Help! International Student/Admission

supertank
Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:55:40 +0000

I’m an international student as well, so I hope I can help.


GPA: I took IB and my overall grade was not perfect either, 41/45, but my friend who applied with a 45/45 got waitlisted while I was accepted, however I did take the more challenging courses, try take the hard AP classes or at least just study them yourself and take the tests in May, generally AP Biology and other things are sort of similar in terms of content so as long as you study hard it may compensate your easier classes.
ACT/ TOEFL what should i take? What is a good score for toefl? I took the Internet one, the IBT, I think it is out of 120, and I got a 114 without much studying, it isn’t that hard as long you can concentrate and think quickly. Your English does not sound bad at all from what you have typed here. Take it soon, I took it early on my senior year, which was fine. But leave room to retake it if you aren’t sure how well you will score.
Extracurriculars: in germany theres no sport ect. at school.
I DID 0 VARSITY SPORTS & I did Tae Kwon Do, you can still list those in your Common App so as long as you took it for years it’ll still mean something.
Same applies for your piano, try join some piano recitals or competition.
Join the photography/art clubs in highschool, be leaders in it, it will do you well. UChicago love student leaders.
I have no experiences with volunteering but i going to looking for it during summer.
This you must do, try join things in your highschool, volunteer at your local shelters, it doesn’t have to be grand but you must do it consistently and not only during summer. Again, try to lead a project of some sort.
I dont have any work experiences either. Teenagers in germany just dont work. But im looking for it in the summer.
Don’t worry, teenagers in Indonesia don’t work either, I didn’t work either. I had no work experience and was fine. Try get internships instead, non-paying ones but good ones. Perhaps work at your embassy?


The essay is insanely important, you may not need the most complex vocabulary in the world but the content does absolutely matter. Be creative, take chances, what is most important is that you show that you are a budding intellectual! That the ‘life of the mind’ is something dear and important to you.
Start working on it when the essay questions first come out. Work on your Common App essay from now, your common app essay may be about practically anything about yourself.

& Get decent SAT scores. Good luck!!