Are these grades good enough to enter a prestigious university in america, e.g MIT
Can I get into a prestigious university, as a international student from the UK with these GCSE grades (I'm in year 11) = 8s in maths,3 separate sciences, and computer science, 7s in English language, physical education, a grade 6 in English literature and geography, and a 3 in French (not sure if I have to mention this). So overall = 5(grade 8s), 2(grade 7s), 2(grade 6s). Are these sufficient enough to get into any American prestigious university offering any sort of scholarship. If I could receive an offer, which university is it most likely be from?
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It is good that you are ambitious, but if you are in year 11 now I would say first get the grades before you know that you can study at a good school! Good luck however. Everything is possible if you have a set of good GCSE, learn what tests you need before studying in America e.g. the SATs admission tests, scholarships etc, I would also ask your schools for programmes such as Sutton trust I think which help u to study in America !
Original post by bejie
It is good that you are ambitious, but if you are in year 11 now I would say first get the grades before you know that you can study at a good school! Good luck however. Everything is possible if you have a set of good GCSE, learn what tests you need before studying in America e.g. the SATs admission tests, scholarships etc, I would also ask your schools for programmes such as Sutton trust I think which help u to study in America !
Thank you!
Yes, you would have to include all GCSEs, no matter the grade.
At this point, just focus on getting the absolute best grades you can and evaluate once you actually get your final grades in August.
However, I will say at this point that a 3, in my opinion, would be a dealbreaker for somewhere like MIT. For US students, generally a C or below is a dealbreaker for somewhere as competitive as MIT, unless there are extreme circumstances surrounding that C and it is an anomoly. And international admissions are even more competitive than domestic admissions. I'm not an admissions officer, but I would guess that a 5 or below is a dealbreaker, unless there are extreme extreme conditions around that 5 and most other grades are 9s.
My advice is, for a chance at MIT (no one can get in on grades alone), get those 8s up to 9s, those 7s up to 8s, those 6s up to 7s, and that 3 up to a 6. There are just so many academically qualified applicants to places like MIT who have almost all 9s and 8s that you just won't be competitive if not.
Good luck!
At this point, just focus on getting the absolute best grades you can and evaluate once you actually get your final grades in August.
However, I will say at this point that a 3, in my opinion, would be a dealbreaker for somewhere like MIT. For US students, generally a C or below is a dealbreaker for somewhere as competitive as MIT, unless there are extreme circumstances surrounding that C and it is an anomoly. And international admissions are even more competitive than domestic admissions. I'm not an admissions officer, but I would guess that a 5 or below is a dealbreaker, unless there are extreme extreme conditions around that 5 and most other grades are 9s.
My advice is, for a chance at MIT (no one can get in on grades alone), get those 8s up to 9s, those 7s up to 8s, those 6s up to 7s, and that 3 up to a 6. There are just so many academically qualified applicants to places like MIT who have almost all 9s and 8s that you just won't be competitive if not.
Good luck!
Original post by Champion122333
Can I get into a prestigious university, as a international student from the UK with these GCSE grades (I'm in year 11) = 8s in maths,3 separate sciences, and computer science, 7s in English language, physical education, a grade 6 in English literature and geography, and a 3 in French (not sure if I have to mention this). So overall = 5(grade 8s), 2(grade 7s), 2(grade 6s). Are these sufficient enough to get into any American prestigious university offering any sort of scholarship. If I could receive an offer, which university is it most likely be from?
Thanks
Thanks
Pretty much what the person above said. You'll need to improve that 3. Also, you can't get in on grades alone. It also depends on your essays, letters of recommendation, and extracurriculars.
Original post by kamara41
Yes, you would have to include all GCSEs, no matter the grade.
At this point, just focus on getting the absolute best grades you can and evaluate once you actually get your final grades in August.
