interesting international case~~(chance+advice,please come in:)

Applying to College
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<p>Well...I've been hearing people criticizing "chance" threads..i know it's relatively subjective even purely psychological. then again, i'm an international such that many insights are simply unavailable. so here i am . short and sweet, I promise :)</p>

<p>just a little bit of background: I'm currently studying in the hyper competitive Singapore but am a PRC citizen.　Icame to SG alone at 14 after receiving a full scholarship by SG government. so i'm not a native speaker and none of my family members speak English.
okie...my basic stats:
SAT Reasoning: 2400
SAT subject: Math 2 800
WH : 790
Lit: 750 (well, i learnt these two subjects entirely on my own...school history course covers only, interestingly, the period of 1945-2000. i'd love to elaborate on this different approach in history learning if anyone's interested but right now i should just save the words...)
Curriculum choice: i don't have APs as they r not offered in SG schools...but I do have H3 subject in Game Theory,which means that we go to local universities and take classes with profs and take the same exam as the undergrads. i guess i've taken almost the hardest course offered by our school. Btw, i started learning English quite late (11) and attended no international schools prior to coming to SG. yet i took English Literature (and topped the level of 1000 people in two major exams) and History which is also a bit heavy in terms of language requirement...( I've got a keen interest in foreign language) well, does it make my curriculum choice in a sense more challenging than my peers who choose sciences...(i'm quite ok with sciences and esp math too)
my results are quite good...mostly As, some Bs ( usually when the highest in the level is only a B...) half above 97 percentile.</p>

<p>hope i don't sound pompous (well there is no reason to be just that i'm afraid my eagerness to explain my situation might appear so.)</p>

<p>ECs: well I have about three international 1st prizes in Mandarin essay writing, book review and literary composition. one international silver medal in Chinese public speaking (representing Singapore..) and one 2nd place in a national English debate championship ...
a few book prizes and bowls+math competitions..<br>
i was in Drama club and was the leading actress in one school production (my 1st year in SG) i was in Art Club too. but i have no leadership position in either.
Editor in Chief when i was in 9th grade in China (i started the school newspaper) +student council VP (but i have no major leadership position in the last two years.</p>

<p>So...that's mostly the basics about me. i'm applying FA for all schools ( middle-class...parents r both university teachers so not rich enough :)</p>

<p>I have drawn up a application plan...did not consider the rankings, mainly handpicked based on my own research (i'm quite alone in this as my parents know absolutely nothing in american higher education. So here it is (pleaaaase tell me if it is too ambitious)</p>

<p>Yale
Williams
Amherst
Tufts
Northwestern</p>

<p>Dartmouth
Middlebury
Brown
Pomona
Harvard
Bowdoin</p>

<p>I am a quite bilingual person and am hoping to have a broad-based liberal art education. this is because i've always wanted to be a journalist or TV reporter back in China. (hope it's not too cheesy but i do hope that i could be part of the voice that narrates this important page of our history...) </p>

<p>right now i am very stressed...our A Level is right at the corner and all applications stuffs are starting soon too. I feel quite alone in this. (living alone in a boarding school) sometimes i am so scare of failure cuz i've put in so much effort... the research into application process is so draining when the school operates in a different system... it would have been easy if i set my goal in a Singapore University, which is not bad at all. but since i chose the road less traveled by... I wanted the US so much because of the broad based education and that people believe in education rather than the technical value of it (at least in my perception)</p>

<p>I feel so drained now (sick and staying at hostel alone... now i'm guessing maybe i just want to have someone to talk to)</p>

<p>Wishing to hear from any kind hearts among you @.@</p>

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<p>oh my god…i didn’t realize how long it was…sorry for that…maybe cuz of the fever i’m currently suffering from>.<!!!</p>

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<p>I’m applying RD for all schools cuz ED/EA/REA deadline falls right before my A Level…I know that my FA request would be potentially fatal…but i really need financial support ( wouldn’t allow parents to sell house for my college or anything of that sort…)</p>

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<p>hey, your scores and profile look great. however the ivy schools are always unpredictable when it comes to admissions, there are kids who score 2400 on their SATs and still get rejected. i guess it comes down to differentiating yourself from the lot who apply and come up with a great admissions essay which would dazzle the adcom. FA will lower your chances for any school im guessing. good luck!</p>

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<p>You have no safeties but I presume you have at least one in Singapore. </p>

<p>Asking for FA will hurt you at need-aware schools. </p>

<p>Your ECs are okay.</p>

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<p>thanks…i assume that since i’m asking for FA, i can’t possibly have safeties…is it a misconception? any suggestions for safeties?</p>

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<p>@boniver93 :thanks for ur encouragement…</p>

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<p>There are no “safeties” for international students who need financial aid, because only about 10 or so schools guarantee to meet full need for internationals and all of them are highly competitive.</p>

