Strict Internal Marking system in Indian Schools

International Students
1

<p>Every Indian relates to this problem: the extremely strict marking system in school. I go to an ISC school and getting a 90% is impossible since such is the internal marking system.</p>

<p>I understand that the teachers do this to prepare us better for the main Board exams but this is a BIG disadvantage to Indians applying abroad since we have to show all our transcripts.</p>

<p>Do admission officers understand this problem? Should it be mentioned by the school counsellor (in most cases the Principal since most Indian schools don’t have counsellors)?
I am particular concerned with Ivy League colleges and have all the more reason to be scared since they are highly selective!! :/</p>

<p>Please share your experiences and any advice that you might have. Any idea how much the Indians who have gotten into the ivies scored in their internal exams?</p>

2

<p>What are your other stats?</p>

<p>I can tell you if they can conpensate for low grades</p>

3

<p>I did CBSE in 9th and 10th. Since it was the new CCE system, I got grade point 10 both the years.
The problem is with 11th grade. For different term exams, my overall percentage is from 87% to 89%. This is mainly due to the strict marking in English in which 75-78 is usually the highest in class</p>

<p>I self-studied 4 APs: Calc BC(5), Macro Econ(5), Micro Econ(4) and Stats(4)
My SAT superscore is 2330 and SAT Math 2 is 800. Writing the other subject SATs this week.</p>

4

<p>Don’t worry Conscience, they are familiar with the marking scheme (believe me, I know) ~ you should flaunt your transcripts proudly and don’t be worried about other students scoring more than you in other boards or non-attending schools with grade inflation, the admissions officers can see through them, you’re not at a disadvantage at all if you’re a good student (rank good and teaches know you as a good student). But if you’re scoring in the 80s and other students ARE scoring in 90s, you’re at a disadvantage because admissions officers will know that it’s not the marking scheme, only you.</p>

5

<p>and Indians who generally get in are straight up big shots, no average students are admitted. By big shots I mean,

  • great SAT and ACT scores
  • great SAT II scores
  • rank among 1% in their states ~ can even be board toppers
  • excellent ECs and leadership abilities, all the teaches and even the principal has good words for them
  • won international Olympiads (or good ranks in them), national level athletes or other outstanding achievements.</p>
6

<p>Thanks Duck007!! :smiley:
I guess they automatically expect a lot from Indian students and thus the need for higher SATs. Since many competitive students do score well, looks like it all comes down to the extra-curriculars.</p>

7

<p>Yup, Indian students are weak in the EC section of the application, but thinking about it , it feels kinda silly to admit students on ECs, after all you go to college for higher education, the only thing that should matter should be ‘gray matter’! I mean look at schools like Cambridge, Oxford and London School of Economics, they only admit scholars and you’re sure to get in if you’ve a certain grade. They’ve also analyzed the education system in each and every country and publish requirements for admissions. For e.g. At U of Cambridge’s website, I was shocked to see that if you have 85% in boards, you’ll be admitted.</p>

8

<p>^Not true about Cambridge. You must sit the STEP (for Math and related majors) or other admissions tests and do well on them to satisfy the offer conditions. And, 85 is only the bare minimum. You have to score quite well to get an offer and get in.</p>

9

<p>yea mathjj, that’s what i meant, they’ll consider you if you have 85% whereas Harvard & others won’t, I’ve never seen anyone get into HYPS with 85%. At least they are not giving out hope in the name of ‘holistic’ admissions.</p>