However, I will say at this point that a 3, in my opinion, would be a dealbreaker for somewhere like MIT. For US students, generally a C or below is a dealbreaker for somewhere as competitive as MIT, unless there are extreme circumstances surrounding that C and it is an anomoly. And international admissions are even more competitive than domestic admissions. I'm not an admissions officer, but I would guess that a 5 or below is a dealbreaker, unless there are extreme extreme conditions around that 5 and most other grades are 9s.
My advice is, for a chance at MIT (no one can get in on grades alone), get those 8s up to 9s, those 7s up to 8s, those 6s up to 7s, and that 3 up to a 6. There are just so many academically qualified applicants to places like MIT who have almost all 9s and 8s that you just won't be competitive if not.
Good luck!
At this point, just focus on getting the absolute best grades you can and evaluate once you actually get your final grades in August.
However, I will say at this point that a 3, in my opinion, would be a dealbreaker for somewhere like MIT. For US students, generally a C or below is a dealbreaker for somewhere as competitive as MIT, unless there are extreme circumstances surrounding that C and it is an anomoly. And international admissions are even more competitive than domestic admissions. I'm not an admissions officer, but I would guess that a 5 or below is a dealbreaker, unless there are extreme extreme conditions around that 5 and most other grades are 9s.
My advice is, for a chance at MIT (no one can get in on grades alone), get those 8s up to 9s, those 7s up to 8s, those 6s up to 7s, and that 3 up to a 6. There are just so many academically qualified applicants to places like MIT who have almost all 9s and 8s that you just won't be competitive if not.
Good luck!
I have just received my mock grades back, which are 5 grade 9s including 3 sciences, computer science and Pe gcse, 1 grade 8 in math, a grade 6 in English language, 5 in geography, and 3 in French. The reason why i asked this question is because i am going to apply for an economics, finance or technology course, where all off the subjects i did well in are relevant unlike French etc. Say I applied to columbia nyc, would it be possible to enter with those grades?
Original post by Champion122333
I have just received my mock grades back, which are 5 grade 9s including 3 sciences, computer science and Pe gcse, 1 grade 8 in math, a grade 6 in English language, 5 in geography, and 3 in French. The reason why i asked this question is because i am going to apply for an economics, finance or technology course, where all off the subjects i did well in are relevant unlike French etc. Say I applied to columbia nyc, would it be possible to enter with those grades?
@Champion122333 In the US you don't apply to a course.
They will ask you what your intended so if you put economics then they may pay attention to your maths ability, but all grades will be weighted. To graduate from Columbia, you need to study a foreign language, even if you are majoring in economics. So your ability to study a foreign language will be considered.
Original post by Champion122333
Can I get into a prestigious university, as a international student from the UK with these GCSE grades (I'm in year 11) = 8s in maths,3 separate sciences, and computer science, 7s in English language, physical education, a grade 6 in English literature and geography, and a 3 in French (not sure if I have to mention this). So overall = 5(grade 8s), 2(grade 7s), 2(grade 6s). Are these sufficient enough to get into any American prestigious university offering any sort of scholarship. If I could receive an offer, which university is it most likely be from?
Thanks
Thanks
I'll be honest, no, but that because they are GCSEs and not because of your scores. Grades make up a small fraction of admissions to us unis and GCSEs mean very very very little. A-levels are the school grades they care about but those are still of less significance than SAT score so do well in your GCSEs but know that there is still unfortunately more to come that will be more important.
Why are people talking about grades, when what is really needed is an absolute mountain of money up front? There isn't going to be scholarship at these kind of grades, and it's pretty clear that OP isn't an American Football or Basketball prodigy - so why are we even talking about grades?
What you need is to have a ton of influence on the admissions panel- a parent as an alumnus would be the absolute minimum - a grandparent who has donated several million dollars would be a bonus.
Then, as a foreigner - you are going to need to pay your fees without a loan. We're talking about private schools here, so $60k per year. There's no guarantee of getting out of college in four years. Realistically they are being set up to graduate in six. Bearing in mind that in the US, a bachelors degree doesn't really qualify you for anything, you'd have another two years on average for Masters.
