<p>You may be surprised that admissions officers tasked with international students may be familiar with your school…or an association that it belongs to from which an admissions officer can get a trusted run-down on what your school offers. Grades are often translated into a U.S. GPA scale if your school doesn’t do that. Some colleges hire transcript evaluation services that interpret your grades for the college in terms that they can use. Getting a handle on your grades is a different process from how they go about that for most of the applicants (U.S.-schooled), but it’s not bizarre or beyond their abilities. They do it every year. It’s just less common – though it may be old hat for the “international” reader on the admissions committee whose job is to make sense of the transcripts of overseas-educated applicants.</p>
<p>As far as testing goes, you should plan to take both the ACT and SAT tests. Depending on which colleges you’re looking at, set aside a time and test dates for the SAT-2/Subject tests that some colleges require (particularly if you don’t take or submit your ACT scores). The ACT and SAT are separate companies. So, by taking both, you will hopefully have two sets of competitive scores from separate entities…which could help overcome any disadvantage attached to your unfamiliar high school (if, in fact, it is unfamiliar to the admissions committees). If you bomb on the ACT, send your SAT score. And (generally speaking) vice-versa. Of course what you’re shooting for are two sets of similar and competitive scores.</p>
<p>Also, take the SAT-2 exams to create yet another benchmark against the broader applicant pool. Consider doing this even though they may not be required for any of your colleges. (Be advised: In some cases, if you submit SAT-2 exams to a college, they will want you to send all of your SAT scores as well. And if you send in SAT exams, they’ll insist you also send all of your SAT-2 scores. You have to check each college’s specific standardized testing requirements. If they do NOT accept/recognize “Score Choice” that means you’ll probably have to send all of your SAT and SAT-2 scores if you send one or the other.)</p>
<p>You can look up your high school and the testing centers near your residence on the web sites for the ACT and SAT:</p>
<p>[ACT</a>, Inc. : A Student Site for ACT Test Takers](<a href=“http://www.actstudent.org%5DACT”>http://www.actstudent.org)</p>
<p>[College</a> Admissions - SAT - University & College Search Tool](<a href=“http://www.collegeboard.org%5DCollege”>http://www.collegeboard.org)</p>
<p>Not all testing centers offer all tests at every regularly scheduled sitting, so pay attention to which dates you can take the exams you wish to take. You can take up to 3 SAT-2 tests in one sitting. You cannot take the SAT and SAT-2 tests on the same test date. You may need to travel overnight to a test center, so be prepared for that and communicate with the test center (usually a high school) that you’re planning to come from afar and they will generally help you find a hotel, make sure you’re directed to the correct entrance, etc. – all the little details that you don’t want to be sweating and/or first discovering on exam day.</p>
<p>Do not shy away from the standardized testing obligations because you live abroad. If anything, you need to embrace them because – if you prepare for these tests – they can be key to removing misgivings/doubts, etc. that an admissions committee may have about your high school preparation.</p>