Does doing extracurricular in 5 different countries help?

Chance Me / Match Me
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<p>Okay, the reason for me to ask this is I want to know if there is a chance for me to get into either USC with scholarship, because I really cannot afford to pay the full tuition, or to get into UC Berkeley. I want to major in a business related field and then get into ibanking, and later on, into hedge fund.</p>

<p>First of all, I am Nepalese and I’ve lived in Nepal, Australia, Thailand, South Korea, and I am currently living in California. I am Fluent in Nepalese, English, Korean, and Hindi. I’ve been attending international schools and a couple of legit Korean schools(that’s why I had to learn Korean). I am currently attending a school that ranks in the top 5 STEM schools. </p>

<p>I’ve done community services in Nepal, Korea, and the U.S. I’ve also done an intership at a cell phone parts supplier company in Korea. I was in the varsity basketball team my junior year. BTW, I was a junior for 3 quarters and then I left Korea, went back to Nepal, did some volunteer work and then after a month or so came to the U.S. However, my credits for the second semester of my junior year did not count and I had to repeat my junior year to get enough credits to graduate. Anyway, I’m also planning to join the varsity soccer team at my school. My GPA is about 3.8 and I’ve taken only one AP class so far (APUSH). I’m planning to take AP Amer. Gov. and Econ, AP Stats, and any other AP class that would boost my GPA in my senior year. I’ve not taken SAT yet, I’ll be taking it next month, that is June 7th to be specific. I’m hoping to get somewhere around 2000, and then in one on October.</p>

<p>So, to kind of summarize it, I’m a Nepalese citizen who has lived in 5 different countries and can speak 4 languages fluetly, I’ve done volunteer work in some of those countries (Korea, Nepal, U.S), and I’ve done internship in Korea as well. I want to get into USC or UC Berkeley because I want to have a career in ibanking. I know that the East Coast is a better place for ibanking, but I don’t want to go far from where I currently live. So, my question is, will my background give me any advantage? Will it standout? And if there is anything I’ve got to do, please do give me some advice. My GPA is not USC or UC Berkeley great, but, I was just wondering if my EC would help.</p>

<p>Thank you for reading the whole thing.</p>

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<p>Colleges overlook a weaker GPA if it’s because of moving around a lot. As for whether it’ll help or hurt you, it depends on how you market yourself. Being involved in 5 different countries sure sounds impressive. But keep in mind that Berkeley and USC business programs are tough to get into.</p>

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<p>@dividerofzero‌ So I would have to focus more on my essay then?</p>

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<p>@jaydimez‌ Yes. Pretty much every top school in the US ends up making its final decisions based on essays. Think of all your “stats” and ECs as plot points. Now it’s up to you to construct a narrative with them.</p>