In the process of preparing to apply to the U.S. undergraduate program, a lot of doubts will arise, among which this question is repeatedly mentioned: “As an ordinary high school student in China, will you be at a disadvantage in the process of applying to the U.S. undergraduate program compared to those who attend high school in the U.S. or those who go to U.S. high school in China?” Next, we will take you to understand the difference between them from the perspectives of GPA (grade point average) and improving competitiveness.
01 The curriculum is the same as that of American undergraduates.
The U.S. high school curriculum is the same as the U.S. undergraduate curriculum. Unlike domestic high schools, students enrolled in U.S. high schools are offered required and elective courses, as well as honors courses and AP courses.
As students transition from the general courses to honors courses, and even AP courses, the difficulty of the courses increases, which in itself is a reflection of the student’s ability to learn. Therefore, colleges can judge a student’s academic ability by whether or not he or she takes AP, how many courses he or she takes, and how difficult it is to take AP courses.
Bill Fitzsimmons, director of Harvard’s Office of Admissions, has clearly stated that the best predictor of a student’s success at Harvard is the highest level of courses taken by the student and their grades.
However, domestic high schools basically do not offer AP and IB courses, and admissions officers are not as familiar with the domestic curriculum system and its credibility is not as high as that of U.S. high schools.
02 Recognition and Familiarity
U.S. colleges and universities will look at your high school profile, also known as School Profile, which describes your high school’s history, curriculum, honors, and other important information.
03 The Impact of U.S. High School GPA on College Applications
In the United States, the GPA of high school students is an important basis for college admissions and an important statistic for measuring a student’s overall academic performance. However, for ordinary high school students, many schools do not use GPA as a system, which results in the application process, the U.S. college admissions department may not be able to accurately understand the academic strength of the applicant. In contrast, the scoring system of online U.S. high schools is consistent with that of U.S. high schools, and admissions officers are able to immediately understand a student’s academic level.
GPA, not just a number
Although GPA is a number, it reflects a student’s overall academic performance. It reveals how serious, diligent and persistent a student is about his or her academics. If you have a high GPA, it shows that you have put a lot of effort into your studies and have a strong ability to learn and be self-driven.
04 The Impact of U.S. High School Programs (AP) on U.S. College Applications
In terms of academic performance, excellence is mainly reflected in AP courses and GPA.
Unless they are international high schools, regular high schools in China basically do not offer AP or IB courses, whereas high schools in the United States commonly offer these courses.
In the U.S., students wishing to take AP courses must first successfully complete the honors courses, and those wishing to enter the honors courses must pass the general courses. Therefore, students who are able to participate in AP courses essentially already have the qualities of an excellent student, and they have sufficient learning ability. Since the content of AP courses is equivalent to first-year courses in American universities, they are much more difficult than the courses in middle schools. That is why top schools can easily judge a student’s confidence and ability to challenge difficulties from whether and how many AP courses he or she has taken during middle school.
Of course, in addition to the above, there are:
- Increased Competitiveness:Online US High School courses are structured similarly to U.S. high school courses, which allows US High School students to enroll with an understanding of the U.S. college learning environment and academic requirements. In addition, US high school students have the opportunity to take high-level courses such as AP or IB, which help them get an early taste of the difficulty of college learning and demonstrate their exposure and readiness for college-level study when they apply to college.
- Comprehensive Academic Assessment:Online U.S. high school programs are assessed on the basis of final test scores as well as regular classroom performance, assignments, group discussions, and more. Such a system tends to reflect a student’s academic strengths in a more comprehensive way than a traditional high school system based on test scores. In addition, the GPA (grade point average) system is more in line with the evaluation methods of American universities.
- Enhancement of language ability: The online U.S. high school program uses English as the teaching language throughout the entire course, and immersing students in an English environment every day can greatly enhance their listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities, making them better adapted to U.S. university life in terms of language. This is certainly a major advantage for U.S. undergraduate applications.
- Social practice and leadership development: U.S. high schools emphasize participation in extracurricular activities and community service, which not only help students find and fully develop their interests and talents butcan even uncover potential leadership potential. Such community service experience and demonstration of leadership skills can be a huge plus in the U.S. undergraduate application process.
- Cultural Adaptation:Students in U.S. high schools have a better chance of being exposed to and understanding U.S. culture, which helps them integrate more smoothly into U.S. college life.
05 What is the SMOA U.S. High School Diploma Program?
In the U.S. high school education system, each school matches or recommends Online School Courses, a practice designed to help students raise their GPAs and meet the credits required for graduation, as well as to offer courses that are not offered by the school but that students need to take. With a history dating back nearly 50 years, it has gained widespread acceptance as a popular form of educational learning in the United States.
St. Mary’s Online Academy (SMOA) is the online high school of St. Mary’s High School, a century-old school and one of Niche’s top 100 boarding schools in the U.S. St. Mary’s Online Academy (SMOA) offers pure U.S. high school credit courses, AP credit courses, and U.S. High School Diploma courses. Students can enjoy pure US high school personalized education and improve their GPA scores and academic backgrounds without leaving their homes in the Asian time zone.
Our diplomas, credits, and transcripts are accredited by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) Cognia (AdvancED), the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the Association of American Boarding Schools (TABS), and the Western Boarding Schools Association (WBSA). AP courses are accredited by the College Board and the UC A-G Curriculum, and credits, transcripts, and diplomas are recognized by universities in the U.S. and around the world. Students who have earned online U.S. high school diplomas, credits and transcripts have been accepted into world-renowned universities and art colleges in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia.
It is an opportunity for students from domestic general high schools, public international departments, international schools and overseas high schools to both supplement their credits and improve their GPA. Students from domestic general high schools and international students can also participate in the American High School Diploma Program that we offer and apply to world universities with American High School status.
Choose SMOA’s U.S. high school program to help boost your high school GPA and get into a top college or university!
1-From the top 100 boarding high schools in the U.S.
St. Mary’s School, renowned for exceptional quality of education.
2-Elite teachers ensure teaching quality
Pure U.S. high school education, acknowledged globally.
3-Cognia authoritative certification
Highly recognized by universities for credits, transcripts and recommendation letters.
4-500+ graduates enter the world’s most prestigious schools
High credibility and reputation
5-Comprehensive and rigorous grading
Process assessment, focus on final results
6-Effective in raising GPA
4.33 out of 5.0 for regular, 5.0 out of 5.0 for AP
7-Rich course selection, 20+ AP courses
Year-round rolling classes, multiple class types, customizable
8-Have our own mainland AP test center
No need to travel to Hong Kong or abroad for AP exam
9-Real-time classes in Asian time zones + asynchronous classes
Flexible and efficient learning
10-Professional learning platform and teaching system
Bilingual Learning Coach 7*24 Supervision
SMOA – Online U.S. High School 2024 is open for enrollment on a rolling basis (includes AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science A, AP Psychology, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Physics 1, AP Statistics, AP English Literature & Composition, AP Physics 2, Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics, Earth and Space Science, Algebra, Fashion Design, Interior Design, and more), students can enroll at a time that works for them, or they can also choose one-on-one classes for more flexibility! We look forward to welcoming you~!