Any help for this international?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi! My first post here... <em>nervous glance around</em></p>

<p>I'm starting my last year of high school and have been looking around for colleges. Last week, I've crossed out almost all of the colleges I've shortlisted last year, and thus is stuck with only 2 choices. :&lt;/p>

<p>Info</p>

<p>Female
Located in Singapore
Will be applying for Financial Aid, and most likely will need it
Interests: Chemistry, Mathematics, Psychology, Medicine.
I am very interested in Forensics, and would like it very much if I can work in that field with the degree I'm getting. </p>

<p>Grades
Sem 2 GPA (weighted. My school does not provide unweighted GPA): 4.7
Cumulative GPA: 4.0 (weighted too)
AP Calc AB: 5
SAT I (first try): 800 CR, 700 M, 600 W
SAT II: Taking this year (maybe.)
Other APs: Taking Chem, Bio, Physics B this year
Course load: Math, Bio, Physics, Chemistry with honours
Awards: Edusave Good Progress awards in 2007 and 2010. Rio Tinto Big Science comp.2010: Distinction</p>

<p>Other activities
Extracurriculars: Art Club (2006-2009), ODAC(2010), Choir (2011)
No leadership positions
Jobs/Internships: Intern at DSO from 2nd Nov 2010 to 31st Dec 2010. Worked as a flyer distributor in Nov 2009, freelance article writer from Nov 2009 to Jan 2010.
Volunteer work: Helps out at an ex-offenders centre once a month (packing of shop's merchandise etc). Volunteered at SIMC 2010 and the National Library.</p>

<p>Characteristics of Desired College
Size: Small/Medium (Less than 8000 students)
Student:Teacher ratio: 25:1 (max)
Area: I am open to colleges/Unis in the USA/UK. Temperature must not drop below 5 degrees. Surrounding town and college must be LGBT friendly.
Others: I would prefer that the college has a strong research program.</p>

<p>Current shortlist
NUS
HKU (maybe)
University of Western Australia
Loughborough University</p>

<p>Thank you so much! (:</p>

2

<p>“Temperature must not drop below 5 degrees.”</p>

<p>lol :)</p>

3

<p>hey!! i applied to NUS and loughborough too and i got an interview from the latter. i’m doing the IB diploma programme at an international school in Belgium. loughborough shouldn’t be too hard to get into, provided my interview goes ok. NUS generally says they need 2100 on the SAT for applications to be competitive, so I guess you’re ok there. I haven’t done much research on HKU, but they are very selective (10% accepted) so i can’t say much about it. </p>

<p>but i’ve applied to NUS for chemical engineering and they need around a 39/40 in the IB and I have a predicted 41. Do you know people who have got into chemical engineering with that score? the thing is, I haven’t really talked to anyone who actually resides in singapore and could help me out with this. I would be glad if you could help!</p>

4

<p>@tintin I’m not sure about NUS chemical engineering courses as I’ve only heard from my relatives about the selectivity of courses… and they mainly applied for business. Though I did hear that it is pretty competitive. </p>

<p>@xnamelessx xD Guess I’m just a Singaporean at heart. Can’t seem to survive in anything lower than 15 degrees but I’m trying. xD</p>

5

<p>Are you from the science and math magnet school?</p>

<p>Also, do post this in the international students forum. You’ll get more responses on the UK there.</p>

<p>Try looking at The Student Room. It’s a UK version of CC.</p>

<p>And if you don’t mind: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1062425-help-international-please-recommendations.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1062425-help-international-please-recommendations.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Thanks!</p>

6

<p>@082349 Yep from that school. xD </p>

<p>Thanks for the tip. ;D Will do that now. I’ll look at that thread too! Though it’ll take me a while to reply. </p>

<p>Thanks once more!</p>

7

<p>Do also check out <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/126244-singaporean-connection-286.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/126244-singaporean-connection-286.html&lt;/a&gt; ! The people there might be able to provide you with some advice.</p>

8

<p>Sure thing! Thanks for all your help! :D</p>

9

<p>Anyone else?</p>

10

<p>Smith, Wellesley, Mt Holyoke (MA) </p>

<p>But the temperature does fall below 5 degrees in Massachusetts!
For an international needing financial aid you may have to rethink that 5 degrees!</p>

11

<p>The place to start is by reading everything, and I do indeed mean everything, at [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/) Then you need to make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center closest to you. There is one in Singapore [EducationUSA</a> - Center Profile - United States Education Information Center (USEIC)](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/centers.php?id=1152]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/centers.php?id=1152) These counselors are expert at helping students educated in your country find good places to study in the US. They will be able to tell you where students with records like yours have been admitted in the past few years, and whether or not they received financial aid.</p>

<p>You should also consider universities in Australia. Students there are given work permits that allow them more options for earning money while studying.</p>

12

<p>Thanks! I would prefer some place relatively warm, but I might just reconsider that. :smiley: Thanks for the recs!</p>