What are my chances as an international student?Answered
So, I was wondering, Is having a bunch of extracurriculars and a good GPA really important when applying to Brown? Can I still apply for a scientific major even if I didn't take math in junior year? Do I have any chances even though It's a completely different system?
Hi! I'm Brazilian, French and American, currently living in Paris, and I was looking at american universities I could apply to. Brown is probably my first choice, but I have no Idea if I'm a good fit or if I have the grades to get in. I never took the SATs or the ACTs, and I tried to convert my french grades (which are out of 20) into a GPA but I have no Idea if it's right. AP or Honors classes don't exist here neither and very few people have extracurricular activities because the school schedules are extremely heavy. I didn't choose maths but I realized I may need it so I may take on complementary maths next year.
Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from any of you soon!
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1 answer
Hi @ccrht.
Brown University is a great school and a great choice. Brown will remain test-optional for Fall 2022 as well I believe, which means you would be eligible to apply for the next term. However, do confirm with them about their standardised testing policies for Fall 2022.
I do not think you should convert your grades into American GPA system. Being an International student myself, this is something I too have an experience with. The top schools prefer to read an international application with the grades from that particular education system. Moreover, you may be disadvantaged if you convert them.
The universities in the US do understand that AP or Honours classes aren't popular around the world. On the contrary, my high schools in the US do provide AP classes to their students. For Brown though, AP classes do help but they are not required. In place of AP classes, you probably can try for certain exams that have national recognition in France.
The problem with Mathematics is a rather peculiar one. I am not the best person to answer this part of your question. Contact the university for this. The admissions counsellor would be the best person to look into it.
However, if you are able to demonstrate how much you want to pursue a particular major but are unable to do so because of Mathematics, the college might aske you to take a few math classes before you actually start college so as to ensure that you have the bare minimum knowledge before you start college level Math. This too, however, varies from college to college.
Hope it helps.
Have a good day !
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I missed about the Extracurriculars. They are extremely important. Besides that, you can have an edge if you have been involved in any type of Community service. Remember, from your test scores to extracurriculars, everything is important since the colleges review applications holistically. Don't be disheartened in case you don't have plenty of them though. You still have time to enhance your application. Put more emphasis on your test scores to make up for extracurriculars.