Should I re-take my AS level exams (11th grade) to improve my grades or just focus on my upcoming SAT examAnswered
I gave my AS level (11th grade) and got A, B, C, C, marks. I am afraid that this would decrease my chances of getting into a good college. I have two options. Either to re-take my exams, increase my GPA, whose results would come in January and I would have to apply late to the colleges. Second option is, just to focus on my SAT exam, and score good. Does a good SAT score compensate for low GPA. What do I do? What can I do to in these last months to increase my chance of getting into a good US college with 100% scholarship
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2 answers
You are in a pickle because if you want a 100% scholarship or close to one, there are not very many American colleges you can apply to begin with. And let's make sure we are on the same page about what your expectations are. You want a fully funded or as near as a fully funded scholarship to attend an American University.
The pickle is that most colleges that would consider nearly funded scholarships are extremely difficult to get into. These are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Amherst, Cornell, Duke, Columbia, Haverford, Wellesley (women's college), Wesleyan, Washington & Lee for example. These have an admit rate of 3-10% for the most part. The Ivies are about 3 times harder to get into than Oxford or Cambridge.
Grades and GPA trump Test Scores so a high SAT score will never make up for a lower GPA. By the same token, a high SAT augments a high GPA so having one can't hurt you in the least.
I think your only option to improve your odds of getting to top American colleges is to have better grades and AS Level test scores. The Bs and Cs are not going to make the cut at top colleges, nor would they in the UK either. So think of this, the same sort of applicants that get into Oxford and Cambridge get into Ivys and Elites in the US. And only top schools with lots of endowment capital can afford to give generous financial aid to international students. And that list is probably less than 25 schools out of 4300 American Colleges. A non-American applicant doesn't qualify for US Federal or State grants, work-study programs, and other types of aid so it costs US colleges about $60,000 more per student to fund them than an American student. This is the main reason why 100% full ride is really a wive's tale for the most part. If you can get 80-85% of your costs covered through institutional grants you are doing great as an Int'l student.
Good luck.
I agree with the previous answer, though I'd to propose another route you could take to meet your goals. If financial aid is your main concern, then you can apply to these schools that meet 100% of demonstrated financial need and these schools that give out the most merit aid. Though a lot of them are the most competitive schools in the US, some of them have average acceptance rates as high as 40%. I recommend focusing on applying to these less competitive schools after you work on your GPA and take the SAT. Hope this helps!
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That's a very honest and thoughtful response. I appreciate it. Do you think applying late and improving my gpa will increase my chances of getting in.