<p>thanks Sidfromaus and yep being an international and, in my case, an ORM is really a disadvantage.
Oh and by the way in case you couldn't find the extracurricular question here it is, I saved a copy of my Brown app on PDF from last year. I really think it's a helpful question to complete early in the application process, and not only for kids like 100%Tuna applying to ivies + top schools but anyone in the US admissions process to prioritize their EC's. </p>
<p>"Please tell us, roughly in order of their importance to you and in the space provided, those individual activities and awards which you believe best represent your greatest achievements and interests. Tell us approximately how many hours per week each activity entails. You may want to consider drawing upon the following areas in compiling your individual list of activities:</p>
<br>
<p>Frequent contributor (years of participation/offices held)
Athletic teams (varsity letters, include times/statistics if you want)
Community activities (volunteer, religious youth groups, cultural orgs, tutorial programs.
Creative work/ Hobbies
Prizes, honors, special recognitions (scholastic, athletic, literary, musical artistic etc.)
Travel or other rewarding experiences"</p>
<br>
<p>Btw only the first bit is word for word, the bullet points are summarised, (blame the fact that you can't copy-paste from a PDF)</p>
<p>Note how they say the EC's "you believe best represent your greatest achievements and interests". I think this is really important for you to figure out, remember you're not going to list every single thing you've done on here.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, guys for taking the time out and answering! :)</p>
<p>tetrisfan: (btw... i oso think tetris is friggin' cool) what i had thought was that i'll like appky everywhere... US, UK, Singapore, probably even try for indian schools, and later, after the acceptances (and not rejections, i hope) come in; i choose from the ones who think that i fit in... so yeah... that was the reasoning behind the 18 i had chosen... but do ya guys think it might be inimical for me to like apply to too many places?
and yeah... abt financial aid, i was really wondering whether it makes a HUGE difference in chances... cuz if it does, i am considering not applying for financial aid and look into private work-plans with different companies...
and yeah... btw... thanks for the counselor-o-matic thing... din't know about it... will try it out soon! :)</p>
<p>Sid: well... hahahaha... i'm weeping about it this year... life would be sooo much easier as a local student! but it's more satisfying to get in when it's harder, right...? so yeah... i guess the best is to persevere... and hope what the schools are looking for a cricketer and not an oboe player... lol!</p>
<p>Uphillbattle: thanks a ton for all that help and that long and very informative post! Thanks for the question... i guess it'll help in early apps planning! :)</p>
<p>Well... thanks a lot everyone for the overwhelming response... it's great to see how people advice and help each other on CC... it's like a life-saver for a US-admission-noob like me! haha... and yeah... please let the chances coming... though it might not change my destiny... but it let's me know where i stand... cuz... trust me... half my friends here in singapore can't even spell Massachusetts... which goes on to show how less we know here abt how admissions and univs work... thanks again... and keep 'em coming! :)</p>
<p>Financial aid makes a huge difference at all the colleges except HYPM, Amherst, Williams, Dartmouth and Middlebury. However, loading yourself up with loans and a ****load of debt after graduation isn't exactly advisable either...</p>
<p>The problem with applying to 18 is that you probably won't be able to completely devote yourself to each application, and not doing that will definitely not help your chances at that school - who wants to accept a half-hearted applicant? It's doable though; it's definitely possible to completely devote yourself to each application - provided that you start extremely early (as in start your essays ASAP) because you'll end up suffering from a burnout if you put everything off till December. Also, you definitely won't be able to carve a perfect niche for yourself at each of those 18 colleges (refer to the examples I provided in my previous post)...that's why I recommended the Counselor-O-Matic.</p>
<p>BTW, why aren't you looking into liberal arts colleges? They're some of the best places to receive an undergraduate education, IMO. Unless you're looking to study engineering, because most LAC's don't offer engineering (but you can study engineering at Harvey Mudd and Swarthmore - two brilliant, brilliant colleges).</p>
<p>Also, I'm assuming that you plan on going for a Masters/PhD later on. These programs look very favourably upon a LAC education (ie. you won't be disadvantaged AT ALL), so yeah...</p>
<p>you are obviously an extremely accomplished and intelligent student, but do take note of the fierce competition from spore alone... and take a look at the lacs.</p>
<p>Well, was in a bit of a hurry, so yeah... din't answer earlier... About LACs, the thing is; as far as I've heard, they ain't exactly engineering or for that matter science-focused schools, nor are they super-prestigious; so, my idea was that well, if i don't get to any school outta my list (most of them are like, dream schools, i guess) i'd rather stay on in singapore (or try for UK) for undergrad (after all, NUS is ranked number 10 in the world for engineering), do a double degree or something and then try for grad school in the US... won't that be like better than burning a load of money on LACs, cuz... with my grades, and already being a singapore govt. scholar, i'd practically get paid 500 bucks a month with accomodation ol to study in NUS... so yeah... that was my idea... what do ya guys think...?</p>
