<p>I’m a Norwegian girl with strong academic qualifications (pretty sure I’ll get a 4.0 GPA and 2000+ on the SAT), but my ECs I’m not so confident about.</p>
<p>Norway is very different from America when it comes to sports and students involvement with the school’s community in general. I climb a lot, but not for any school team. I draw too, but nothing “organised”, just by myself. I am extremely interested in philosophy, but I’m not a member of any clubs or teams. I haven’t won any awards or honours either. I am extremely passionate about the things that I do next to school - but I have no way of “proving” this to the admission office.
How badly will this reflect on my application (Brown, Stanford, Uni og Chicago), and what should I do about it? Any tips or personal experience with this?</p>
<p>I don’t want to ruin your dream, but your chances are almost close to zero. </p>
<p>While extracurricular activities don’t always mean being members of clubs or such things, but you need something that strongly shows your particular interests. For example, you can submit any kids of VERY IMPRESSIVE art pieces you made to colleges(if they allowed). It will have to be masterpieces, though. Simple drawings won’t do. </p>
<p>If you don’t have such things, then it will be quite detrimental; Being an international student already sets a bar higher, so highly selective schools like Ivy leagues or such school will expect something that’s far, far more impressive than other students. They already have many qualifying candidates, so they don’t have reason to accept you if you don’t stand out. As you said you haven’t won any awards or honours, any have no way of ‘proving’ your passions,
it will be virtually impossible for you to get in those school.</p>
<p>Just let you know, there will be many people who both submit the art supplement AND have competed and won the art competition, if that 's what you are studying for…</p>
<p>I hate to be discouraging as well, but 90% of the applicants to the top universities have outstanding grades and test scores. Only a fraction of them can be admitted, which is why extracurricular activities are so important. All of the international students I have personally met at the top universities had something else going for them besides their high school transcript: some were competitive athletes, many had won national or international academic competitions, some were politically active, some were from extremely wealthy or politically powerful families. </p>
<p>That being said, the lower Ivies (esp Cornell) have a reputation for setting the bar for admission much lower for full-paying international applicants than aid-seeking applicants. If you can pay your way, you might realistically get an acceptance somewhere. </p>
<p>YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD SUBMIT AN ART SUPPLEMENT. THAT DRAWING WAS BEAUTIFUL. As others have said, it’s going to be very hard, but you don’t necessarily have to show your passions through awards. For example, supplemental materials and essays can make up for that. Unfortunately, you’re an international student, which only makes your case worse, but you should still apply. You never know :D!</p>
<p>The most important elements for the top schools are transcript, letters of recommendation, and essays. EC’s and test scores are below that (although test scores usually match GPA fairly closely). The top schools will also be well aware that many foreign schools don’t offer built in EC’s.</p>
<p>Did you take the hardest possible courses in your school? What will your LOR writers say about you?</p>
<p>@vildeung Please do not be discouraged by what other people, like Paul, say. You must realize that extracurriculars are not only things you do in school, but also certain hobbies you enjoy and have a commitment to. From what I understand, you put a lot of effort into your artwork, judging by that beautiful drawing, and you mentioned you climb as well. If you feel you are dedicated to those activities, do not hesitate to include them in the Extracurriculars section of the common application. Also, if you explain your situation in your application , colleges are likely to understand. However, one thing consider. SAT scores of 2000 are not considered exceptional by admissions officers to elite schools. However, with a little practice, I am sure you can bring that up. Good luck with your college application!</p>
<p>It is also an important to note that colleges are stricter on international students, but if you work hard, you never know! </p>
<p>Seriously, as a prospective international student, I think you should just apply. Extracurriculars can be anything you enjoy doing that is separate from your academic work, so maybe just list the activities and number of hours per week in the common app. Submit your art supplement and make sure to bring out your passion in the essays. Add maybe a few safety schools to your application if you intend to go to the U.S for college.</p>
<p>Colleges look at your ECs in the context of your country, so if Norway/your school does not offer much opportunities, then obviously you will be judged accordingly. Don’t be disheartened by the American ECs, as they are endless chances in US high schools </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who replied.
Perhaps I did myself some discredit. I am the leader and founder of our schools drawing club. Though not academically prestigious I did arrange for the drawing club to be able to attend university croquis lessons, and when I was an exchange student last year in New Zealand my work was exhibited at the school.
I was a semi-finalist for the philosophy national championship, and I am a leader of a independently organized philosophy book club.
I am also a substitute teacher for children at my local climbing gym.
Any of the aforementioned things I should include in my application?</p>
<p>As explicitly stated in (certain Ivies’) admissions brochures, your counselor report is a good platform to explain the differences in educational systems - as in the lack of ECs in your homeland (and the Ivies probably know about it well), so don’t worry. You still have a lot of factors for them to consider, such as internal grades, essays, recs, pay status etc</p>
<p>Are you a junior or a senior? What’s your parents’ budget?
The issue here is that any Top 25 university or LAC will likely take just ONE student from Norway.
Odds are about even it’ll be you. But since international students applying to the Ivy League (and similarly selective colleges) have odds of about 1-3%, depending on whether the process is need aware or not, you see that your odds aren’t high at all.
Keep in mind that there are 3,700 universities in the US. Any college within the top 380 or so will be a good college. You’ll have Honors Programs from public universities and schools that fit your profile better - in your case for instance, interest in philosophy and art would suggest UChicago, certainly, but also Reed, William&Mary, or Haverford; some of the women’s colleges but most especially Wellesley and Barnard; easier to access yet “intellectual” schools like Ohio Wesleyan, NCF, or Wooster; “quirky”/“artsy” schools like Bard, Hampshire, Hendrix; philosophy powerhouses like Rutgers (if you can get into the Honors College), Rice, or NYU not to mention Amherst, Kenyon, or Wesleyan.
For Philosophy I’d actually recommend the LAC experience since you’ll be reading/discussing texts very intensely - and that’s not something you’d be able to do in Norway.</p>
