<p>Hi, I’m a junior who went to the US last year. Because my register made me retake many courses I already took, I couldn’t take as many APs as I wanted. Also, my register “un”-weighted all my foreign grades, making them “non” honors (although the level surpassed by far AP classes here).</p>
<p>If this didn’t happen, I could easily be valedictorian. But it happened, and now, the best I can do is be barely top 20%.</p>
<p>What’s my best way to maximize my chances, despite my weak ECs (I am foreign/non-native speaker), and class rank, if I plan to apply to top engineering schools like UT austin, Berkeley, Cornell, Caltech?</p>
<p>Thanks for reading. I am open to any suggestions/insights.</p>
<p>-Watson&Crick</p>
<p>well, your classes taken HERE should be on their OWN transcript, not blended with your current schools, i have never heard of that</p>
<p>So, get a copy of your transcript from the American school, and have them send it DIRECTLY to the colleges you are applying to</p>
<p>One school can’t just willy nilly change the courses taken at another school, that is basically fraud I would guess- because they could just as easily change the grades to higher, etc</p>
<p>Also, on ALL your applications, include in the “explain some special circumstances” section</p>
<p>Andi f your school is a tough as you say, the colleges will know that</p>
<p>“Andi f your school is a tough as you say”
I don’t know if it’s famous, but I’ve seen IB seniors getting into Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard and Stanford (BTW, it’s an international school)</p>
<p>“well, your classes taken HERE should be on their OWN transcript, not blended with your current schools, i have never heard of that”</p>
<p>I asked an admission officer of UT austin, and he said that my register has TOTAL control over how to interpret my courses, meaning, that they won’t care to even look at my translated foreign transcript. I know another Chinese girl making 99 in Calculus BC, yet according to my register, she made straight C’s/D’s in her chinese math classes (she got 800 on SAT math). It’s just that foreign schools tend to be very grade deflated.</p>
<p>Also, do you know which schools don’t care about 9th grade transcript? Because if so, my GPA would go from 4.35W to 4.6-4.75 W.</p>
<p>my point is they can INTERPRET it for their own needs, but can’t CHANGE your grades on another schools transpcript, so you should get TWO transcripts</p>
<p>are you in school in America still></p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification.</p>
<p>yep, I’m still in a US high school.</p>
<p>Of course, I still have kept the foreign transcripts from 9th grade unmolested. However, the admission officer told me that he doesn’t care what foreign transcript I have, the only that is considered is what the register has interpreted and put into my official transcript (therefore I will have a bad 9th grade record that my register interpreted, although I studied in the US only in 10th and 11th grade)</p>
<p>And the problem lies more on whether or not my foreign grades should be weighted rather than the grades themselves, which, my register curved reasonably (as opposed to the chinese girl). Even with straight A’s, my weighted GPA therefore suffers.</p>
<p>What should I do? I kind of stressing out since admission will be even tougher next year, especially if your transcript does not reflect your ability.</p>