<p>My name is Moritz and I am an international transfer applicant from Vienna, Austria. My wish is to transfer to a top school in the US ( Fall 2015).</p>
<p>After one full year of study I received 29 credits with a GPA of 3.96. ( I’am attending Webster University Vienna which is an US institution with its main campus in St. Louis Missouri)</p>
<p>I do know that the top institutions in this country expect 2200+ on the SAT. However such tests are absolutely not common in my country and I am not sure if they would expect the same scores from students like me. </p>
<p>I went to an normal Austrian “Gymnasium” ( I don’t know how that compares to an US high-school) and I am the only one in my family who speaks English. ( I am an first gen. student as well) –> I just wanted to add that to give ore information about me. I don’t want to make any excuses by writing that.</p>
<p>Am I wrong or would it be a little unfair to expect the same results from me as they do from kids who get prepared for it during high school?</p>
<p>I hope you guys can help me out a little bit.</p>
The SAT is an aptitude test. Excluding the subset of overachievers on college confidential, many students don’t prep for the SAT, and it is certainly not a part of the high school curriculum in the vast majority of schools.</p>
<p>To answer your first question, colleges will expect you to score similarly to U.S. applicants; you get no break on your SAT for being an international student. </p>
<p>@skieurope I don’t think that colleges expect intl to score similarly to U.S applicants! If you are an intl and if you want to apply for fin aids, then they expect you to score HIGHER!
For instance, in my country the avarage SAT score if you want to think of applying is literally 2100. Unless you score above that, you are home counting stars. lol just saying’</p>
<p>@skieurope - “The SAT is an aptitude test.”</p>
<p>Nope.</p>
<p>“The name originally stood for “Scholastic Aptitude Test”.[59] But in 1990, because of uncertainty about the SAT’s ability to function as an intelligence test, the name was changed to Scholastic Assessment Test. In 1993 the name was changed to SAT I: Reasoning Test (with the letters not standing for anything) to distinguish it from the SAT II: Subject Tests.[59]”</p>
<p>You have come to the right place for getting a bit of help. Here you will find plenty of tips to prepare for the SAT. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>You should not make excuses for your writing. It is very clear. In fact, you might have the advantage of not having to forget the many wrong approaches taught in your typical US school. You also should reward the fruits of a more pragmatic yet deeper education in Europe. You should not have to learn to think or reason as it should be in a natural extension of your education. </p></li>
<li><p>The preparation to the US test requires a different approach, and there are no secrets. You need to practice and build blocks of confidence and knowledge. Some need a lot of practice. Others very little. Arm yourself with what we call the Blue Book or scout the threads for links of existing released tests. For instance, in the stickied threads about Math problems, a student posted several links to older official tests. You should be able to acquire many of them. You do need such tests for your preparation. If you have to pick one book to help, order the Black Book via Amazon. It is not too expensive. </p></li>
<li><p>Venture away from this forum and check the transfer forum. It is really different from the regular admissions. Financial aid is a lot more problematic. Fwiw, you might consider finishing your third year, and if your school is on the Bologna schedule, you might be able to apply to US graduate schools instead of an UG transfer. This might, in fact, shave a full year towards a Master’s degree as it will be a 3+1. Of course, that might not work if Webster Vienna is a non-recognized program in Europe. Could you transfer to a Vienna university to complete the third year of your Bachelor degree? </p></li>
<li><p>We all are envious of being able to have a great coffee with a Sacher tart! </p></li>
</ol>
<p>@marvin100 – Reasonable people can debate that either way. However, as skieurope said “it is certainly not a part of the high school curriculum in the vast majority of schools.”</p>
Thanks for all the answers! By now I have successfully submitted all my transfer applications! I am amazed by how helpful everyone here is! I really appreciate it
