<p>Thank you TheGrand. I actually didn’t think of that. By the way, are you also Chinese?
Why did applications drop though?</p>
<p>Yup I am, and the 20% drop can probably be attributed to the uncertainty caused by the economic crisis. Good luck :)</p>
<p>So nice to meet someone from my country! And thanks for your help!
20% sounds quite a lot though.</p>
<p>;)
Cheers.</p>
<p>Where are you studying currently?</p>
<p>Um. Singapore, but not a Singaporean.</p>
<p>Wow! Nice meeting you. You went there straight from mainland China?</p>
<p>Um. Nope, actually Hong Kong 
I board in Singapore.</p>
<p>So you applied to US universities? Do you have anymore advice for me?</p>
<p>Well, I can answer questions if you have any.</p>
<p>They’ll come slowly as I start applying. At the moment, um…any recommended universities?</p>
<p>The best way to find out about certain schools and if they will be the right fit for you is to go deeply into their websites. Read through the Mission Statements, or philosophy of each school. Look at the common data set: there is a lot of information there and you usually need to search for it on every website. Read through where it says: what do we look forin an applicant. Search through the course catalogs and note how often courses are offered (some may only be offered every other year). Also read through their financial aid policy; put yourself down for receiving information from the schools that are of interest to you.
Make a spread sheet and start listing the different characteristics of schools so you can compare.
Most important find at least one school where you are fairly sure you can get in and would be happy to go.</p>
<p>I would not recommend universities as I am not particularly knowledgeable about top schools in Chemistry and Biology. As a start, you could look at the rankings available for those particular subjects. Do note that the rankings are naturally biased so you should have a look at a few, conduct individual research in each of the universities you are interested in.</p>
<p>If you believe your passion can come onto paper (perhaps in Chem or Bio or even other things) and you know you want to apply early to somewhere that fits you, go for it- make sure you are prepared to submit a competitive application though and show how your acceptance will be mutually beneficial. </p>
<p>For activities, focus on your passion and ignore those which does not mean that much to you. Eg. In my school, Grade 8 in piano doesn’t exactly mean too much, because some people do achieve it. Show what you are unique as an individual - be convinced where you want to apply is really where you want to go :)</p>
<p>And again, focus on your South-African experience - or maybe how it has clashed with your Chinese identity (emphasis on the former) - it will sound like you do have something to bring into a university - and if its true - it should come on paper :D</p>
<p>Hey, also from South Africa :). Just curious what school are you attending? </p>
<p>Also I’d like to point out that many of the universities and colleges that people are recommending are actually not as good as our very own UCT. Of course not the really impressive ones like the Ivy league and co. but personally I would probably take a UCT education rather than many of those safeties people have been mentioning.</p>
<p>I can however understand if your plan is leaning more towards getting out of South Africa than getting a better education. </p>
<p>Can I ask if the only reasoning behind your FA is because of the horrid exchange rate (R:$)?</p>
<p>Anyhow nice stats - I hope I do as well as you in the SATS!</p>
<p>Hey SeanZA. Glad to meet you. I live in Pretoria. Which city/province are you from? When are you taking the SATs?
I don’t know which school to apply to yet, maybe Williams ED or Yale EA, depending on how well I do this year, not that I think I can get in though. That’s why I have lots of safety schools.
If I can leave SA, then I’m definitely not going to attend UCT. Life is becoming a bit difficult here because of the crime rate and inflation. I really need the FA simply because my family cannot afford the cost.
And to expatme and TheGrand, thanks for your advice. I’ll check these out. But which universities do you think might be a good match for me?
SeanZA, goood luck with your SATs if you haven’t written yet. By the way I’m planning on taking SAT I again sometime, and taking SAT II in May.</p>
<p>Western Cape and I’m taking them in May. Is it nessacary though to take SAT II? I’m really busy and I don’t want to take them and have it negatively affect everything else I do if its not all that important. </p>
<p>And yea I understand what you mean. I’m not very keen to stay here in SA much longer either.</p>
<p>It sometimes depends on what colleges you are applying to. Some universities like Princeton actually require you to take three subject tests, while most others require two. There are schools that don’t need SAT II at all though. I’m doing Maths level 2, Biology M and Chemistry. They’re not that hard actually, mostly schoolwork. By the way, what colleges are you interested in?</p>
<p>I’ll most likely end up in Australia but I’m just going for the longshot hope that I’ll get into MIT, Stanford and I’m currently looking for a 3rd and perhaps 4th choice. So yeah - I’m hopeful but realistically as an international applicant my chances are very slim :)</p>
<p><em>Edit</em> By the way how did you study for the SAT?</p>
<p>Whoa. It’s a lot of work. I spent two holidays studying vocab and doing practice tests. Princeton Review books are very helpful. MIT and Stanford are great universities, but I sort of gave up on them because their policies are rather discriminative against internationals. Yale and Dartmouth actually appear to be better options, according to what I heard from their representatives at College Week Live. Are you considering U Melbourne? They say they need APs and I wonder if I should do them.</p>
<p>@julienyu - You would really want to be looking at colleges which are need blind to international - because being Chinese AND needing financial aid does not help you at all.
Other than those top institutions, you might be thinking of Middlebury as your high realistic/lower reach? You can do some research on the institutions which have need blind policies for ALL students - that will work in your advantage.</p>