<p>@theGame… honestly I am questioning that myself at the moment… ARGH it is such a hard decision to make… Sydney or LA… Sydney or LA… Sydney or LA… somehow I do not think I should be making this decision when I am homesick…</p>
<p>Hope u figure out what to do, beeish! USC sounds SAH-WEET 
And to the person considering Perth - like beeish said, I wouldn’t move in HS! But if u do, ask which side of Perth your uncle lives. All the competitive, private single-sex schools are on the West side of Perth. There are a handful scattered up North, down South and one or two on the East side but good schools= WEST. LOL. Um… near a uni, you say? Besides ECU, all the major unis are near some brill HS’s. ECU on the East is even near Perth College (good girls’ school) so I rlly shouldn’t slam it 
lol.</p>
<p>But this is assuming you’re referring to HS’s. Rofl. Unis… UWA (Uni of West. Aus.) is a pretty neat G8 school. Murdoch has a sweet campus. But other than that, I’m not a fan of either ECU or Curtin I’m afraid… There’s one private: Notre Dame, if you’re interested.</p>
<p>All this and it would be hilarious if you weren’t talking about HS OR Uni but…like, primary school. Lmao. Hope I helped, though!</p>
<p>EDIT: Question to those well into apps… I’m not sure if I’ve asked before but I have the terrible sense of deja vu that I have (lol): When did you first decide to apply to the US and how did you tell your parents? 'Cause I think my 'rents still think I’m going to, like, UWA or summat… >.< lol.</p>
<p>Haha carpe diem, I’ve always wanted to travel and study overseas, but I really started to researching the US admission process, SATs and everything after Upenn and Brown came and gave a talk at my school… and here I am failing the HSC and struggling with SATs! And my parents are just trying to be supportive (even though they never thought I was actually going to do SATs and everything!!)</p>
<p>And carpediem -I’m assuming you’re done with the process, if so what unis have you been accepted to or you’re attending? And hope you’re keeping your parents reformed ;)</p>
<p>Thanks, Aininor! Oh, and NOOO! lol. I WISH I was done with TEE (like HSC…) and SATs etc… but am only in Year 11 
<em>tear</em> lol. And you’re so lucky that Brown & UPenn came to your school! Very sure that wouldn’t happen. At my old school, some guy from the US Embassy came to speak to us and that’s the closest I can think of. And am working on my parents! lol. </p>
<p>Even if it’s far-fetched, I’d RLY like to go to a liberal arts eventually, like Barnard. I’d always had the thought that I wanted to sudy abroad since primary school but didn’t get srs until I discovered CC. But my ECs suck, unfortunately. I’m one of those people with really FOCUSED ECs. In my case: debating, community youth councils and UNYA things… and like a yellow belt in Karate if that even counts as coloured 
No music or internships with the freaking president of the United States or anything… ROFL. Hope you do well with your HSC though! Struggling, huh? Must be harder for you, though, since you’re doing SATs too so I wouldn’t worry about it. I just got a C in Biology anyway (I know… lol) so keeping the 'rents ‘reformed’ is the last thing on my mind…
I’m pretty sure it’ll, like, come to head when I need a ride to the SAT testing place which is on the other side of town. LOL. Do you guys recommend doing SAT in Year 11?</p>
<p>Sorry, I’m rambling to avoid my History assignment. So i’ll go… Now.</p>
<p>Hey carpediem, this is really freaky but I have like really similar ECs - I have been involved with UNYA since yr 10 and recently gotten involved with my local youth council doing stuff for youth week!! I’m from NSW, im thinking you’re from a different state? And I ‘sort of’ play the violin, but very very poorly and im not modest person haha 
I first did the SAT I in the 6 week holidays in between yr 11 and yr 12, I thought it was a good time slot since I had lots of time to prepare but I dont know if the holidays work for you in a different state. I’m doing the subject tests now in yr 12, and time is relally running out for me but I’m not sure if I could have done them in yr 11 since I havent covered the content in yr 11 unless you self-study… well good luck with whatever plans you decide on, I’m just hoping to do really well in school so my transcripts and recs would just woah all the admission people hehe.</p>
<p>Yeah, WA lol. So you’re in year 12 now, huh? Coolness! Look on the bright side: this time next year, you’ll have gotten this all over and done with and you’ll be here knowing you’re leaving for the US in a few short months? Yeah, think of that! lol. Or, better yet, get a __________ College/Uni banner or flag and stick it up in your room somewhere. Or wherever you study. To keep you motivated! What’s your first pref?</p>
<p>oh hey ur in NSW? I’m in yr 12 yes…
when r u doing the SAT?
I will sit the one in 2 weeks…</p>
<p>oh the days of year 12… I don’t miss them at all, okay well actually I do but that is so not the point…</p>
<p>haha i loved my year 12. best year of my life.
dont kill yourself over sats or hsc TOO much. its not the end of your life and enjoy your last year of highschool cuz its never coming back. :)</p>
<p>and for sats id def recommed taking them in year 11. to fit two or more sat tests on top of your hsc is pretty tough (thats what i did 
)</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip! ^.^ Are acceptance letters ALL in now or are you guys still deliberating? Would love to know where you end up ;)</p>
<p>haha yep take ALL the tests you need to do as early as possible. I took my SAT IIs like RIGHT before HSC as in like two weeks before and I totally bombed them, well not totally bombed but did WAY worse then I probably would have done otherwise.
