Hi! I’m an international applicant from China,who have been studying in Singapore since i was 9 and have obtained Permanent Residence here. Im intending to apply to Brown as an Early Decision applicant with finanical assistance. However, upon looking through the requirements,I am unsure of my chance of admission.Here are my informations:
Academic:
-From Top/2nd Junior College in Singapore,extrememly competitive,current overall level ranking:around 50% (my school dont practice class ranking)
but my current J1 Percentile: every subject is at around 45-47%( getting mainly Cs)
-My percentile in sec 3 and 4 is generally top 10% in school (Secondary school not the best in Singapore, but is still a Band 1 school)
-O level Raw Score(Without bonus):
7 SS/Geog A2, English B4, Others:Math, A math, Biology,Chemisty, Physics, Chinese,Higher Chinese A1
Received award for outstanding O level result during Speech Day
-Participated in research programme in local research institution
-Represented school in participating Chemistry olympiad (didnt win)
-SAT: Took Jan one,still waiting for result
Non-academic:
-Vice President of my club in both secondary school and JC
-Won National Level Award (GOLD) for my CCA in Secondary School (Uniform Group)
-CCA receive unit award GOLD in secondary school
-Leader of sports committee in secondary school
-Received Outstanding contribution award as vice president and sports committee
-Did many CIP activities (around 140h in secondary school,100h in JC)
-Secretary treasuerer of our self-initiated community service project
Family：
-Low household income
-both my dad and mum are diploma holders,stepfather graduated from primary school(retired) Basically my family is abit complicated we overcomed many obstacles
Pls comment if you are experienced in this field. Much thanks 
Your low household income is going to be a problem, because you will need financial aid. Top 20 schools are notoriously tight-fisted with giving aid to international students. You also need to be supremely well qualified to stand a chance of getting accepted. Any grades you recieved in school need to be from high school. They will not care about grades before then. To have a decent chance, you need to be probsbly one of the top five students in your school. I am confused about your schooling. Are you currently attending the first school you mention, or the second?
At any rate, I am sorry to say that I don’t think you have a good chance due to your financial situation. I don’t see anything here that is making me think you are really exceptional. You should probably post again after your SAT comes back. That will give you a much better idea. I think it is safe to say that if you don’t score well over 1500, you have almost no chance. Sorry to be blunt. Good luck.
The education system in Singapore is slightly different from that of US. The secondary 3 and 4 here is equivalent to high school. I’m currently attending Junior College. My high school (i.e. Junior college) is highly competitive. According to my school counsellor, most students here would not opt for US university. Among the people who apply for US Uni, there will be around 1-4 ppl attending each ivy league every year. 40% of applicants for UCLA managed to get in,the proability of getting into NYU is also very high. So relatively speaking my result would place me above 10% at a national level,but not so in my school.
By the way im not intending to apply for financial aid
“Among the people who apply for US Uni, there will be around 1-4 ppl attending each ivy league every year. 40% of applicants for UCLA managed to get in,the proability of getting into NYU is also very high.”
Good that you can estimate your own chances accurately (which is very slim). But the chances to get to the top US universities is not much better (than yours) for the rest of the students from your school (or from any other school)!
You say you are low income, but you do not plan to apply for financial aid. Has your family got $260,000 to finance your education for four years in the US?
1-4 people at your school are at every Ivy League school, every year? Something is not adding up here. Maybe it’s getting lost in translation. At any rate, you say you are in the middle 50% for your school. I cannot see how you will be high enough to be considered. The few international kids accepted to Ivy League colleges from a school like yours are going to be the top two or three kids in the class. If you are in the middle, I truly don’t see any chance. Again, sorry to be blunt. By all means, try if you like.
^ OP, considering the fact that there are thousands of schools like yours (whether you want to believe it or not!) in this vast universe and some top Ivies admit a very few internationals only, your statistics don’t make much sense! Furthermore, 40% admission into UCLA sounds so exaggerating and is beyond a comment!
I’m not familiar with the Singapore system, but I’ve talked to a friend from Pomona (top college comparable in selectivity to Brown) and I think she had mostly A’s (70+) with a couple of B’s (60+). No C’s at all. She also got A’s in all her H2 tests.
I’m using this website: http://www.classbase.com/countries/Singapore/Grading-System and it seems that you’re getting the equivalent of a US C with your grades. Is this correct in your experience?
Do you know what the average percents are for the students getting into UCLA and others?
I don’t quite understand your stats list, but I would say you have pretty much no shot at a top 20 US school. International, low income, no test scores, relatively poor grades/rank. What do you have going for you? Honestly confused as to why you’d think you have a real shot at a US top 20