<p>I got into UChicago and MIT! I’m really happy but I’m sad at the same time. My best friend got rejected from both schools. She just moved to the US for 2 years and English is her second language. But she works VERY HARD. We founded a club, started our own business, and volunteered together. Basically our resumes look the same (except I did something else for 4 years and she only got 2 years).</p>
<p>I guess part of the reason that she got rejected is because of the class rank and test score. She got 1720 on SAT and 26 on ACT. I think it is pretty good for a foreigner. But do colleges consider this factor?</p>
<p>She came from Japan and the grading system is very different, and her school tends to have really hard finals (they have no extra credit or stuff like that, final exam grade=grade for the class) to prepare them for college entrance examinations. It is possible that no one got A in the class (they have no curve), and she got some Bs and Cs.</p>
<p>But she really shows her true ability in the US, she got 4.3 GPA for her junior year and approximately 4.5 for her senior 1st semester. However, our school ranked students according to their 9-12 grades, her grades in Japan made a huge difference and she ranked 30% in our class.</p>
<p>I really want to do something for her. She deserves to go to good college. I’m now trying to find some good colleges that would fit her. Can you guys give me some suggestions? Please, I really want to help her!!!</p>
<p>those days when international students can be admitted with much lower scores into top schools because of English as a second language are over.</p>
<p>These days, most international students who are competitive for top universities are all coming out of “international schools” in their home countries where the language of instruction is frequently English, and their scores are very high. Just look through the decision thread and check the numbers of the international candidates. They are VERY GOOD. When they have international students with the stats that are on par or even better than those of the domestic students, top schools don’t have to lower their standard for foreign students on account of English not being their first language. </p>
<p>I suspect she is not going to get much break from top schools.</p>
<p>I suggest you talk to her and build a list of schools for RD that contain several safeties based on her SAT scores (her weak point). This way, even if worst comes worst, she will have viable alternative.</p>
<p>Another thing: find out if her school will informally rank her just based on her grades in USA and have that information available to the universities. That should help her. She has a good basis to request this: grades from foreign countries just have no comparable base.</p>
<p>I didn’t really do much research on the lower level schools because I’m kind of confident for myself. The problem is that I don’t know what schools would be considered as “good”. Her family is putting a lot of pressure on her and really wants her to get into ivies or colleges with big names. Is it possible for her to get into Dartmouth, Cornell or Brown?</p>
<p>Perhaps she might consider attending a school she may be able to attend, do well, and transfer if that is what is important to her. There are many excellent choices for students who are likely to excel in college, but may not have the numbers right now to attend some of the more selective schools. For example, she may want to look into colleges like Wells College in NY and Goucher College in Maryland. Students at Wells can take courses at Cornell, and students at Goucher can take courses at Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>Ooh,yeah,I understand the grading system over here in east Asian local high schools(hoping I’m not offending anybody…) Her EC sounds ok,and she seems to have things to write about for her essays.Does she get help for polishing her essays?</p>
<p>Check out Wake Forest University,I’m not saying it’s really lower end.They have a good business programme there,and they do NOT require SAT or ACT.=)Idk if your friend still needs to take the TOEFL(I took the internet based one,so I’m not sure how good a 570 is on paper test.)However,considering she’s a permanent resident,she might not need it?check out with her(guidance) counselor,he/she might know for sure. And,does she have any intention to retake SAT in Jan.?Some schools still accept it! </p>
<p>Haha,yup,I am.Thank you very much!I hope things turn out well…despite the fact that there’s a deferral already.Good luck with your college,and before that have a good time in the rest of your senior year!=)</p>
<p>While students at Wells may be allowed to register for a course or two at Cornell, the likelihood is that there isn’t any transportation between the two campuses without your own car. They are at least 30 minutes away from one another and that is without any winter weather figured into the mix.</p>
<p>If you are not a permanent resident or us citizen, then your chances of being accepted are extremely low. I am in that position and it sucks. I got deferred by Chicago, while kids from my area who I know have lower stats/ less activities were accepted. Despite having gone through high school in the United States securing the grades and the SAT/AP scores(2300+ and 5’s), doing college level research, winning academic competitions, etc. being an international student makes the process extremely difficult. I wish your friend good luck, but the options look dim for most students in this predicament. But i’m not going to lose hope and I think your friend should be proud of what she has accomplished.</p>
<p>Yes, SATs REALLY matter. There are so many fabulous candidates that admissions people have to find any way they can to shrink the pool. Don’t be sad for your friend–she can have a fantastic educational experience at another excellent school. It’s her parents who have to learn the lesson that big names aren’t everything.</p>