<p>Hehe I have a tendency to write a lot. I’ve travelled and moved around a lot through my high school years so i’m not exactly terrified of change, unlike some friends of mine who wouldn’t even go interstate for uni.
Lol I don’t mean to sound like a ‘manic depressive’ (hahah…) My school’s ok, I have good friends, etc but it’s just I don’t like the whole system here and especially since I’ve found this site, I’ve read a lot about the system in America and it’s just so much more well rounded, etc. I hate the OP system we have in Qld and it’s not like I can move schools because they’re all pretty much the same, i feel like we’re opportunity deprived. You really have to go and find your own extra curriculars because the school is just somewhere you go from 9-3. Any suggestions on where/how to find good ecs in your community?</p>
<p>Btw Which part of Aus are you from and which university did you’s get into?
I will be needing advice from here about where to take the SATs and all the other stuff that comes with applying to US colleges, all still foreign to me. :p</p>
<p>Welcome to the Aussie forum ruby Like you, it’s the ‘liberal arts education’ that really attracts me to US college and college life on campus sounds so awesome!</p>
<p>Okay, some questions: I have been confused over this system of ‘regional directors’ and what their roles play in the admission process. From my reading - it seems that the regional directors do a first reading of all apps from their specified region and pass onto the good ones onto the next round. They’re also supposedly the people you contact about your app first, and people you keep in contact when you’re waitlisted/deferred…? Any ideas if this is true? It’d suck big time if my app didnt even get past my regional director and the AOs never got to even see it :(</p>
<p>And to all Sydney people - any of you going to the Yale information session tomorow (Mon Apri 27)? And according to the website, Jean Lee (regional director for asia/Pacific) will be dong a presentation.</p>
<p>Hi, Ruby - what year are you in? I need a fellow '14er with me And you’ll get the hang of the whole app process soon enough. I was clueless when I first got on here! LOL. And I spend months lurking around CC at first as well :P</p>
<p>@ ruby - good ecs are all about what you are interested in. some say its good to have a lot of Ecs in one area to show you’re interest in a certain issue where as others don’t mind diversification. i had most of my ecs in school related activities (e.g. leadership) but also did a year of salvations army. Organisations like salvos, vinnies, will always be looking for volunteers if you’re interested in their cause. Look and you shall find.
I studied in syd and my uni acceptances are listed in like 3 pages before. soz but don wnat to list it again lol</p>
<p>@ aininor the role of regional directors probs differ depending on unis. but primarily they are placed as regional directors to have your specific enquiries answered from their region and are responsible for promoting their school to their area etc. I dont know their role in the looking through the admissions package but I’m sure that they will not be looking at your package first or by themselves. They may pass on the package to the committe which is the actual group people that will look at your package. so its not a matter of getting past the ao. never heard of such incidents. </p>
<p>Can someone plz explain the ED process to me? Can you only pick ONE school to apply ED? And, if so, where did you guys apply and did you get in at first? Are there any cons to ED?
Sorry if it’s too much but I never considered app-ing ED before and it seems like a real possibility now. If only to get my first rejection early lol.</p>
<p>@ st.g.i.dragons <em>sigh</em> I use to do tennis, badminton, and table tennis competitively but haven’t done any for over 2 years now. Makes me wish I never quited tennis as it was my top sport. Anyway, my school is having this oaktree foundation thing so i’m gonna sign up on that. Where do i look for salvation army and vinnie? newspapers? lol. Sorry i’ve been so deprived of these charity events, the only thing i’m familiar with is the 40 hour famine done with school.
I want to do duke of edinburg (sp?) but they don’t offer it here…</p>
<p>What US uni are people in here going to this year? They start in september right…</p>
<p>^^ I’m in year 11 this year too! lol. Sorry, I don’t really get this '14er thing. I could’ve sworn it was the year you graduated. Where are you interested in? I suggest ************** if you’re not sure 'cause I actually think it gives you a more honest view of colleges than the Princeton Review or even CollegeBoard. </p>
<p>And does anyone know if you can take SAT II Writing? I thought I heard it was cancelled but I’m not sure anymore. Would be good if it was still available 'cause writing’s my forte. lol.</p>
<p>@ carpe-diem ED, EA 1, EA 2 are the common ones around these days with not a lot of top notch schools having ED. you can only send one early decision but as many early actions as you want. generally though if you’re accepted into ED, you pretty much have to go. but EAs its just like regular decision but you get the college process over and done with quickly.</p>
<p>The pros of doing ED/EA is its a smaller pool so more chance of being chosen and no worries about merit aid running out by the time regular decison comes along.