All acceptance letters are out (minus those who are waiting lists) and I know I am for sure start at USC on August 19th… although my brain sometimes seems to think it isn’t a good idea, however my deposit is going in tomorrow so I don’t have much of a choice!</p>
<p>Nice way to say that your scores do not represent your inherent talent
See you in U S A</p>
<p>of course of course
nah I was just upset cause I wanted to get higher, and like I probably should have in the maths… stupid curve in stupid maths II</p>
<p>anyways where are you headed? I know you’ve probably said but I cannot for the life of me remember :(</p>
<p>Of course of course :)</p>
<p>nah my college isn’t a bigwig but at least it’s giving me aid. Name…? <em>drums roll</em></p>
<p>Gettysburg college, PA</p>
<p>at least they are giving you aid, thats important… my school isn’t so big wig either, at least out of California, I’ve told a lot of people and they are like WHERE???</p>
<p>Congrats beeish and theGame at getting into us college! Well hope you two can answer some question I ahve since you’re done with the process.</p>
<p>If I choose to apply online using the common application, does that mean my transcripts, school recommendations etc would all have to be online too? So do I have to tell my teachers to go online to write rec etc? Did you guys apply online or on paper? I’m bit confused because I was thinking of photocopyng reports and mailing them in but doesnt seem like this is possible… Hope someone can clarify! </p>
<p>Oh and one thing, if I’m apply later this yr (Nov for EA) and applying in Jan 2010 for RD, I can’t use the common app that’s for “For Spring 2009, Fall 2009, or Spring 2010 Enrollment”, becuase I’m applying for Fall 2010 enrolment yeah? Well this is the thing, I have a teacher that I’d love to write my rec for me and he has taught me for 5/6 high school yrs includng (yrs 10-12) but he’s going on leave for a yr very soon and I want hm to write my rec before he leaves. But the new common app isnt released until July 2009 - I’m pretty sure that colleges wont accept the rec if it’s written on the form that says for “For Spring 2009, Fall 2009, or Spring 2010 Enrollment” so is there anyway I can get around it so do I just have to contact the teacher in july when he’s on leave to do it?</p>
<p>I used the common application online… trying to remember what I did… I think I just mailed in my transripts. you need official transcripts mailed in anyways. My recs were all mailed in but you can use the online ones as well if you wish. Just tell your teachers. I basically filled in the application online and then everything extra was mailed in using snail mail, god I spent a lot of postage… anyways for the official transcripts they NEED to come from your school. What I did was made photo copies of my reports then got them signed by a JP and had the schools stamp placed on them. Seemed to work fine seeing as I got in. And then with my HSC results I had them signed by a solicitor, like verified. Which is the same as a JP basically. Actuallly need to check if they want me to send them in again :S</p>
<p>Um with that teacher I would get their email. Tell them what is going on and ask them for an email that you can conact them on and then just send them the online rec thing. If they are happy to do it for you they can do it while they are on leave as long as you have their email address. you CANNOT use the previous years application form because they won’t accept it, you are right. Just explain the sitch to your teacher, if he likes you as much as you like him I am sure he will do it for you, remember your teachers are there to help you and they do want to best for you. I have personal experience with this with my teachers because although the principal of my school said that teachers weren’t allowed to write personal letters of recomendation for students one of my teachers heard how upset I was and wrote it for me anyways :)</p>
<p>GOOD LUCK! And just ask if you have anymore questions. I hope that was helpful!</p>
<p>^Thanks beeish! Looks like I’m going to have to get lots of envelops and stamps haha. The HSC and UAI process seems so much less stressful and easy now… Thanks for clarifying good luck at USC!</p>
<p>With beeish in such sublime form, I would rather duck than hand you my 2 cents. Anyway…here are my $0.02:</p>
<p>I used FedEx to courier my stuff. Snail mail - although cheap - isn’t reliable at all IMO. A whiz kid of a friend used snail mail to apply to 14-16 different places, but got rejected straight-out from everywhere!! His SAT scores were some of the best in my grade, and his essays were extraordinary (basically, he was that charming guy you find in every Literature classroom) but he fared far worse than I did. Guess his stuff didn’t reach in time or something!! Point of all that was if you can afford FedEx, do so. Don’t be my Literature friend, who is now enrolling in a community college!</p>
<p>About the rec. You can FedEx your teacher the form when it becomes available and then have her fill it and FedEx back (of course you’ll have to pay for that ;)).</p>
<p>Hope it helped! Good thing you’re starting to plan ahead so early. Best of luck!</p>
<p>P.s. No, no, I am not FedEx’s CC publicist. Never will be.</p>
<p>I used the courier service at Australia post… just as reliable as FedEx. NEVER said anything untrackable. EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER. I was also sending them like 3 weeks early so I wasn’t altogether concerned about time. I send USC last minute though and sent it courier via AusPost. Tracked it online and it DEFINETLY got there on time. Was checking like 10 times a day at one point cause I got highly paranoid.
So basically price everything. There are TONS of options. Also most of the dead lines are postmark deadlines… so even if it gets there two weeks later as long as it is post marked by January 1 or whatever it should be fine. Think about the volume of applications they get, they aren’t even going to be touching your application for at least a month and even if they are its only putting it into a file. Obviously there was something wrong with your literature friend (no offence) if he didn’t get in anywhere. Then again I have heard of a guy who got a 2400 on his SATs and still got rejected from yale. They don’t only look at test scores.</p>