<p>Hi, I'm an international student, and I would love to attend HMC. </p>
<p>Objective:
• SAT I (breakdown): 2150 (770 CR, 720 MA, 660 WR) [first and only sitting, how badly will my MA and WR scores affect me?]
• ACT (breakdown): N/A
• SAT II : 800 Math II, 800 Physics
• GPA: School does not use the GPA. My country uses the Alevel system and the results are not due till admissions results are released, so the predicted grades for Alevels will be used instead. That said, however, my grades are quite bad, and they show a downward trend from my freshman and sophomore years (where I previously achieved a top 10% in my cohort) to a little below the average :( the only thing I have that helps me, though, is that the standard of school examinations are usually pitched at a higher level than the Alevels, so the teachers will predict higher scores for us.
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
• AP (place score in parentheses): School does not offer AP (only 1 school in my country does, actually)
• IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
• Senior Year Course Load: (A level system) H2 physics, chemistry, mathematics and history.
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 1 of 6 projects selected to represent my country at the ISEF (international level), in which I won 4th place in my category for my individual project. </p>
<p>Subjective:
• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Chinese Orchestra (6 years, first sectional principle of a new instrumental section)
• Job/Work Experience: none
• Volunteer/Community Service: none
• Summer Activities: 1 of 2 students selected nationally for the International Summer Schools for Young Physicist (we apply through the government's committee, and the same committee selects students for other summer programs such as RSI), did 2 research projects over 2 summers (both are individual projects)
• Essays: Hopefully good
• Teacher Recommendations: I'm not very sure; I think 1 of them can potentially be very good </p>
<p>Other
• State (if domestic applicant): N/A
• Country (if international applicant): Singapore
• School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: Asian Chinese
• Gender: F
• Income Bracket: 100,000
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college</p>
<p>I have researched a fair bit, and I think HMC's the closest fit for me. However, I know it is an incredibly hard school to get into, so I'm wondering if anyone here can suggest a list of schools which are similar to HMC (in terms of size, focus on undergraduate teaching, and of course a strong engineering department)?</p>
<p>Your help will be much appreciated! :)</p>