<p>schools DO vary aniruddh.</p>
<p>Obviously but they dont differ by curriculum… Youre studying the same thing anyway…
I guess? :S</p>
<p>There are SO many boards in india. Besides, in a board like ISC, teachers rarely teach from books directly.</p>
<p>I got an 81% on my Xth class boards for ICSE. How do you think HYPSM will view that?
Considering, of course, the fact that I only moved to India one year before and moved back to America right after the boards.</p>
<p>Context is very important. Make sure you mention that in your application.</p>
<p>HYPSM after 81%?</p>
<p>people i’m getting scared after reading this, i mean do school grades really matter soo much, cause i never attended my college even once in 11th and havent studied anything from my teachers and well i dont have 11th std grades because they filled up marks according to their own whims as i didnt give any exam except the final exam and the school awarded me 76% on their own. So am i officially screwed??? And yeah also i’m not going to give any exam till december in 12th…</p>
<p>and yeah my school is at nagpur and i’m at kota…</p>
<p>@aniruddhc
I know its not super high, but I’m hoping they consider the fact that I was born and raised in America and moved only to india a year before the boards. I had no idea how the indian school system worked or anything. Also, I haven’t been doing too bad in America as I have gotten a 4.2W GPA, 2190 SAT, 800 Math IIC, and 780 Bio-M since coming back.</p>
<p>and it’s ICSE too
some people say CBSE, ISC, and ICSE are not different but that could not be further from the truth. I don’t want to be snobbish, but ICSE is the hardest syllabus.</p>
<p>aniruddh: Yes, HYPSM is possible after 81%, though with schools like Harvard it’ll be very tough as their recruitment is oriented towards academic achievers.</p>
<p>fishy: I’ve studied in both systems, ISC is not more difficult than CBSE. I don’t think they discriminate between ISC and CBSE students.</p>
<p>As I said, its all in context. Obviously, if two people are being compared, and all stats except 11th marks are same, then your excuse won’t help at all. But the admissions process doesn’t work that way, and your marks will be considered in context. Just make sure you give that explanation in the “extenuating academic circumstances” box.</p>
<p>n0mad: School grades matter more than anything else. And your no exam policy is weird, because colleges ask for a fixed pattern of grades (mid term + finals). 76% is not that bad for 11th for schools just below HYPSM.</p>
<p>n0mad: just be sure to get your situation explained completely in your app. I myself had 79% in ISC XI and XII mid-year</p>
<p>That’s an amazing feat at the school you were at, Gary. My dad told me that it’s one of the TOUGHEST schools in India. Dude, UP Inter! 
:O</p>
<p>so gary is there still hope for me at mit??? I am planning to get a letter from Mr. V. K. Bansal explaining my situation maybe that’ll help. Is there any other way?</p>
<p>The name won’t help.</p>
<p>^Second that! But 76% isn’t bad at all for 11th…even if the schooling is unethical (my opinion…)!</p>
<p>Seriously… 76 is pretty good</p>
<p>ya certainly the name wont help but letter of recommendation explaining that i took the most rigorous curriculum beyond the school which sometimes matches undergraduate level would help i think. And worry not people i had a talk to my school and they said they’ll let me give all the exams i missed in december and so i can improve my grades just in time for regular action deadline.</p>
<p>n0madMIT, no offense but I find it very unfair that you get to devote your full time to JEE and Olympiad prep while we have to battle it out with our dull schoolwork.</p>
<p>This is unethical. :mad:</p>
<p>But then its the system, you’re not to blame. :(</p>
<p>Maybe a normal school life is much more fun than a coaching school life. Btw how do you get so much time to be on the internet? Are you provided with Wi-Fi connections or do you have your own internet connection? ;)</p>
<p>wi-fi at Kota? Hahaha, the little nerds would just wind up watching porn all day :P</p>
<p>And debraghya, how is it unethical when you yourself had teh choice to go to Bansals as well after 10th?</p>