<p>Firstly I'm an international student from Brunei (small rich country loaded with oil near Singapore). I'm half Hongky (Hong Kong) and half Malaysian. I've also been studying at an international school all my life.</p>
<p>For my IGCSE's (grade 9 and 10):
I got 8 A's & A*'s and 2 B's. Was wondering if that would affect it. And I'm definitely in the top 5 in my grade.</p>
<p>Right now for grade 11 and 12, I've been doing the IB:
My predicted grade is 43 points. which puts me in the top 2% worldwide in terms of IB scores. And I've consistently been a 40+ pointer. I take Higher Level Maths, HL English A1, HL Economics, Standard Level Geography, Biology and Malay Ab Initio. And I've always been getting 6's or 7's. (A's or A*'s)</p>
<p>EC's: (Throughout my entire highschool life and ALL long term)
- I do basketball, soccer, netball (english sport like basketball), tennis, badminton on a varsity level. I also do swimming seriously and I am the captain of the basketball and soccer team as well as being national champions multiple times. Im also in the national netball team in Brunei. I've also climbed the tallest mountain in South East Asia. I've also travelled all over Asia to take part in international competitions.
- I also do a lot of creative EC's such as the guitar (ABRSM Grade 3), Piano, Chinese Cultural Dance, Salsa, Theatre. I've been selected in lead roles in many school musicals.
- I am a Yearbook representative, involved in all student council events and Senior house captain.
- I've been involved every year in the Borneo Global Issues MUN Conference with a few hundred students from all over South East Asia as a delegate, Committee Chair and Secretary General. I was also selected for the Model United Naitons in Doha, Qatar.
- I do a LOT of community service like painting the children's wards in the hospitals, planting trees in the rainforests of Borneo, refurbish a broken down community hall in Malaysia, regular volunteer work at this center for disabled children, organised fundraising events such as Talent Shows, Food Fests to donate to charity, helped autistic children do gymnastics, helped out in several school events etc. I also won the Director's Award this year for Community Service because of all my contributions and embodying the school ethos.
- I've been selected to be my school's representative in a National Maths Olympiad competition.</p>
<p>I havent taken the SATs yet due to particular reasons but I am taking it very very soon. I was wondering if I've got a chance at Penn because I know there's a massive amount of people who apply and I'm starting to panic haha.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>we dont really have class rank here, but I’m top 3 in my grade. My grade’s also pretty competitive, really smart batch this year. Even though there’s only about 56 people. Small international school.</p>
<p>Oh my freaking god. I know exactly who you are. I cannot freaking believe the astronomical odds of us bumping into each other on here actually happened. We went to school together before i went to boarding school in America. I suppose now you know who I am as well. I was also at BGIC. Well, I think you have a great shot at PENN IF you apply early decision (as in before the November 1st deadline - applying early REALLY helps you at Penn particularly if you have strong stats like you do) That means if you get in, which you probably will, you HAVE to go. Penn’s med school is like No. 3 so don’t worry it really is top notch. now you also have to do your SAT II (Subject tests, ie chemistry, biology etc - they’re easy I aced them and if I can ace them you certainly can - since i know you). You need to RUSH your scores (you will see how on collegeboard- don’'t worry) take the November SAT IIs this is mandatory. You also need to research PENN. Do the common app but remember you also have to do a supplemental app for penn which means more essays. You HAVE to research PENN intently and show that you know your stuff and convince them that it is your first choice school - PENN is VERY picky about weeding out people who are actually only shooting for Harvard, Yale etc. which is why Early Decision really helps. I suggest you apply to the SEAS (School of Art and Sciences) and/or try to apply to a dual degree program with Wharton. (But remember getting into Wharton is just as hard as getting into Harvard). </p>
<p>Your teacher recs are going to be awesome - since I know you and your teachers i would not worry about that. BUT I think your biggest weakness will be your essay. You have to SHOW them that you are passionate but something in particular, and that you are unique. You are a great writer its just that uniqueness factor that is the problem.</p>
<p>By the way I am applying early decision to Wharton - the business school at Penn which is the best in the world just so you know. Tough as hell to get into though.</p>
<p>omg ok I know I’m definitely bursting the bubble here but give me some more hints! There were TONS of people who left so I get really confused and my memory goes all fuzzy. Ok so you mustve been in ISB since we went to school together and you mustve left recently since you did BGIC. It’s pretty awesome that we’ve bumped into one another here though! anyway, thanks a lot for your reply 
really appreciate it. ok so problem is, due to really crap planning and indecision, i didnt decide to apply to the states until late march. which meant i was too late to register for the April SATs. so the one last weekend was the only one that I’ve done and I genuinely think I didnt do very well, which isnt good. so I’m working really hard right now for the SAT II’s. I was thinking if I didnt do as well as I wanted to, I’ll retake the SATs in december but it’ll be a rush. which means I highly doubt I can apply for ED 
