<p>Hi, I’m a freaked international student who currently resides in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.</p>
<p>I currently attend one of the top schools in the country, although I can’t compare it to any US institutions since I’ve been here for about 10 years (yes, 10 years.).</p>
<p>My unweighted GPA is about 3.8 and I got about 2030 in SAT.</p>
<p>EC? Well, I speak 5 different languages, which are Italian, Spanish, French, Korean, and English. I DO have certificates to prove that I can speak these languages (one certificate A2 for French, one from Italian language institution, 800 Korean SAT II, and another certificate for DELE Spanish Medium, from Instituto Cervantes, Spain.) Also, I’m not lying.</p>
<p>For instance, my school is bilingual (Spanish and English) and I’ve had teachers from France (6 years French is obligatory) and I’ve had about 2 years of intense training at Alliance Fran</p>
<p>Your GPA and SAT are both good. Your SAT may not be high enough for the top few colleges, but it is good for the majority.</p>
<p>Speaking five languages is very impressive, though I don’t know what bearing it would have on college admissions.</p>
<p>What do you want to study (or do you not know yet)? Where would you like to be, geographically? Would you prefer an urban, rural, or suburban campus? Do you need financial aid?</p>
<p>I’m definitely going to study neuroscience and I don’t really care where the university or how bit it is as long it is academically challenging.</p>
<p>As for financial aid, I would really prefer having them, but if a great university accepts me but cannot offer any, I can try getting scholarship in my second year, can’t I? -I say this because my brother had been able to do this and was granted scholarship that covered about half of the total tuition.</p>
<p>And I really hope colleges do take languages into consideration, because they are my fortes (almost my only forte…).</p>
<p>I just ran it for you based on what you said (you didn’t narrow it down a lot). A couple schools for you to look into: University of Southern California, Brandeis University, Oberlin College, Barnard College, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Johns Hopkins. Actually, you should run it yourself, because there are a lot more than I want to write. However, I just put in Major: Neuroscience (must have), 4-year college (must have), 3.8 GPA and 2030 SAT (very important). You can narrow it down more. Also, if you want to have a better chance of getting into some of the above universities, you may want to retake the SAT and try to improve your score, or try the ACT.</p>
<p>You’ll need to look into financial aid, since not all schools offer financial aid to international students.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for your help. I’ve looked through them (not difficult, since I’ve done this before…). But say… do I have ANY chance getting into IVY league schools? (dada-! The big question)</p>
<p>I suppose you could have a chance, though I cannot predict your results in the least. You would likely need to raise your SAT score considerably.</p>
<p>However, why do you want to go to an “Ivy League” school, just in general? Naturally, every one of them is a great school, but there are many other great schools, too. Each Ivy League school is distinct from each other, and it is extremely unlikely that every one would be a proper fit for you.</p>
<p>It depends on whether the “personal pleasure” you refer to with respect to the violin was your pleasure alone, or pleasing to others.</p>
<p>Seriously - if I were on an admissions committee, I would want you to come to my school. (The fact that I’ve been playing the violin for 43 years, both for my pleasure and, I like to think, for the pleasure of others, has little to do with this conclusion.)</p>
<p>Actually, I wanted to know what was my level; I’m not obsessed about Ivy league schools. Since I was not familiar with many universities in US, this is a way to measure myself. And yes, I’m aware that there are MANY great universities that does not form a part of IVY league.</p>
<p>Greybeard - I’ve been playing violin in my church about 3 years, so I’m pretty sure that my violin’s sound is at least pleasing to others. However, my skills are no where near the serious violin students. And thank you for wanting(?) me :)</p>
<p>Redroses - Thanks! I was totally unaware of this fact. Then I guess I’ll definitely need a scholarship, since my brother transferred to another university - without a financial aid.</p>
<p>That will likely determine where you should apply.</p>
<p>Will you be taking the SAT again? How about the ACT?</p>
<p>If you get your scores up, some schools might give you a scholarship as an incoming freshmen. Once you’re in college, it’s almost impossible to get big scholarships.</p>
<p>My parents will be able to pay about 45k or so for my college. If it’s really impossible to get into a good college with scholarship, then I’ll just ship off my brother off to Korea (1 years and so of military service is obligatory in my native country)! …Just kidding (although it’s definitely an option :P).</p>
<p>I’ll retake the SAT again, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get my scores much higher… I’ve never considered ACT, and I don’t think I’ll ever reconsider, since I took most science classes in Spanish (my school is bilingual).</p>
<p>…Is speaking foreign languages considered as extracurricular activity (since I took language classes outside the classroom) or talent? And also, do you think that this will make me look “special”? I don’t really know, since most of my friends speak 3 languages or more.</p>
<p>It sounds like your family’s income/assets are too high for financial aid, however, there are some mid-tiers that might give you a scholarship to cover some costs.</p>
<p>The science section of the ACT is not “science”. It’s looking at charts and answering questions.</p>
<p>You should take it once just to see if you do better on it.</p>
<p>*
I’m definitely going to study neuroscience *</p>
<p>Is your intent to go into research or to become a physician? Is neuroscience often a graduate degree? Do students often major in Bio or Chem as undergrads and then specialize in neuroscience as grad students? Just wondering. </p>
<p>Since your stats aren’t ivy/elite, I don’t think you have to worry much about ECs and such. Many non-elites mostly admit by stats and your stats would be ok for many of them.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids, thanks for your reply. Although my parents will be able to pay it, it will be much strain on them and I’m sure that they are exaggerating a bit. I don’t need a full scholarship, but I’ll need at least $10,000 to go to a college.</p>
<p>I’m thinking to major in Neuroscience and go to a medical school after. I don’t want to major in Biology or Chemistry because I’ve much more interest in human mind and nervous system and because Neuroscience shares some of the pre-med requirements, unlike Psychology.</p>
<p>I’ve been looking for universities, and I’ve found a few that catches my interest. Will you guys help me to see if I’ll be able to get into these?
Knox College
Boston University
Vassar College
Hamilton College
Bates College
Brandeis University
Franklin & Marshall College
Washington University in St. Louis</p>
<p>I haven’t worked in eliminating them.</p>
<p>My cousin, who graduated from Princeton (graduate school) and others (graduated from Davidson), said I had high chance of all these universities. Although, looking at all those posts in collegeconfidential, I’m not so sure…</p>