Nervous International Homeschooled Student

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>I’m a homeschooled high school junior from Nigeria.</p>

<p>I did the SAT 1 for the first time on Dec 3rd 2011 and got:
750CR
680W (Annoyed me because I got 2 wrong altogether but my essay sucked)
630M (I kinda deserved that)</p>

<p>I did the IGCSE’s in May last year (9 subjects) and I got:
English A*
Biology A*
Business Studies A
Physics A
French A
Geography B
Chemistry B
And maths and futher maths scores that I wouldn’t like to mention. I passed all of my subjects [except the math ones] with distinction.</p>

<p>Just took 2 SAT II on January 28 : Math I and Literature
I plan on taking retaking the SAT 1, taking Math II, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, French later in the year</p>

<p>My transcripts are good (mostly A’s, one or 2 B’s in the maths) and I take a buttload of advanced courses.</p>

<p>I plan on studying Molecular Biology or just plain Biology</p>

<p>In terms of extra-curriculars, I tutor students at the weekends and I volunteer at a non profit library.</p>

<p>I have interned at a start-up technology firm, and I have also held summer jobs at bookshops and schools.</p>

<p>Sports: I play basketball and I am an avid swimmer.</p>

<p>Financial aid is a major necessity. I am also looking at the six schools that are full need/need blind.</p>

<p>What would my chances be for Amherst, Williams, Bucknell, and Vassar?</p>

<p>Which schools would you recommend that I apply to (I don’t particularly trust satscores.us)?</p>

<p>I’m not sure I’ll be able to chance anybody back, because I’m not sure of the criteria.</p>

2

<p>For Amherst and Williams, you probably need a higher SAT score but you’re already planning on doing that so that should be fine. In regards to SATII, I wouldn’t be surprised to find them asking for near 800 scores. Why don’t you want to mention your math scores? You have to give those up for admission so why not state them for us to tell you how it is? Anyway, just like Oxbridge, you’ll need several more A* as opposed to what you currently have. To be fair, in general you should achieve better grades. What type of “advanced” courses are you taking? Are you currently taking A-levels? You probably should expand your ECs to some degree (make sure they’re not just meaningless activities though). If you need FA, I doubt you’ll get into Vassar with your current stats. Doubtful for Williams and Amherst as well, regardless of being need-blind. Don’t know much about Bucknell so I can’t advise you there.</p>

3

<p>Thanks AlexSon, I’ve been really nervous but at least now I know where I start. Math has never been my strong suit, but I’ve consistently taken maths classes and maths exams. It’s not that I don’t know the stuff, its just that I find it hard to apply the concepts in a time constrained-environment like during an exam. But I’m working on it.
Both my IGCSE Maths and Further Maths were C’s. There, I said it :slight_smile:
But seriously, I have been taking extra courses to make sure that my math is ready for college.
I cant officially say AP, because the AP exam is not offered here in Nigeria, so I put advanced instead. I find that I am really interested in biology, and I have already finished the AP biology course. I’m currently doing some courses from the MIT OCW website. As well as “advanced” classes, I am also taking A Level courses which I plan to get tested on. I figure that I’ll get A Level qualifications (not AS) on the subjects that SAT Subject Tests don’t cover. My coursework grades are actually a lot better than these. Its just these are just my exam scores, not the class grades. I carry a steady 3.9 GPA even though I’ve taken on more courses this semester.
I’ll start working on the EC’s. Thanks.</p>