Do my high school marks matter?

[Personherebb9]

I'm currently busy with my Final (NSC) high school examinations and will be done in roughly three weeks. If I'm being honest I've been so distracted with completing college courses and creating a degree plan that I've barely been studying. Nor do I have the motivation to study if I'm being honest. My question is will TESU look at my Final marks, or will they just care to see that I'm the equivalent to a high school grad? Also will I need to send in my high school transcripts to an evaluation service in order to apply to TESU, or will my College RA credits suffice?

I've been holding around an 87% average this year; here are my subjects (English Home Language, Afrikaans Home Language, Maths Core (equivalent to upper level math/AP Math), Life Orientation, Tourism, Physical Sciences (combined physics and chem) and Biology.) But since I haven't been studying I expect that mark to drop SIGNIFICANTLY. Like at least to around 60%. The thing about South African education is that our final exams at the end of the year is weighted at 75% of our year mark. Meaning even if you got 100% on every single exam and assignment the entire year, you could still fail simply if you fail your final.

Since I'm doing RA credits through Metropolia and XAMK, I'll be sending in my evaluated transcripts from them with my application, but will I need to send in my high school transcripts in as well for evaluation? And if I do, could TESU reject me for underperforming in finals. I've been kind of betting on the fact that I'll get in 100% for university so my high school marks don't matter, but maybe TESU does care about that sort of thing?

Any advice would be great thank you.

[rachel83az]

TESU doesn't care about your final HS grades. All they care about is that you have the equivalent of an American HS diploma. If you were in the UK and doing A-levels, you might get some credit for that. I don't think that applies to any other country, though.

[Personherebb9]

TESU doesn't care about your final HS grades. All they care about is that you have the equivalent of an American HS diploma. If you were in the UK and doing A-levels, you might get some credit for that. I don't think that applies to any other country, though.

Do you know whether or not I would have to send my HS transcripts in for evaluation even if I apply with the RA credit? I'm afraid that if I do bad for eg in math, and get a final mark of like 50% (which is a pass in South Africa), they might not consider me an "equivalent HS graduate", because according to USA standards that's a fail, even though our educational systems are very different.

In South Africa you have three types of "passes"; bachelors pass, diploma pass and higher certificate pass. Every pass is fairly self explanatory, depending on your grades you qualify to apply to specific programs, such as bachelors, diploma or higher cert. Meaning while a "higher certificate" pass is still a pass to complete HS, you won't be able to apply to any university (at least in SA) for a bachelors program only a higher certificate program, for that I'm assuming I should aim for "Bachelors Pass" just to be safe if I do have to get an evaluation done.

(For extra info: from grade 10/year 10/ sophomore year, you move on from mandatory subjects to electives. Every year before year 10, you take 9 mandatory subjects. From year 10 you have 4 mandatory subjects (English, Additional Language, Math (higher or lower level) and Life Orientation (Essentially a combination of like sex ed and general education on topics such as diversity, human rights, climate change etc)). And then you are required to take at a minimum 3 electives, so to pass Matric (senior year), you need to have 7 subjects.

Here are the requirements for a bachelors pass:
x1 Home Language needs to be at 50%
x2 Subjects can sit at 30% if all assignments and exams have been successfully completed throughout the year.
x4 Subjects must be at 50%.

And while I know that might seem so low; you have to remember that South Africa does not have a lenient educational system. It is not easy to get 80%<, a 4.0 GPA is unheard of in South Africa. We do not have things such as "extra credit" or "grades for attendance" or "homework grades" or "multiple choice exams" or any of the typically easier ways to boost your grades in school.

I'm scared that if I underperform an American evaluation institute might not deem me a HS graduate even if I do have a HS graduate diploma.

[Flelm]

https://tesu.smartcatalogiq.com/en/Curre...l-Students

I don't see any mention of high school transcripts being required. Even if they were, they're just going to care that you graduated.

