I'm most likely going to an American colleges next year and I have a quick question.

How do i know what colleges i can get in to? We don't have a GPA system in my country and the grades are ranked from 1-6 not A-B-C...
Do i have have to contact all of the diffrent schools im interested in about this, or should i only base it on the SAT?



Probably a dumb question, but i've never done this before.

no from what ive know/learned from some foreigners here at wvu their highschools are harder that most of our colleges so id assume like 5-6=a 3-4=b 2-3=c 1=d

I'm guessing your from Norway?
anyway University of Oregon says you need a minimum of a 4 on the the Norwegian 6 point scale OR a minimum of a 3 on the 4 point scale.
http://admissions.uoregon.edu/intern...rements/norway

Also keep in mind you can get a zero on our 4 point scale,
A = 4
B = 3
C = 2
D = 1
F = 0

Essentially your 6 point scale is a 5 point scale, the lowest grade is a one. Or vice versa- our 4 point scale is really a 5 point scale

Man thats a tough spot to be in, I really hope you don't need to call all of the schools. Did you get a good SAT score?

Yes, I'm from Norway

So is University of Oregon easier to get in to than other colleges like University of San Diego and UCLA or is it about the same?

Thank you for helping btw.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grading_scale

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_Norway

Informally speaking I would say an A in the US is an equivalent to a high 5 or a 6 in Norway; a B to a 4 or a low 5; a C to a 3; a D to a 2; and a 1 to an F. But, I think I would recommend asking the schools in question. Any large, public university in the US should have a well-developed international admissions department that would deal with this.

Oregon is way easier, I just used there website as an example to compare "Your 4" to "Our" 3. It was merely linked because it had some sort of comparison to work with.

UCLA
Percent applicants admitted: 23%
92% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
97% in top 10th of graduating class
SAT Critical Reading: 570 - 680
SAT Math: 600 - 730
SAT Writing: 580 - 700
ACT Composite: 25 - 31

UCSD (San Diego)
Percent applicants admitted: 42%
80% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
100% in top 10th of graduating class
SAT Critical Reading: 540 - 660
SAT Math: 600 - 710
SAT Writing: 560 - 670
ACT Composite: 24 - 30

University of Oregon
Percent applicants admitted: 85%
26% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
26% in top 10th of graduating class
SAT Critical Reading: 490 - 610
SAT Math: 500 - 610
No writing or ACT stats


Because your from Norway you are a "diverse" candidate so you will probably not be compared as harshly, though be weary of state schools like UCLA, UNC, ect because they are required to have 75%ish of there body from instate so its harder to get into then usual if you are out of state.

What schools are you set on? Every school has there own policy. Call them, ask. Admissions should be pretty helpful.

-Chris

I'm really not sure yet, I feel that its hard finding enough information about each school just by looking at their websites.

I've decided to wait one year because I heard it's too late applying for next year? Can anyone confirm this?

Btw: Do you have any schools to recommend?

What is your gpa on your scale

Have you taken the SAT or ACT? if so what did you get? A lot of schools REQUIRE one or the other SAT is wayyy more popular though, I'm on the east coast and very few people even know what the ACT is.

The SAT IS offered in Norway http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearc...rchSatTest.jsp

When it comes to a recommendation about schools all I can say is you need to be realistic about where you can get in.

Application deadlines range from November 30th to February (some allow application all year)

THOUGH schools have a separate SAT deadline, like a schools application deadline will be January 10th but they need an SAT score by February 15th.

So get on the SAT ASAP and do your applications right now if you want to, it CAN be done.

-Chris

Definitely not TOO late to apply to most schools. For many big universities the "priority deadline" is somewhere in early November, and basically just shows that you're interested and wanted to apply early; and the "final deadline" is somewhere in February usually, which means you're guaranteed to get looked at but they seem to look at the earlier applicants first.

This is based on my knowledge of the schools up here in WA state though. I know when I applied for University of Washington 2 years ago the priority deadline was the last week of November.

If anything one of the pluses of applying early is that you can potentially hear back from them with acceptance/denial and it will give you time to apply to others if you would like.