Retaking 2 years at HS

Applying to College
1

Hey, wassup guys? I’m an international student from Kazakhstan, and I want to know more about the state of my university application right now.

As I introduced myself before, I am a student from Kazakhstan (11 grade). There is a thing about schools in Kazakhstan, we graduate from school in 11th grade, so I applied to some college in the US (major: aerospace engineering) and I was accepted to WPI (presidential scholarship) and UCincinnati. The issue of mine is that I am still not ready to study at the US university, because of the differences between American and Kazakh educational system (which is not that great) so as a result, I applied to a top BS (somewhere in the top 20s in the US) and was accepted. Aside from getting used to American educational system, I also want to make better my SAT results, fill up my extracurriculars and etc. Therefore, I decided to defer my WPI and UCinn invitations, and to apply to top engineering schools, as I graduate from my BS. So, my question is “Would it hurt my application to top schools, if retook 2 years at BS?” Thank you very much

2

No. And your header is misleading. Regardless of what the educational system is in Kazakhstan, you are only retaking 11th grade, and then taking 12th grade for the first time.

It is very common for students attending a US boarding school to repeat a year. No AO will blink twice. Good luck.

3

If WPI and UCinncinnati gave you full admission now, they believe you can succeed in their programs. They do not admit students who they don’t think are ready. You should start at one of those places this fall.

If you think your English is not good enough, enroll in an intensive English class this summer.

It is silly to pay for two extra years of boarding school and to delay the completion of your college degree when you have been accepted already to programs for your major.

4

Go to the boarding school, learn the way US education works, enjoy the camaraderie, get immersed in American culture.
What you’ll be doing is actually very common for boarding school students transferring in and no college adcom would even question it.