of your school who are now studying in the US for help with this?

gordionsknot

what college are you attending? And can you give me a contact adress? Btw i'm going to the advisor on friday...

happymomof1

gordionsknot -

I sent a couple PMs to you that I hope help. Good luck with everything.

gordionsknot

happymomof1

Many thanks !

Many thanks to everybody for answers. I'll type my advisor adventure on friday. Hope it'll be allright.