however EDs are NOT RECOMMENDED because of the fact that you cannot backout even if you get no aid from the school. so if money is your problem DONT DO ED. Becaues of this internationals are not recommended to send in early applications since we can’t really compare packages etc. But if money isnt your problem and you really really want to go to a school, go ahead. and another con is most school i believe will not let you re-apply if you were outright rejected at ED or EA. so choose carefully.</p>
<p>you can do literature as SAT II subject but its much harder than SAT I CR+W. </p>
<p>@ ruby when i volunteered at salvos i visited their store/office. google salvos or vinnies and see if theres any near your area. duke of ed is only offered through school i think, so bad luck there. just get involved in alot of activities and sounds like you have done a lot. when you’re filling blanks in common apps, think carefully and choose the best 7 or watever number of activities that you think best represent your likes/interests. don’t worry about ECs though too much, i just had enough ECs and i still had no problem getting in or getting aids. focus more on SATs. HSC (oh wait ur a queenslander. cna’t remember wat it is there), and the ESSAY (very very important)</p>
<p>oh and yes you guys in year 11 will join in the class of 2014. its the year you graduate. so us (me, beeish, theGame etc) will be the class of 2013. </p>
<p>and the classes start depending on the school. beeish starts mid august, i start 24th ish of august.</p>
<p>and update on my college decisions</p>
<p>presidential scholarship with 15k aid from GW. finally got my package yesterday lol. but will not be goin there</p>
<p>Very good advice there s.t.g.i.dragons. I have a question about listing ECs in apps, because we’re international students, would it be better for us to attach an extra resume elaborating on an activity, competition etc so we can put it into context and they can better assess your achievement or would AOs get annoyed at reading extra stuff?</p>
<p>Also, I think if you’re in yr 11 now you’re a 2015er because you will apply in Nov 2010 or Jan 2011 and enrol in Sep 2011. Then you would do 4 yrs so you would graduate in 2015. Meanwhile, if you’re in yr 12 now and would enter college in sep 2010 you’re a 2014er. Hope that made sense?</p>
<p>Also Yale’s EA program is single-choice EA so you cant apply EA/ED to other schools if you’re applying EA to yale. But Yale’s EA is nonbinding and tehy meet 100% of demonstrated need of international ctizens as well.</p>
<p>mm im sure you can do that regarding ECs but i found such exercise unnecssary. just a matter of if you’re willing to go that extra mile for somethin which i consider not that important. Most activities should be self explanatory and they have a one line explanation of each activities in common apps. And theres also a 150 word or something essay on an activity of your choice. that one is important. I tried at best to condense my packages and explain things in limited words just so it will annoy them a little less. </p>
<p>oh yeah and your explanation makes sense i just didn’t think that through at all lol. all i know is that im a class of 13</p>
<p>but yale is also very hard to get in and not a lot of students are fortunate enough to get the 100% demonstrated need lol.</p>
<p>I have finished a Commerce degree at Melbourne Uni and i’m doing a Bachelor of Laws at Monash. I’m looking at doing an MBA though in the US at some stage. I would love to goto NYU or Wharton, but I’m not sure how feasible it is coming from here. My marks were ok (mid 70s) in Commerce and I’ve been working really hard in Law to get in the 70s, too. I’m not sure if anyone here knows the criteria, but I’d imagine that would correspond to quite a poor GPA internationally. So I would need a relatively good GMAT to boost my credentials as well as work experience.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of anyone who went overseas to do an MBA? Was it tough to gain admission? Does the University you attend matter or just marks?</p>
<p>Ah, so I was right about the '14er thing lol. Thanks for clearing up the ED/EA thing for me, s.t.g.i.dragons! </p>
<p>So I have a Fin.Aid question that will prolly come off as a bit ■■■■■■■■ (lol). When people say their contribution is $20, 000 or so, is that 20K a YEAR or for the whole four years? Same with when you get 20K aid. Is that per year or for your whole 4 year education?</p>
<p>Thanks for the ex-c advice st g.i. dragon. Will def lookout for activities! That’s the problem, i don’t have ANY ex-c at the moment. I’ve only realised that they’re BIG on ec in the US in the past few months. I USE to do a lot of sports but that was like 2++ years ago and i haven’t joined anything since then which is sad, i’ve moved around a lot and yea…but i’ll def be joining things now… and pretty soon i’ll be getting a part time job. But I’m also scared it’s going to affect my school work cuz year 11 is supposedly the heaviest year and of all my high school years, i’m gonna be joining things in the important last 2 years…</p>
<p>Haha jeesh, you’re all talking about class of 2014/15 while at school it’s still all 2010 2010! Lol.