[dfrecore]

TESU doesn't care about your final HS grades. All they care about is that you have the equivalent of an American HS diploma. If you were in the UK and doing A-levels, you might get some credit for that. I don't think that applies to any other country, though.

I'm scared that if I underperform an American evaluation institute might not deem me a HS graduate even if I do have a HS graduate diploma.

They want your HS diploma.  They don't ask for your high school transcripts at all.

[bjcheung77]

I just don't get the following: "But since I haven't been studying I expect that mark to drop SIGNIFICANTLY. Like at least to around 60%.". Why aren't you going to be studying? Is the job at your parents business or company taking up a chunk of your time? If that's the case, how do you plan on "spending time studying" for your future education?

[Personherebb9]

I just don't get the following: "But since I haven't been studying I expect that mark to drop SIGNIFICANTLY. Like at least to around 60%.".  Why aren't you going to be studying? Is the job at your parents business or company taking up a chunk of your time? If that's the case, how do you plan on "spending time studying" for your future education?

Beginning of the year, I was applying to all of the in-person South African unis and eventually I got an academic scholarship at UCT. However, even with the scholarship, living expenses are way over anything me or my family can afford, so that’s when the realisation hit that I wasn’t gonna be able to afford going to uni without making heaps amounts of debt. Hence, why I was looking at alternatives. 

My marks have been dropping, since the only thing that “motivated” me to do well in school was the fact that I had to maintain my avg for that scholarship. I’ve now been more focused on courses and degree plans so that I can finish Uni quicker, so I’ve been lacking in my high school work. It’s also just because I really hate the subjects that I have, I don’t find them interesting, I guess another reason why they’re dropping.

So essentially it’s not that I’m not managing my time, it’s more just because my priorities already flipped from high school to university.

[bjcheung77]

Which city do you live in now? I recall reading you were in Capetown and now in a different city? How far is the commute and the time it will take you if you bus? I recall UCT having an online high school option for FREE to anyone in grade 8-12, it's like a learning system people can use (similar to Khan Academy). The free version is a great homeschooling option, but no grades or any support, there are however plenty of assessments and it is self-paced. The pay version is expensive at $230 USD!

[Personherebb9]

Which city do you live in now? I recall reading you were in Capetown and now in a different city? How far is the commute and the time it will take you if you bus?  I recall UCT having an online high school option for FREE to anyone in grade 8-12, it's like a learning system people can use (similar to Khan Academy).  The free version is a great homeschooling option, but no grades or any support, there are however plenty of assessments and it is self-paced.  The pay version is expensive at $230 USD!

I moved to Pretoria, which is at least a 12-hour drive away from Cape Town, so commuting is definitely not an option.

And since no other South African uni offered me a scholarship or truly any form of financial aid, it's definitely not a possibility. Also trust me when I say YOU DO NOT want to make private loans through banks to fund your education in South Africa, you will never pay off those loans. My cousin made a private loan through a bank a few years back only to fund 1 year of his university. He's now 30 and still paying monthly fees from that 1 year loan.

That's why I'm doing TESU instead of in-person. Plus if that means I can leave this country within 2 years and actually make a live-able wage, why wouldn't I? Realistically if I ace my plan; I can graduate at 19 with two bachelors, two associates, multiple certs all while getting some form of work experience. I'll be much further ahead than most people my age and then I can actually travel and do things that I would like to do while I'm still young.

Coming back to the high school marks, as I've said I've been a fairly good "model" student all my life, consistently being in the top 90th percentile. It's just that when I found out that my dreams of "university life" were shattered, my mental health took a hit and I had and still have no motivation to study for these final exams. I'll be done with them in 3 weeks time, I have around 8 exams left over the next 3 weeks and then I'm done. At this point I'm just hoping for a passing grade, but even if I fail, it's not the end of the world. I can just rewrite those subjects next year March, which would be before I apply to TESU anyway, so not a massive train smash. I wrote my first *Final* Maths paper on Friday (which is why I made this post), it didn't go well... I struggled on a lot of questions and left at least 1/3 of the paper blank. I'm writing my second *Final* Maths paper on Monday and I'm stressed, because I don't feel prepared for that either.