That's half a million dollars just on fees. We aren't even on living costs or books (and books is the real racket over there). Over there, it's not unusual for a medical student to graduate with a million dollars of debt.
Budget on $600k for an undergrad degree from a private school, $800k for a masters. If you don't have that up front, you aren't a genius or an elite point guard or wide receiver - then you're wasting your time.
What you need is to have a ton of influence on the admissions panel- a parent as an alumnus would be the absolute minimum - a grandparent who has donated several million dollars would be a bonus.
Then, as a foreigner - you are going to need to pay your fees without a loan. We're talking about private schools here, so $60k per year. There's no guarantee of getting out of college in four years. Realistically they are being set up to graduate in six. Bearing in mind that in the US, a bachelors degree doesn't really qualify you for anything, you'd have another two years on average for Masters.
That's half a million dollars just on fees. We aren't even on living costs or books (and books is the real racket over there). Over there, it's not unusual for a medical student to graduate with a million dollars of debt.
Budget on $600k for an undergrad degree from a private school, $800k for a masters. If you don't have that up front, you aren't a genius or an elite point guard or wide receiver - then you're wasting your time.
Original post by Champion122333
Can I get into a prestigious university, as a international student from the UK with these GCSE grades (I'm in year 11) = 8s in maths,3 separate sciences, and computer science, 7s in English language, physical education, a grade 6 in English literature and geography, and a 3 in French (not sure if I have to mention this). So overall = 5(grade 8s), 2(grade 7s), 2(grade 6s). Are these sufficient enough to get into any American prestigious university offering any sort of scholarship. If I could receive an offer, which university is it most likely be from?
Thanks
Thanks
I am atm in the same situation as u same age same goal however my grades are a bit better and I dont even think my grades are good enough cuz think about it this way atleast 1000 will probably apply to the same course as u at the same university and its more than likely that alot of the aplicants have gotten all 9's so don't think of it as enough by the uni standard but think about the high competition in my school alone Id say there is more than 5 ppl capable of getting all 9's or maybe mostly 9's
You will need to declare all your qualifications. However grades and the SAT are only one side of the US college application process, and are largely just a tick box exercise; everyone applying to those colleges has top grades in pretty much everything. Excellent grades are a necessary but not sufficient criteria for getting into an "elite" college; bad grades can fail the necessity criteria and thus result in you getting rejected, but excellent grades are no guarantee you will get an offer. The much more important side for those "elite" colleges is your extracurriculars, which unlike for many UK unis are very important in the US.
Those kinds of colleges usually frame their admissions in terms of 'you have excellent grades, that's a given - now what will make you a unique and active member of our college "community"?'. As a result they look for extensive evidence of extracurricular involvement, which is both long term (i.e. not stuff you started just a couple months before applying) and at a high level (i.e. necessarily being in leadership positions, and for competitive things competing at probably a county or national level at least. Applicants may well have been featured in their regional or possibly national news for their initiatives they undertake in their leadership positions). They want to see you have done more than just turn up on time to your after school club, but have actively participated in it and developed it to leave a lasting (positive) mark.
Basically if you are likely to be on track to be a strong applicant for Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, etc, in the UK, and have a range of very notable extracurricular activities, then the US is a likely option. Having poor grades overall, not having done anything except sit exams from year 11 to year 13, doing poorly in the SAT/ACT, all of these things would likely make you a non-competitive applicant. Unless, of course, you're a "legacy" applicant i.e. your parent(s) went to the college in question (and are rich and have donated as alumni)...which is still the case and still happens in the US (I think there was some statistic that like 40% of Harvard admissions were legacies...).
Those kinds of colleges usually frame their admissions in terms of 'you have excellent grades, that's a given - now what will make you a unique and active member of our college "community"?'. As a result they look for extensive evidence of extracurricular involvement, which is both long term (i.e. not stuff you started just a couple months before applying) and at a high level (i.e. necessarily being in leadership positions, and for competitive things competing at probably a county or national level at least. Applicants may well have been featured in their regional or possibly national news for their initiatives they undertake in their leadership positions). They want to see you have done more than just turn up on time to your after school club, but have actively participated in it and developed it to leave a lasting (positive) mark.
