Chance an Indian studying in Singapore... wants to study in the US!!! Please! =)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
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<p>Gender: Male
Race: Indian
Citizenship: Indian
Location: Singapore, Singapore
College Class Year: 2012
High School: Public
Applying for Financial Aid: Yes (though, cost is secondary)</p>

<p>Academics:
A-Level Grades: (As predicted by teachers)
Math: A
Physics: A
Chemistry: B
Economics: A
General Paper (English): A
Project Work: A (confirmed)
Hindi (Mother Tongue): A (confirmed)
Class Rank: top 10%
Class Size: 763</p>

<p>Scores:
SAT I Math: 790
SAT I Critical Reading: 680
SAT I Writing: 720
SAT II Math Level 2 (IIC): 800
SAT II Physics: 800
SAT II Chemistry: 790</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
An active member of the JC Drama Club; performed in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare and Ovidia Yu’s “Death on Cue” for public shows. Also, performed for many school events like National Day Celebrations, Open House etc.</p>

<p>I am the Creative Head for the Indian Cultural Society (ICS) of my school. I designed the college ICS T-shirt, won a silver award at the Singapore Youth Festival in the Cultural Dance Category. I was Audio-Video i/c for the National Tamil Drama Competition, for which I received best Lighting and Technical Crew. Also, performed (Dance) for the Mardi Gras Festival (2008)</p>

<p>Am in the college cricket team and played the 8-a-side and 11-a-side A division national tournaments. We won the 2nd runners up for the 11-a-side version of the game. Received the East Zone Colors Award for exceptional performance as a cricketer.</p>

<p>A Mazarin Leader for the school; Mazarin- a group (invitational; based on academic, EC performance, write-ups and interviews) which works for the benefit of the school and the community in general.</p>

<p>Taught in a “Free School”(Zero-fee schools for the impoverished children) in Haryana, India during the summer-break last year completing a total of 140 hours of service.</p>

<p>Member of a non-government organization, Dhriiti (India) which works for the cause of the upliftment of the rural poor and disabled, giving them financial backing and expert-guidance to start a business and be self-employed and also helps them in fighting for their rights through petitions.</p>

<p>Headed the “Shoes for a Cause” Project which aimed at collecting recyclable shoes to aggregate money for poor school children in Indonesia.</p>

<p>Participated in the Raffles’ Community Leaders’ Forum; an avenue where students are selected from various countries like Singapore, India, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, USA, UK etc. to come together and discuss various problems facing the world today and solutions that we as the youth have to offer.</p>

<p>I worked for 2 months last year with a media marketing company (won't name it here) and worked on the design of the current KFC marketing plan for Singapore (2008), contributing this year's Singapore version of the Brand Positioning (i.e. something similar to the "I'm loving it! for McDonalds"</p>

<p>Participated in the Go-Green Day for collecting recyclable wastes, the proceeds from which went to various Singaporean charity organizations.</p>

<p>Completed a short-term Diploma course in 2-D animation and Basic Cartooning.</p>

<p>Was the Vice-President of the Students’ Council in my Secondary-School. (India)</p>

<p>Honors and Awards:
*AMC12: School Topper (115.5) (First Attempt)
*AIME: 9
*Qualified (based on merit) for USAMO (couldn’t take due to Indian citizenship)
*Singapore Mathematics Olympiad: Bronze Award
*NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest: Honors
*Virtual Business Challenge: Finalist (Hope to win this year! =) )
*College Summer programs: Not Offered
*Recipient of SIA-Youth Scholarship (offers fully-paid education at Pre-University Level at a Junior College in Singapore)</p>

<p>Please chance me... I know that's what probably half of CC's asking for, but I don't really want to apply if I totally don't have a chance. Soo, basically, this goes a long way in deciding whether I apply! Please help! Thanks!</p>

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<p>looking good. definitely apply. good luck!</p>

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<p>thanks annabell! that' encouraging... any other suggestions to boost my chances? research? more community service? better SATs? patents? something... anything...! thanks again! :)</p>

<p>PS: others, opinions opinions opinions???</p>

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<p>You look very strong to me. How many times have you taken the SAT? They don't put a lot of emphasis on it, but given that admissions to a school like this is almost a lottery drawing, it couldn't hurt to have another lottery ticket per se by boosting the critical reading. Though, if you've taken it a few times, don't worry about it. Just wasn't sure if you'd only taken it once.</p>

<p>Best of luck! I'd love to say I'm sure you'll get in, but seriously, you just never know with these things. Definitely apply, though. Definitely.</p>

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<p>Thanks! D'ya think getting a patent for some battery I invented (cell phone battery which lasts for 2 weeks!) will help? This was my first hand at the SAT... didn't really prepare; just took for getting a "feel" of the test, but everyone told me the score was pretty decent, so unsure whether I should retake. Also, just a thought, if my scores, due to unforeseeable circumstances, actually fall, will that reflect badly on me? Any other suggestions? Thanks! Realllllly appreciate it! :)</p>

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<p>^ Yeah, sure. Get the battery patented! It'll show that you're creative and not all academic.</p>

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<p>Definitely go for a patent. That shows ambition and initiative, and that you understand the larger system concerning intellectual property. Great job on that, by the way.</p>

<p>Your scores on the SAT are fine, and like I said, they aren't emphasized, but if you have the time, it couldn't hurt to raise your critical reading score. If it was your first time, you have a strong chance of raising your score, so it sounds like it might be worth it. They will not look poorly on you if you scored worse on even all three sections: the schools expect people to take it multiple times, and they understand that some days you are simply in a better test-taking mood. They will only consider the highest scores of each individual section. :)</p>

<p>Again, it's not very important, and I feel shady telling someone it might be a good idea to take a standardized test again (I absolutely despise standardized tests, and actually recently finished a senior thesis on its negative effects; I only took the SAT once because it was so miserable to me), but you seem quite strong everywhere else. If I had to say what you should have as a goal, I think the 1500-1600 range for math and critical reading is fine. They don't distinguish too heavily between people in a range like that, though of course if you're capable of more, go for more :)</p>