carpe-diem what subjects are you taking this year?</p>
<p>@kimmii: I really enjoyed the Yale presentation too, I thought the woman spoke really well and really represented Yale well. It made me so in love with Yale’s campus life - now I just have to get in!</p>
<p>@ruby: I’m pretty sure a regular job (paid/volunteer) will be considered a worthy EC particularly if it’s in your area of interest or you come from a low income family. Get organised and good luck with it!</p>
<p>@ruby: I’m not sure what kind of subjects (diff. levels) you guys do over at Qld but I’m doing: Literature, Math 2A/2B (like Math II?), Media Prod. & Analysis, Drama 2A/2B, Biology & Modern History.</p>
<p>Nothing AP (can you even do that in Aus.?) or Honours (ditto for this) but I think they reflect my interests well. Well, besides Bio… lol. When are you planning to do SAT I (if you haven’t already, I mean).</p>
<p>Oh, and the EC thing - I’m in the same boat. I actually got into the idea of a US college in year 10 but then hit a lazy/depressive (lol) slump where I’d just gone off the idea and didn’t bother with ECs anymore (though I continued with my comm. service) but something motivated me to work harder this year and I’ve been a lot more active in the EC department, I’m happy to report. lol I find that doing things you actually enjoy makes it easier to juggle. Plus it could make a good hook - you never know.</p>
<p>'Kay, signing out now 'cause I’ve got an assignment - Later!</p>
<p>@ shaitan G. sorry but i dont have a lot of info on MBAs but i know that whatever uni u send your applications in for will look at both your school marks and the uni u attended (because getting a lower mark in a top notch school is not the same as lower mark in a ordinary state university) to get into NYU or warton is really hard even for an american so expect some tough competition. you need to try and get really good GMAT. Being an international makes it hard to get any aid at graduate schools. much tougher than normal unis. </p>
<p>@ carpe-diem. the contribution is per year. and the aid you get is usually per year. they will say 20000 per year in merit aid etc renewable for 4 years usually as long as you obtain certain scores per year. </p>
<p>@ ruby. a little part-time job doenst heart but dont make it the most important part of your schedule. high marks are still way more important than Ecs. year 11 isnt that hard compared to year 12. and at year 12 theres the pressure as well lol</p>
<p>and btw i only decided to go to american uni in the last year of my high school. so you guys beginning early should be fine.</p>
<p>You can, in fact, back out if your financial aid does not meet your FULL DEMONSTRATED NEED. Not many schools offer financial aid in ED or/and EA for internationals, and the few that do fulfill FULL DEMONSTRATED NEED if the applicant is admitted. So I reckon you get a significant advantage applying ED. I certainly did when I applied to Gettysburg in November of last yr. Got full-aid, and a nice little cap proclaiming that I am a 2013er. Cool, huh?</p>
<p>this is going to sound ■■■■■■■■ but DON’T WORRY ABOUT EC’s SO MUCH! I had like crappy EC’s… in fact I don’t think I had hardly any AND I got into my first choice school, granted it wasn’t a ivy AND I am not an international student, but I also had CRAPPY grades until like 12th grade and they weren’t even that stellar in 12th grade. You guys just got to relax and remember to be yourself in your essay… that is actually one of the most important parts because other than that you are just a list of accomplishments on a piece of paper… the essay is what the adcoms look at and think “would I want to spend four years with this person” of course we may not want to spend 4 years with them but that’s a total other story! haha anyways yes thats my two cents
oh and ruby I am headed off to USC which is university of southern california in Los Angeles in mid August… yes we start early!</p>
I’ve travelled and moved around a lot through my high school years so i’m not exactly terrified of change, unlike some friends of mine who wouldn’t even go interstate for uni.
Like you, it’s the ‘liberal arts education’ that really attracts me to US college and college life on campus sounds so awesome!</p>
And you’ll get the hang of the whole app process soon enough. I was clueless when I first got on here! LOL. And I spend months lurking around CC at first as well :P</p>
I find that doing things you actually enjoy makes it easier to juggle. Plus it could make a good hook - you never know.</p>