Basically if you are likely to be on track to be a strong applicant for Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, etc, in the UK, and have a range of very notable extracurricular activities, then the US is a likely option. Having poor grades overall, not having done anything except sit exams from year 11 to year 13, doing poorly in the SAT/ACT, all of these things would likely make you a non-competitive applicant. Unless, of course, you're a "legacy" applicant i.e. your parent(s) went to the college in question (and are rich and have donated as alumni)...which is still the case and still happens in the US (I think there was some statistic that like 40% of Harvard admissions were legacies...).
Original post by Trinculo
Why are people talking about grades, when what is really needed is an absolute mountain of money up front? There isn't going to be scholarship at these kind of grades, and it's pretty clear that OP isn't an American Football or Basketball prodigy - so why are we even talking about grades?
What you need is to have a ton of influence on the admissions panel- a parent as an alumnus would be the absolute minimum - a grandparent who has donated several million dollars would be a bonus.
Then, as a foreigner - you are going to need to pay your fees without a loan. We're talking about private schools here, so $60k per year. There's no guarantee of getting out of college in four years. Realistically they are being set up to graduate in six. Bearing in mind that in the US, a bachelors degree doesn't really qualify you for anything, you'd have another two years on average for Masters.
That's half a million dollars just on fees. We aren't even on living costs or books (and books is the real racket over there). Over there, it's not unusual for a medical student to graduate with a million dollars of debt.
Budget on $600k for an undergrad degree from a private school, $800k for a masters. If you don't have that up front, you aren't a genius or an elite point guard or wide receiver - then you're wasting your time.
What you need is to have a ton of influence on the admissions panel- a parent as an alumnus would be the absolute minimum - a grandparent who has donated several million dollars would be a bonus.
Then, as a foreigner - you are going to need to pay your fees without a loan. We're talking about private schools here, so $60k per year. There's no guarantee of getting out of college in four years. Realistically they are being set up to graduate in six. Bearing in mind that in the US, a bachelors degree doesn't really qualify you for anything, you'd have another two years on average for Masters.
That's half a million dollars just on fees. We aren't even on living costs or books (and books is the real racket over there). Over there, it's not unusual for a medical student to graduate with a million dollars of debt.
Budget on $600k for an undergrad degree from a private school, $800k for a masters. If you don't have that up front, you aren't a genius or an elite point guard or wide receiver - then you're wasting your time.
MIT at least is need blind and meets full financial need to international students so OP should be relatively fine financially. The same goes for Harvard, Yale, Amherst and Princeton.
Original post by Vapordave
MIT at least is need blind and meets full financial need to international students so OP should be relatively fine financially. The same goes for Harvard, Yale, Amherst and Princeton.
This is available to people who are very, very smart. We have already established that the OP is not one of those people.
Original post by Trinculo
This is available to people who are very, very smart. We have already established that the OP is not one of those people.
Well, only as smart as they need to gain admission. If they are accepted, they automatically get as much funding as they need. Admissions and Financial Aid applications do not cross at any point.
Original post by Trinculo
This is available to people who are very, very smart. We have already established that the OP is not one of those people.
MIT’s financial aid is need-based and not merit-based. This is the same for many “top schools”.
Original post by Trinculo
Why are people talking about grades, when what is really needed is an absolute mountain of money up front? There isn't going to be scholarship at these kind of grades, and it's pretty clear that OP isn't an American Football or Basketball prodigy - so why are we even talking about grades?
What you need is to have a ton of influence on the admissions panel- a parent as an alumnus would be the absolute minimum - a grandparent who has donated several million dollars would be a bonus.
Then, as a foreigner - you are going to need to pay your fees without a loan. We're talking about private schools here, so $60k per year. There's no guarantee of getting out of college in four years. Realistically they are being set up to graduate in six. Bearing in mind that in the US, a bachelors degree doesn't really qualify you for anything, you'd have another two years on average for Masters.
