<p>@Squashie, I think you have a good shot at getting into an excellent American college, especially if you cast a wide net and keep an open mind about name recognition and location. </p>
<p>I don’t mean to discourage you from applying ED at Amherst: it’s an excellent school and you will get a worldclass education. Most people in Asia (I’m guessing you’re South Asian) won’t have heard of it, but those who know, know. Graduate schools and multinational employers will recognize its value, and the alumni network will open doors for you all over the world.</p>
<p>The only reasons I would advise against Amherst ED are 1) you need to compare financial aid packages and 2) I don’t think YOU are completely sold on the idea. If that’s the case, I’d give Yale (or Harvard or Princeton) your best shot with EA and apply RD to a range of academically solid LACs, even if they are even less well known than Amherst.</p>
<p>A few that I would include would be Williams (which you’ve already identified and which I would say is better than Amherst for sciences), Carleton, Grinnell, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Macalester, Middlebury, Davidson. My guess is that your background would be a plus in admissions and that need based aid – and in some cases merit – would be good to excellent.</p>
<p>How you reconcile these little known colleges with your family’s ideas would be a challenge, but I can tell you, they send a lot of their graduates to Ivy League and other prestigious graduate schools.</p>