Hi okay so i am an african american female (2nd gen ethiopian ) but i moved to Ethiopia for my parents’ jobs. I went to one of the best schools in the nation before i moved here. My school here is i believe 2nd in the nation and offers the Full IB program. The grading system is much more difficult here and some of our teachers give us grades based on if they like you or not
Obviously i’m going to take advantage of the IB program and try to do well but
-what kind of IB scores are top universities such as Stanford, Columbia, Emory, UCLA , Cal and others expect?
-should i apply as International or african american? which is more beneficial for admissions?
thanks
You are an African American who is living abroad. Both of those diversify the class that AOs are putting together, and so they are helpful to your application.
Whether or not the AOs who read your application will know your high school and the grading predilections of some teachers in your country is much less certain.
They will however know that most of the accepted students from foreign IB schools will have 40s on their IB total and mostly 7s on their individual scores. Obviously, these are the best students in the world from one of the most difficult academic programs in the world, but what would you expect of the schools you name.
In my experience, it’s really difficult for students to see that prestige and great education are not synonymous. Whether or not you get a great education is dependent on what you do at a school, less so the school where you do it. Prestige should be way down on the list of criteria for a #1 school because prestige means so little to anyone but the student and the family.
You might begin by looking for schools your family can afford because you’re not going anywhere you cannot afford. If you need help with finding such schools, let us know.
Thanks! Also are freshman grades very important? Ive never gotten below a B on my transcript however, my grades weren’t so great last year. But every term my GPA has improved . i went from a 3.6 (US GPA) up to a 4.0. and this year my grades are really good with a hard course load. My only concern is that the B’s i got are considered A’s in the US. Are these colleges aware of this? I’m just worried that they won’t acknowledge that i am basically doing all honors classes.I’m doing the Cambridge IGCSE system and according to Cambridge:
A- 4.0
A-4.0
B-3.7
C-3.0
D-2.7
I do 10 subjects a year with A and A’s in most of them. But in my freshman year i got quite a lot of B’s. Will that hurt me??
I hope these aren’t the only schools to which you are applying, particularly because of your unusual application, and understand that i would say that to anyone. Schools have varying policies about freshman grades, but almost all like an improving grade point. I think more important than worrying about whether ‘these colleges are aware of this’ is to call up your admissions officers and let them know of your interest and ask them any questions. They probably know all this at these elite schools but it cannot hurt to reach out to them. Call now if you can afford to; otherwise, email them. Understand that they are extremely busy so word your questions well.
The people at the EducationUSA office in Addis Ababa and the college placement advisors at your own school probably can give you much better help than any of us can because they are familiar with your specific situation. https://www.educationusa.info/AddisAbaba If no one in that EducationUSA office has worked with a US citizen recently, they have colleagues in other offices who have that experience.
I think yes, often, but it depends on where you live and how you present the experience in your application. It’s up to you to communicate in your application – through essays, recommendations, interviews – how your experience as an African American living in Ethiopia could contribute to the campus community.
You should definitely apply as a US citizen, not an international, even if you have dual citizenship. The international pool is more competitive, especially if you require financial aid. Colleges like expat American citizens – especially those from underdeveloped, hotspot countries – because they can offer diverse experiences without concerns about cultural adaptability, language proficiency or visas.
Unless you intend to take a gap year, you will not have your final IB scores until after you’ve completed the American application process. Predicted scores are helpful, but usually not a major factor in admissions. Your GPA and SAT/ACT scores will be more significant.
Some IB students take AP exams as well. My son didn’t do that, but it was a common procedure at his international high school, both to have scores to list on the application and to secure AP course credit.
Colleges understand that grading systems vary in other countries. Think about how you can communicate the difference – perhaps in your counselor’s recommendation or a special notation from a teacher who is familiar with US education.
I wouldn’t fret too much over your freshman year grades. You can’t change it anyway. Just continue the upward trend. And as mentioned, make sure you have a balanced list of reach, match and safety schools.
@habesha98 Whether colleges will take your freshman grades into consideration depends on the college so look at the policies of the schools you intend to apply to. Regarding the grades issue: those Bs won’t look good to the unis you plan to apply to since most applicants will apply with straight A/A* but there isn’t anything you can do about it now. So focus on acing your final IGCSE exams - they’ll be of more importance than internal grades and do aim for mostly As as applicants that did I/GCSE will apply with all/mostly As. It isn’t all too hard - I did my IGCSE (CIE) exams last year so if you need/want advice or help, PM me.
People from my school that applied to the ivies and other top 20 colleges generally had predicted scores between 38-42. Most of the top uni’s admission officers that I talked to during university fairs also said that look for IB grades in the 38-42/42 range (semester and predicted grades) but if your grades are slightly below that you still have a chance since they’ll review your application holistically.
