Perhaps the most important part of your application and admissions process no matter where you go, is making sure you meet the admissions requirements. In the US, students are expected to overschedule themselves and take every AP class, get perfect SAT scores, do every club and sport they can, and write a one of a kind personal essay in order to prove themselves a worthy applicant. Schools will claim this to be a "more holistic" approach to college admissions, which works for some, but not for those who are competing for selective schools who spend their time wishing for an extra hour of the day to attend hundreds of extracurriculars on top of an incredible amount of schoolwork. European university admissions focus almost entirely on test results, GPA, and in some cases a personal statement as many programs don't have a cap on the number of students they can accept so they are far less picky. For the UK, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and some schools in other countries, applicants are expected to have a minimum of 3 AP scores of at least a 3. Whereas in Germany you will need SAT or ACT scores instead, and in France you might not need either. Now fine, this isn't the most holistic approach, and it definitely sucks for those of us who aren't the greatest test takers, but they make up for it with transparency. You wont have to worry that your grandma isn't your top choice's number 1 investor, or your if your dad wasn't an alumni, because those things just don't matter. Instead of overloading your schedule and bugging your teachers for letters of recommendation, European schools want you to pursue the things you enjoy. They want to see focus, take tons of science classes if that's what interests you rather than loading up on English, history, and math electives to make yourself look more well rounded.
Balancing two loads of admissions requirements has been the hardest part of this all, as an applicant at schools in both America and Europe I have to prove myself to be a well rounded student with excellent leadership skills as well as a focused and driven in one subject area to appeal to both admissions boards. My solution to this has been load up on AP classes, it sounds like a pain in the back side, but 3 AP's for two years has given me plenty of opportunity to get the high scores the European schools want to see, while also giving my transcript the rigor that the American ones prefer. My school doesn't offer all of the AP classes I wanted (or needed) to take, so I am doing one online, this shows initiative which is a characteristic both admissions will appreciate. My word of advice at the end of the day, is put in the work early on, get the required classes out the way so that you can have more flexibility in your last two years at high school to spend time boosting both of your applications.
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