Here are the contents of both math papers for reference;
Paper 1: Algebra, Series and sequences, Financial Mathematics, Functions, Calculus, Probability 
Paper 2: Statistics, Analytical Geometry, Euclidean Geometry, Trigonometry 

I usually tend to do better in paper 1, since I feel more confident in those subjects, but yeah no after Friday it's safe to say I can't be hoping on any good marks for that paper, meaning it's all up to paper 2 and the only things I'm decent at there is stats and analytical.

[sarahmac]

Which city do you live in now? I recall reading you were in Capetown and now in a different city? How far is the commute and the time it will take you if you bus?  I recall UCT having an online high school option for FREE to anyone in grade 8-12, it's like a learning system people can use (similar to Khan Academy).  The free version is a great homeschooling option, but no grades or any support, there are however plenty of assessments and it is self-paced.  The pay version is expensive at $230 USD!

I moved to Pretoria, which is at least a 12-hour drive away from Cape Town, so commuting is definitely not an option.

And since no other South African uni offered me a scholarship or truly any form of financial aid, it's definitely not a possibility. Also trust me when I say YOU DO NOT want to make private loans through banks to fund your education in South Africa, you will never pay off those loans. My cousin made a private loan through a bank a few years back only to fund 1 year of his university. He's now 30 and still paying monthly fees from that 1 year loan.

That's why I'm doing TESU instead of in-person. Plus if that means I can leave this country within 2 years and actually make a live-able wage, why wouldn't I? Realistically if I ace my plan; I can graduate at 19 with two bachelors, two associates, multiple certs all while getting some form of work experience. I'll be much further ahead than most people my age and then I can actually travel and do things that I would like to do while I'm still young.

Coming back to the high school marks, as I've said I've been a fairly good "model" student all my life, consistently being in the top 90th percentile. It's just that when I found out that my dreams of "university life" were shattered, my mental health took a hit and I had and still have no motivation to study for these final exams. I'll be done with them in 3 weeks time, I have around 8 exams left over the next 3 weeks and then I'm done. At this point I'm just hoping for a passing grade, but even if I fail, it's not the end of the world. I can just rewrite those subjects next year March, which would be before I apply to TESU anyway, so not a massive train smash. I wrote my first *Final* Maths paper on Friday (which is why I made this post), it didn't go well... I struggled on a lot of questions and left at least 1/3 of the paper blank. I'm writing my second *Final* Maths paper on Monday and I'm stressed, because I don't feel prepared for that either.

Here are the contents of both math papers for reference;
Paper 1: Algebra, Series and sequences, Financial Mathematics, Functions, Calculus, Probability 
Paper 2: Statistics, Analytical Geometry, Euclidean Geometry, Trigonometry 

I usually tend to do better in paper 1, since I feel more confident in those subjects, but yeah no after Friday it's safe to say I can't be hoping on any good marks for that paper, meaning it's all up to paper 2 and the only things I'm decent at there is stats and analytical.

So one thing to keep in mind, is that the American school system runs a couple years behind the rest of the world. It isn't the individual student's fault, just how their education system is organised.

The reason I say this, is I know some South African schools do IGCSE for their lower highschool (age 15/16). Three of those are already considered equivalent to the US HS diploma. If you did IGCSE's you have nothing to worry about, America already considered you a HS graduate a couple years ago. Same with the lower level IB program etc.

If you didn't do those then yes you generally need to pass the National Senior Certificate. Any pass. But, if you have college credits TESU just makes you tick a box certifying you passed. They don't need you to send anything for HS - especially not as an international student. I sent in an ACE thing with Sophia credits and that was good enough for them, they didn't care.

Tbh, I think you are really overthinking this.