<p>Im a bulgarian student living is Cyprus, because my father is a diplomat. My family was scheduled to leave Cyprus this year, so I had to apply to colleges allthough Im still a junior. I had a week to prepare for the SAT and got a 1910. Truth is I didnt know anything about this test a week before being told I have to take in order to sutdy in the states. I later took the SAT II with 710 in both Physics and MathI + a 780 in German. I had only a month to study for the SATII and most of the material was completely new to me, since I was just starting my Junior year.</p>
<p>In January my father announced that we will be staying for one more year in Cyprus.
8 months later Im accepted at Kenyon and now have to make a very important decision. Here are my options:
a) Accept their offer and go there with a $44000 scholarship of which $40k is a grant.
b) deffer and go next year so that can complete my secondary education.
c) reject their offer and try again next year in the Ivies
Here are some stats + expected scores on SAT retake</p>
<p>SAT: ~2200
SAT II: Physics:~750; Math: ~800 German: 790 Chemistry ~ 750
TOEFL: 115
GPA: 4.16w
Rank: 1/19 class, 1/210 school
5 A* on my IGCSE exams
4 As in AS-levels
ECs: President of my class,president of my school, writing poetry with stuff published, table tennis champion with my team for my age, teaching math at a private math center; physics club president a school
Hook: Know 5 languages</p>
<p>If you can defer Kenyon and keep your grants, and want to stay in Cyprus for the following year, that’s a good option.</p>
<p>Going this year to Kenyon if you want to (or if you can’t keep the money when you defer) is another good option.</p>
<p>Turning down Kenyon to “try for the Ivies” is not a particularly good option. The Ivies’ admit rates fell drastically this year, and once you’ve made the “this is not a joke” cutoff, your stats don’t matter that much. It is much harder for internationals to get accepted to the Ivies anyway.</p>
<p>Now, if you don’t like Kenyon, and won’t apply there again next year, that’s a different story. But to turn down an excellent school just because you might “do better”, whatever that means, without acknowledging the difficulties for internationals in American college admissions, is IMO foolhardy.</p>
<p>I think you should go to Kenyon. It’s a great institution, and their fin aid package is nothing to scoff at…you’d be very lucky if you get an equivalent package next year. (I’m not trying say that you don’t have the stats to do so, but it’s just that it’s so very hard for internationals to get stunning aid packages like this one)</p>
<p>Thank you for the comments.
I still have the feeling I can do better, meaning a college/uni ranked higher.
I know ranking doesn’t matter and this sounds kinda stupid but I have always been a perfectionist…</p>
<p>Then you have your answer. I don’t agree with you, but if you want to take the risk, go ahead. Just realize that you may be wrong, and be prepared to go nowhere next year.</p>
<p>If you don’t think that you really want to start college for another year, call Kenyon and ask what deferring will do to your financial aid package. If they say that you would still have that kind of money next year, get it in writing before you defer admission.</p>
<p>If you feel ready for college, go to Kenyon. It is a great school. You can be very happy there.</p>