Taking any test won’t hurt your app. If it’s offered, take it if you can. I have no idea if they will waive the requirement. You need to email them and ask how to proceed.
Go to the forum home page on this website, there are MANY subforums. Have a look at College Confidential’s home page, because there is all kinds of advice available. Here is a link to the international subforum: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/
As far as demonstrating that you have those qualities, that’s the magic question. You have it, or you don’t. The colleges will decide. All you can do is ensure that your application presents as good a picture of you as it can. Don’t get fixated on the idea of trying to get into an Ivy League college. That is a great way to set yourself up for disappointment. Find a college that feels like it will fit you. Look at the colleges in the Fairtest link I posted. A college like Bowdoin is going to give you as good an education as Yale, and will be easier to get into. Don’t just assume that a famous name means a great experience.
Thank you so much @Lindagaf I think it’ll hurt my app if my score is low!
You know I want to do my best for applying to USA, I think that I’m talented and diligent enough to not waste my time and energy in a country which there are very fewer opportunities to grow. and also my brother is in the process of receiving his green card so he can’t travel Iran, as far as Trump’s politics my mom also can’t travel US which she’s suffering from because she’s missing my bro and she hasn’t met him for 8 years!
Bowdoin is a liberal arts college, would it affect my career future? and as you said it’s test optional, But it has published its average test scores as far as it’s so competitive it seems not taking the tests will hurt my chances.
I would be so happy if the universities don’t care about the tests and consider my situation but many make me desperate by telling that the ACT/SAT show your competitiveness and academic preparation.
Your class work, grades, and the tests you already have show your preparation. You should of course work hard to get a high score on the TEFL exam. And yes, a low score of course isn’t good, but coleges that are test-optional consider more than test scores. You have to see what each individual school requires.
Yes, LACs are very well-respected and established in the US and you will not be hindered by going to one. In fact, good LACs tend to have very engaged alumni networks and career centers. Many have high percentages of students going into grad school, business school, med school, and so on. I imagine that outside the U.S., there will be a reasonable amount of knowledge about some of the better ones. The link I gave you is a list of national rankings, so you can look and see if it’s well-regarded. Basically, the higher the number, the more likely it is to be well-known.
Right now, we are all just guessing. You need to get concrete answers from schools you are interested in. You need to investigate which test-optional colleges interest you. All highly selective colleges care about how you “fit.” That includes Bowdoin, U Chicago, and Harvard. So figure out what these colleges care about and what they are looking for. If one of them sounds like you, apply.
I certainly wouldn’t break my back and spend tons of money and time trying to take the SAT/ACT in another country, especially not if you are a competitive candidate and there are great colleges that are test-optional. Really, I keep using Harvard as an example, but the acceptance rate is 5%. In reality, it is MUCH MUCH lower for an international. When you consider that a huge proprotion of spots go to athletes and other hooked students, I am guessing the odds are in tenths of a percent. A college like Bowdoin, as my other example, has an acceptance rate of 14%, and far fewer intrrnstional students apply to it. You might well be very attractive to them, and they offer to meet demonstrated financial need. You can google a list of colleges that offer international students financial aid.
@Lindagaf such a helpful and nice answer! could you please send me a message or give me a connection way to speak with you more and in details? your help would be appreciated
I suggest you post in the College Search and Selection forum. You will get more targeted answers. Post your statistics, desired major, location preferences, financial information, and the like.
What Lindagaf is suggesting is to explore more. It’s good advice. Many internationals only know the big name colleges and there may be more that fit you- and that you fit. We dont have a way to assess you. These top private colleges are “holistic” in admissions. More matters than scores, grades. awards.
Having your brother here (and that he attended a US school) means he understands some of the practices. Good. When I said MIT “may” not be right, I meant maybe. It’s difficult. It expects students to be ready for a highest level of work. We know you won an award or two and those SAT2s, but not your high school classes, your activities, your “holistic” picture and more.
Top US college adcoms will know the Iranian education system. There are admission reps who travel internationally and know a lot about intl education and even some high schools. Or they can research.
There will be s good number of applicants from Iran and the countries around it. Your chances depend in part on how many current students are from those. Eg, maybe this year they need more kids from Turkey or Russia, we don’t know.
Best wishes.
International students, especially undergrad, prefer big name colleges, doesn’t mean the most selective, or at least the ones near larger cities so they can meet other students from the region, have more choice of familiar cuisine and maybe a support system. The feel an international student gets at say Berkeley, Michigan, UCLA, Stanford, Columbia, (admissions aside just discussing type of campus) is very different from colleges/cities not as diverse.
Is there anyone who can help me in editing letters to universities asking questions?
your kind help would be appreciated!
@Lindagaf Do you know someone who can edit my essays or give advice about them?
There is a whole forum devoted to college essays here on College Confidential. Go to the forum home page
There is a list of readers at the top of that forum. Or just create a post and ask for feedback, but DO NOT post your essay there, or it might be marked as being plagiarized come application time.
Do not have another student advise.
But I don’t think you need help, you expressed yourself clearly here.
@Lindagaf & @lookingforward thank you so much for your kind responses!
dear @lookingforward what do you mean exactly? you mean I can write perfect essays myself?
Sorry, I was referring to your question about advice on letters to adcoms. That, I think you can do yourself- if possible, you could even try a phone call.
Yes, you can ask a trusted CC poster to read an essay and offer comments. But not the over eager high school kids who have not yet applied, gotten results, or started college. And not just any adult on some list, as many read essays as if they are high school writing.
Before you write the essay, try to undertand what those target colleges look for. The essay isn’t just writing. It’s meant to reveal some of the traits or qualities the college likes and looks for. Use “Show, not just tell,” which means the reader can see it, via an example or other ways.