<p>The reference to “safeties” 082349 made was to having a safety school in your home country.</p>

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<p>how about safeties for people for are an us citizen but need financial aid? someone who has 2070 sat(going to take it again), taken 4 ap tests (chinese, macroeconomics, psych, lit- 5553 respectively), and an okay gpa and rank? (around top 20 percent?)</p>

<p>and to op, i can only say 加油 :)</p>

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<p>asian + good stats and ECs + who wants to do something non-math and science = shoo-in. im assuming you have the necessary writing skills, so you should be well capable of selling yourself in your essays.</p>

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<p>willowand -</p>

<p>If you have not already done so, you need to read through everything (and I do indeed mean everything) at [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/) Then you need to make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center in Singapore [EducationUSA</a> - Center Profile - United States Education Information Center (USEIC)](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/USEIC]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/USEIC) These counselors are expert at helping students educated in Singapore find good places to study in the US. They will be able to tell you which colleges and universities students like you have been admitted to in recent years, and whether or not they have received sufficient financial aid.</p>

<p>Need-based financial aid is not based on what you think your family can afford. It is based on what the college/university thinks that your family can afford. You need to have a very clear idea about how much money your family can pay so that you know if an aid package is good enough for you or not.</p>

<p>eiliant -</p>

<p>Are you in the US or outside the US? If you are in the US, your own high school guidance counselor should be able to help you figure out where to apply, and what your chances at financial aid are. If you are outside the US, send me a PM telling me where you are living and studying and I’ll try to point you in the right direction.</p>

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<p>@polarscribe</p>

<p>yep i do have a few safeties in SG and Hong Kong…</p>

<p>@happymomof
"Need-based financial aid is not based on what you think your family can afford. It is based on what the college/university thinks that your family can afford. "
what is the diff between the two? correct me if i misunderstood. but i am assuming that my idea=the actual amount my family’s paying=what the college thinks i can afford</p>

<p>eiliant+CheesePuffPoppin:
haha thanks a lot…especially CheesePuffPoppin…i really regard myself a weak applicant </p>

<p>(little community service or leadership in a hypercompetitive country asking for financial aid…) </p>

<p>i’m not really sure about how to sell myself…haha…well, maybe the fact that i know quite a bit about Chinese classicism (i know quite a bit about Chinese herbology , am a huge fan of chinese classical philosophy and literature. i practiced calligraphy before…all are out of interest) but at the same time i’m very keen to learn more about western civilization …does it sound very cliched?</p>

<p>or should i talk about what’s my intellectual style as well as how years of studying shaped me?
i also have a great family story to tell… another option is about my aspiration to be an outspoken journalist who can reach to the masses…</p>

<p>which one of there sounds better?
thanks everyone who replied me ~</p>

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<p>Your SATs are amazing! And good luck for As, I’m totally in the same boat as you (though I’m not PRC) and I think your interest in Arts subjects is pretty cool. All the best!</p>

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<p>@ivoryis:
WOW～～there’s nothing cool about that…just diff inclinations …all the best to u tooooo! for Prelims, As and applications~:)</p>

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<p>Willowand,
With financial aid, a college will look at your family’s financial information and decide that they can pay a certain amount. For example, they may say your family can pay $30,000 a year. Your family may think they can pay $15,000 a year. The college will expect your family to pay the higher amount. It happens frequently that the amount a family can afford and what a college expects them to pay are very different numbers.</p>

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<p>Willowand,</p>

<p>According to the federal financial aid methodology, our family is able to pay USD 20,000 each year. What we can actually pay, is USD 7,200 each year because we have significant family responsibilities that are not taken into account by the financial aid calculations. This is not an unusual situation by any means. Many people cannot afford what the colleges and universities believe that they can afford. That is why our kids start out at a local community college, or attend a 4-year school that they can commute to, or graduate with a bunch of college loans hanging over their heads.</p>

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<p>Willowand,</p>

<h2> With financial aid, a college will look at your family’s financial information and decide that they can pay a certain amount. For example, they may say your family can pay $30,000 a year. Your family may think they can pay $15,000 a year. The college will expect your family to pay the higher amount. It happens frequently that the amount a family can afford and what a college expects them to pay are very different numbers.</h2>

<p>oh!! thanks a lot for enlighten me !!! i’ve been confused about this. very helpful</p>

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<p>if you can write amazing essays and get some great recommendations i think you stand a good chance for hyp.</p>

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<p>Lol. That’s can be the hardest part of the process. Why are people always so nonchalantly about it? Everyone says their essays will be amazingly incredible, but they rarely are. People who “chance” Hugh performing kids always say “JUST write amazing essays and get great recommendations” as if it’s easy. It then make the poster over-secure about their “chances.”</p>

<p>Not saying that’s the case with the OP, but just making an observation.</p>

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<p>Sorry about all the typos. I’m writing this all on my phone and can’t edit it after.</p>