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hey guys
im new to this forum and looking at others makes me depressed(b/c of SAT scores and activities)
anyway, i now senior and im starting to think about admission to colleges.
first here is the stats

immigranted from korea at second semester of junior year
currently senior

SAT1:
1290(retaking in Oct for 1350+)
SAT2:
800 Math IIC
720 Chem
going to take writing in Nov

never taken TOEFL(thinking about taking it)

im not sure about the GPA and how it works but i got all A's except 1-3 B's and i think it was between 3.5 - 3.75 in unweighted for each years i gotta check
i took some AP courses at the beginning of school because i learned some english when i was in korea and lived in Thailand(5 yrs)

Junior 2nd semester
AP USHIS B
AP Chem A
Choir A
PreAP TRIG A
PreAP English A
Oklahoma His A(yes i live in Oklahoma)


Senior year
AP Gov
AP Calc BC
AP Lit
AP Biology
Choir
Deutch I (for foreign language)
US His(couldn't take AP b/c it wasn't available and is required)
Humanities
-german club member
-multicultural club member
-thinking of taking some more

In Korea i was president in Choir and was Conduitor for school assembly, been into several clubs such as
table tennis club and movie club

Volunteers
-Pearl s. Buck Korea 'Youth Camp' Helper
-Church volunteer (Choir & Youth Camp helper/co-teacher)

Awards
-Academic Achievement honor (Korea)
-School Athletic Competition 2nd in wrestling

Didn't take any AP tests but willing to take in end of Senior year

Colleges in mind
(i do want to go for colleges that are well known in engineering as well as science b/c im thinking about majoring in medical or computer related)

Carnegie Mellon U
Cornell U
Georgia Tech
Johns Hopkins U
Northwestern U IL
Rice U
U Calif Los Angeles
U Chicago
U Oklahoma
U Pennsylvania
U Virginia
U Washington

And finally questions.
Do i have problems in SAT scores?
do you guys think i need more volunteer or club?
Being an Immigrant helps you alot in admission?
Do i need to take TOEFL? Is it required?
Does activities that i did in Korea counted for admission?
suggestions on other colleges will be great.

Anyway im not sure how i might end up
Im pretty sure that OU has great chance to get in but thats it
please any advice will help. thanks.

By Rladbsgh (Rladbsgh) on Sunday, October 03, 2004 - 03:37 pm: Edit

bump

By Rladbsgh (Rladbsgh) on Sunday, October 03, 2004 - 11:12 pm: Edit

please guys help me

By Rladbsgh (Rladbsgh) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 11:37 pm: Edit

bump

By Icemaker (Icemaker) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 12:55 am: Edit

I think that you should add University of Wisconsin and University of Michigan. Both have strong engineering and science programs. Furthermore, I think that they may be a better fit than some of the schools you listed regarding admissions. Good luck.

By Kfc4u (Kfc4u) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 04:21 am: Edit

"Do i have problems in SAT scores?"
You may want to increase your score a little bit if you are aiming for a good school. But because you are an immigrant, some of the really good schools may give you a break on the 1290

"do you guys think i need more volunteer or club?"
Since you are a senior already, it would be too late to add new activities on. What you should do is put emphasis on the activities that you are already involved in... maybe write about a volunteer experience in an essay.

"Being an Immigrant helps you alot in admission?"
It could. I know one of my immigrant friends who is smart but isn't a genius got into Caltech.

"Does activities that i did in Korea counted for admission?"
You could bring them up in your admissions essays. Definately talk about them if they are important and make you stand out. If you did an activity during high school, it doesn't matter where you did it... its about WHAT you did.


side note: UCLA may be tough to get in because you are out-of-state.

By Glas989 (Glas989) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 06:02 am: Edit

Your SAT score will hurt you in some of the schools in your list.

do you guys think i need more volunteer or club?

No. Don't stress over those guys who have a laundry list of activities. Colleges want you to be involved in the things you like. Not be in 26 activities you don't enjoy just to "dress up" your resume.

Being an Immigrant helps you alot in admission?

Not alot.

Do i need to take TOEFL? Is it required?

If English isn't your native language.

Does activities that i did in Korea counted for admission?

Why not?

Other schools to consider:

Duke University
Vanderbilt University
Emory University
Purdue University(West Lafayette) ((I'd say good chance for this one; even with current SAT. Consider this safety school?))
University of Illinois(Urbana-Champaign)

By Bobhelping (Bobhelping) on Monday, October 11, 2004 - 09:51 am: Edit

English is my second language as well, but I've been here since second grade. I got a 690 on my PSAT's and a sophomore, and hope to increase it to around the 730-50 range when I take the SAT. How is it justified that I still have to take TOEFL?