<p>Oh man, what have you heard about LACs (I didn't mean that in a condescending way)? LACs tend to be the most generous towards internationals! And most of them are amazing at science (and the handful that offer engineering are great at that too). Trust me, a degree from WASP (Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona) or any other top LAC (Bowdoin, Carleton, Haverford, etc) will be looked upon very favourably by grad schools. Seriously, take a closer look at LACs.</p>
<p>Yeah a lot of LAC's are incredible in the science field, look into the places tetrisfan suggested, as well as places like Harvey Mudd, probably the top known sciencey-engineering LAC, Middlebury and Vassar. Great places for science-focused students as they provide not only a more stimulating undergraduate education but also a more solid foundation for graduate schools. More student-teacher interaction, obviously 100% undergrad focus and the students at these colleges tend to be a lot more engaged in learning than some of their university counterparts, probably due to less distractions in terms of location (most are in small towns, safe) etc. Not to say they don't have fun though.</p>
<p>Bet you didn't know that out of the colleges from where the most graduates go on to earn a PhD, LAC's outnumber universities 10 to 6. The top two institutions have less than 1,000 students each and Harvey Mudd ranks number one.</p>
<p>well... i guess i need to update myself about LACs... lol... For all i knew was that they were called "arts" for a reason... but i guess they look good... will check 'em out... just another question... can you apply for financial aid to a few and not apply to a few, or is it just one square box in the common app? and yeah... just curious... nothing to do with me or my app personally, but what kinda things do ya think will me a college admission dude jump outta his pants and accept... a hollywood movie? being the second mother teresa? a cure for aids? lol... basically have you ever heard of people getting in juz cuz they are friggin' awesome at something?</p>
<p>no more chances... boo! :(
it's kinda nice to know what people think of where you're heading... post eh guys! :)</p>
<p>Yes, you can apply for financial aid at a few places and abstain from doing so at others. And please do check out LAC's, especially Harvey Mudd and Swarthmore. There's a thread on this forum about LAC's which offer engineering, so that should give you some more LAC options to look into (HMC and S are the only two with engineering that come to mind at the moment).</p>
<p>There is no one thing which will make an admissions officer jump up and accept you, no. You need a good blend of everything - grades, EC's, test scores, essays and recs. The thing is, you don't need to have every EC at the friggin' international level to get into HYPMS. They just want individuals who completely utilize the resources around them. A cure for AIDS would be nice though :).</p>
<p>yeah... will look into LACs! thanks for all the info!
<em>bump</em> others! drop a chance-me-answer-post, suggestions, comments... anything...
900+ views... and only a few people (who i'm damn damn thankful to) replying! :(</p>
<p>I would like to reply to whoever said ''are you looking for prestige?''.</p>
<p>Well, for international students, ESPECIALLY indians, it gets really competitive when students get back from university to get jobs. So in countries in the Middle East and Asia, where competition is insane, I'd say prestige is very helpful in landing in a high paying job.</p>
<p>From personal experience I'd discuss conditions here in the UAE. I know many Indian students from my school(most of their parents are engineers), and the highest paid between their parents are those who have top 20 degrees.</p>
<p>Example: Indian dad, Rice graduate, income : 180,000$ a year.
Indian dad, Vtech graduate, income : 80,000$ a year.</p>
<p>Ofcourse luck and years experience play a big role, but I'm speaking in general</p>
<p>^Yes, but going to a school where you don't fit for four years isn't, IMHO, worth it, even for the extra money later on. </p>
<p>I'd say you have a decent chance at most of the schools on your list, but PLEASE look into each of them before you apply, to make sure you would actually enjoy going there. You can't visit, no, but all the schools you listed have websites that will tell you a lot about them. Read through some of that, and then see if you're still interested.</p>
<p>Yes, but undergraduate prestige hardly matters if you go on to grad school (which you really need to do if you want to make it big in India). And yes, I completely second what Savs says...</p>
<p>i guess yeah... with a good grad school, undergrad prestige just doesn't matter that much, but well, i guess a higher prestige would just be, well, wouldn't be bad! the thing for me is that it's quite difficult to persuade my parents to send me to a LAC or a not-the-top-notch-list school, cuz they wouldn't really want to shell out a loada money while i could study here in singapore for free! but yeah... i guess some LACs do look good!</p>
<p>PS: others! am tired of requesting... plz... a little encouragement, constructive criticism, suggestions, a quick word won't hurt... so please! :)</p>
<p>haha... dun't get me wrong when i say this; but it will be a BIG dilemma for me... singapore on one hand is VERY engineering focussed, double degrees, closer to home, familiar, gives me 500 sing. dollars a month and has a high prestige value in terms of world ranking and super-high in asia, while i guess an LAC would probably make my way to a good grad school easier... soo yeah... would weigh the pros and cons, but i guess my parents would be more inclined towards singapore... (me being the only child, my parents, dun't really want to send me too far, if possible). but i guess if i get a top univ (aka ivies/ a presitigous <em>read very prestigious</em> school), even without financial aid, i'll GO! haha! :)</p>
<p>btw... just wondering... i'm on a scholarship which selects only 25 odd students from all over india every year and well, is rather prestigious in india (at least the cities!)... so will elaborating and highlighting that somewhere in my apps help...? if yes, where?</p>
<p>PS: the scholarship's called SIA-Youth (for 11th and 12th grade education)</p>