there’s this specialist for American universities or something who’s coming to our school this friday and we’ve all got appointments so I’m gonna plan out all the questions I need to ask her and advice.</p>
<p>I’d reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally love to go to Penn. I’m majoring in Economics btw! How about you? I’m trying to keep working on my essay and I’m gonna ask advice from a whole load of teachers etc coz I reckon it may help a lot. And even though I still don’t know exactly who you areeee, hope things are brill on your side!</p>
<p>ok buttercup just one thing- if you want to ED to penn then u have to have ur SAT sorted out by Nov LATEST. You cant expect your december scores to be looked at for ED because the ED results will be out by the time you submit the december scores.</p>
<p>haha yeah im definitely applying for RD. do you know roughly how much they emphasize on your SATs scores? compared to your GPA?</p>
<p>M… A… (see i know who you are). I was the former president of the student body and the only Parlimentarian ever promoted to Sec. Gen. during the actual conference. Now you should know who I am. I also did a dance in front of the student body along with a particular south-african co-prez during my presidential bid. And I am pretty sure I am the only kid from ISB to go to a US prep school.</p>
<p>Now back to business. You need at least a 1400 (Critical Reading and math combined - nobody cares about writing too much) to be competitive. It reality for Harvard, Wharton, Yale ETC you should really be shooting for a 1470 - 1500. 2200 (writing included - is competitive). You should have 750 and above on your SAT IIs. Now I know that everyone from ISB (yes even the Cambridge Genius, and the president of the student body that preceded me and is now at Yale). Did **** on the SAT. The Yale person did ok. Basically if you want to be considered and have a mid 2100 you are not very competitive but you pass the threshold of being “qualified” now the Yale person is obviously a freaking genius so they did not hold her SAT scores against her. But yeah the cambridge dude got screwed basically by his low SAT scores. To put it in perspective the top scorer from isb (myself excluded) would be in the 40% - 50 percentile of my school here - my class is 170 people. So SATs are important I wish ISB did more to get people to practice for them earlier. people in Isb tend to think they are a cake walk - arrogantly - and don’t prepare for them but then get screwed when they take them. </p>
<p>Not to be mean or anything but my guess is your SAT scores are going to be weak. If I were you I would CERTAINLY sign up for the november SAT II and send them off to PENN (Rushed) and I would apply early Decision. That is the only way i realistically see you getting in unless your SAT scores are magically higher than expected. Remember there are TONS of kids with 2200s that get rejected - trust me i go to one of the top 5 schools in the world now I have seen some amazing kids here (ie 2360 SATs who are unsure if they can get into the best colleges so that puts it in perspective). Especially since you are asian you are competing against the near godly SAT taker pool. So ED UPENN would be your best (and perhaps most likely) shot at an IVY, believe me. Do it.</p>
<p>Don’t wait for your december scores. Still apply to Penn Early decision and send your december scores to other schools if you do not get in. Penn will love the fact that your class rank is so high and MAY overlook your SAT score. MAYBE. Really, I would basically rule out harvard and Yale etc. Go for PENN ED. And if not THEN apply to Harvard and Yale, but more likely Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown (especially), Cornell(Really especially), and University of Chicago (superb school. I would say almost as good as Columbia etc. perhaps close to No. 1 if you are into econ.BUT VERY IMPORTANTLY its acceptance rate is noticeably higher than the others which means good for you). But if your SATs.</p>
<p>Just so you know if you are into banking etc. an econ. degree is not neccesarily the way to go. You will use almost NOTHING you learned in econ in finance two almost COMPLETELY unrelated fields. Applying to schools like Wharton, Stern and University of Virginia (incredibly good school and you are more likely to get in) are your best best. but if you can get into LSE i would go there over everywhere except the IVIES. LSE probably beats Cambridge and Oxford in terms of job placement in London by absolute numbers alone. Not saying that it is better than the other two just that if you want to go into finance dont feel that LSE is a step down from Oxbridge.</p>
<p>One more thing about the econ. degree. If I was interested in becoming an economist I would of course be applying to Harvard instead of Wharton. But for finance Wharton wins hands down. Harvard does not offer finance (even though many of its alums still get the same jobs etc). My SAT scores coming out of ISB were VERY bad (think low 2000s) but after intensive prep i have pulled it up to high 2200s. Trust me DO THE TEST PREP !!! Consider taking a gap year and doing INTENSE test prep and some amazing eca like buo;ldign a school in ghana or working in a bank etc. that could help. remember I did a repeat year when I went to Hotchkiss. Age really does not matter.</p>
<p>lol the coincidence. XD</p>
<p>ok pretty busy right now but quick reply, im not M-A. I’m Y-E-S-_-E-A-N.
anyone else free to give some advice? :)</p>