That's half a million dollars just on fees. We aren't even on living costs or books (and books is the real racket over there). Over there, it's not unusual for a medical student to graduate with a million dollars of debt.
Budget on $600k for an undergrad degree from a private school, $800k for a masters. If you don't have that up front, you aren't a genius or an elite point guard or wide receiver - then you're wasting your time.
What you need is to have a ton of influence on the admissions panel- a parent as an alumnus would be the absolute minimum - a grandparent who has donated several million dollars would be a bonus.
Then, as a foreigner - you are going to need to pay your fees without a loan. We're talking about private schools here, so $60k per year. There's no guarantee of getting out of college in four years. Realistically they are being set up to graduate in six. Bearing in mind that in the US, a bachelors degree doesn't really qualify you for anything, you'd have another two years on average for Masters.
That's half a million dollars just on fees. We aren't even on living costs or books (and books is the real racket over there). Over there, it's not unusual for a medical student to graduate with a million dollars of debt.
Budget on $600k for an undergrad degree from a private school, $800k for a masters. If you don't have that up front, you aren't a genius or an elite point guard or wide receiver - then you're wasting your time.
I agree that money will need to be considered. But $600k for a BA? Really? If the OP plans correctly, they should be fine to graduate in 4 years, especially if they bring in credit from A-levels. And even if it did take them six years, at $600k that would be $100k a year which is quite a way off the annual COA at any school.
I agree money must be considered, but there is no reason to scare the OP off with completely unrealistic figures.
Original post by kamara41
I agree that money will need to be considered. But $600k for a BA? Really? If the OP plans correctly, they should be fine to graduate in 4 years, especially if they bring in credit from A-levels. And even if it did take them six years, at $600k that would be $100k a year which is quite a way off the annual COA at any school.
I agree money must be considered, but there is no reason to scare the OP off with completely unrealistic figures.
I agree money must be considered, but there is no reason to scare the OP off with completely unrealistic figures.
i wasn't going to butt in, but those figures aren't unrealistic. last year, i got admissions into several unis in canada. my tuition fee to study a Bsc in kinesiology (pre-med) was nothing less than CAD50,000 (international student). let's say i had gone to york uni to study kinesiology for 4 years, that's approximately 200K.
Original post by ifreakingloveme
i wasn't going to butt in, but those figures aren't unrealistic. last year, i got admissions into several unis in canada. my tuition fee to study a Bsc in kinesiology (pre-med) was nothing less than CAD50,000 (international student). let's say i had gone to york uni to study kinesiology for 4 years, that's approximately 200K.
Which is way off 600k. You really wouldn't be looking at that much at a top private US uni for undergrad. My college costs ~$300k for 4 years including all costs (tuition, accommodation, books, etc.), so nowhere near $600k. Even if it took 6 years to graduate, the total cost would be about $468k
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by ry7xsfa
Which is way off 600k. You really wouldn't be looking at that much at a top private US uni for undergrad. My college costs ~$300k for 4 years including all costs (tuition, accommodation, books, etc.), so nowhere near $600k. Even if it took 6 years to graduate, the total cost would be about $468k
makes sense. but it depends on the course. first year medicine in UofT is approximately CAD95,000.
so if premed-CAD200,000 med(4 years)-nothing less then CAD400,000 then....
anyway, being an international student sucks!
Original post by ifreakingloveme
makes sense. but it depends on the course. first year medicine in UofT is approximately CAD95,000.
so if premed-CAD200,000 med(4 years)-nothing less then CAD400,000 then....
anyway, being an international student sucks!
so if premed-CAD200,000 med(4 years)-nothing less then CAD400,000 then....
anyway, being an international student sucks!
This person doesn't seem to be looking at Canada though. And at the kinds of US universities they seem to be wanting to go to, they will offer need-based financial aid to reduce cost.
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