Where do I go from here?

International Students
1

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>Let me explain my situation.
I’m a Dutch student, and I’m now 21 years old, and for the past 2 years I’ve been going to Art school.
The reason I went to Art school (I don’t know what it would be called in the US, but it’s a college in the Netherlands) is basically, because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.
Before Art school, I attended one of the most prestigious highschools in the countries. I was during almost the entire 6 years, very unmotivated and didn’t do very much. Even though I didn’t do much, I still had a 7.7 avarage for my “end exam”. (I don’t know what the american equivalent score would be, but Oxford asks for an 8 avarage for most of their undergraduate courses). I got the 7.7 even though I practically didn’t do much work until something like the last two months before the test.
That was who I was 2 years ago.
I have completely changed since then.
I now dropped out of Art school, because I am not fulfilling my ambitions or following my interests there.
Over the last two years I’ve developed a very strong interest in Economics and political science. I’ve become very ambitious, motivated and disciplined. I know for sure, that if I we’re as motivated in highschool as I am now, I would have easily got a 9 avarage, which is very high.
Now, I had intended a while ago to apply for Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford, but the application dates had passed. I will still apply for next year, but right now I will have to attend another college/university.</p>

<p>The problem is, that my grades are not good enough for the top universities, but I believe that those grades don’t represent my actual abilities right now.
My question is a bit general, so I hope that won’t be a problem.
If I want to go to a top university, perhaps one in the United States, what should I do right now? Would it be a good idea to attend a liberal arts college in the netherlands majro in social sciences and specialize in Economics/politicical science/international relations, and move on from there? Or would it be better to try to re-do the end exam (which is possible for a fee of about 600 euro’s), get a really good avarage, and use that to apply to Oxford and others? That would take another whole year, and I am already 21…
I know that my questions are a bit open ended, but I hope someone might give me some advice as to what to do in my situation.</p>

<p>Thank you very much!</p>

2

<p>“Would it be a good idea to attend a liberal arts college in the netherlands majro in social sciences and specialize in Economics/politicical science/international relations, and move on from there? Or would it be better to try to re-do the end exam (which is possible for a fee of about 600 euro’s), get a really good avarage, and use that to apply to Oxford and others? That would take another whole year, and I am already 21…”</p>

<p>I’m so sorry to say but you actually answered your question yourself!
if I were you I would do just that, move on from there and pursue a masters degree in the US.
If you believed your outlook in life has changed, it’s not too late to be successful in life, sometimes we need to learn from our mistakes!
But if you decide to re-do your exams and start all over again, it’s another gamble!
Just my opinion…</p>

3

<p>Most universities will take a qualified mature student</p>