Occidental vs Cheaper College

<p>Carleton is in an even smaller town than Wooster.</p>

<p>Ohio is pretty rural, as are many of the colleges, and many northeast colleges will be rural and/or small as well. Jakarta is a huge city and you should consider how well you'll adapt to a much, much, much smaller community.</p>

<p>so do you think that it will be very hard for me to adapt? What is it like living in rural places? What are the disadvantages for me applying to wooster?</p>

<p>Carolyn, in Indiana there are too many Indonesians.. and I am afraid it will be hard for me to make friends with people from other countries, if there are too many students from my own country.. and in illinois- Urbana champaign.. many of my friends (who got SAT's above 1350's) are applying there.. and I know that universities have quotas for students from every school.. and I think I will get rejected because of this.. However most of them are applying to the engineering schools.. while I am applying to the liberal arts school.. so what other universities do u recommend? thx</p>

<p>L
There are 38,000 students at Indiana--only 3300 International students and only 1300 Asians. It's a huge campus. If you see more than one or two Indonesians per day I'd be surprised! As for rural living--think of a small rural town in Indonesia. Would you like to go to univeristy there?</p>

<p>C</p>

<p>It's not always the size of a town that characterizes it's vibrancy. Again, I can't say about Carleton--but I can say about Wooster. I would hesitate to recommend it, sight unseen, to a student who grew up in Jakarta--unless that student longed to live in an isolated rural village.</p>

<p>Wooster is one of the more isolated areas of Ohio. Rural is so different, I can't really explain it, it's something you have to visit to understand. Maybe cheers can say what I mean. She knows Wooster as well.</p>

<p>Ledyana, I agree totally with Cheers about Indiana - Indiana is like a small city in and of itself - you will have ample opportunities to meet plenty of people from different places and yet you will still be able to interact with Indonesians if you choose (you may be surprised at how happy you may be to do so once you are in the US!). Again, I defer to Cheers about Wooster - if she believes someone from Indonesia would not be happy there, than perhaps she knows best.</p>

<p>Ledyana,
I am in Jakarta. I think my #2 son is at the same school as you (there is only one school that has AP and IB that I know of, anyway). We are not Indonesian, however. My son who graduated last year has friends (expat and Indonesian) in the US at large and small schools- urban and rural. He is at a small school in a very small town...the school has 12% International students, however. </p>

<p>Anywhere you go it will not be like your school, and it will definitely not be like Jakarta!! The small town my son is in is nothing like a small town in Indonesia, however. The school is the focus of a lot of activity- social and cultural. Most small schools in small towns are like this. He seems happy, as does his roommate who is from China!</p>

<p>Please go talk to the counselors at your school about your needs. They understand your parents' perspective because they deal with a lot of parents who feel they way your parents do (which is somewhat different than the way that many parents on CC feel, I have to be honest). They also know about kids from your school. For example, last year a boy who got into an Ivy league school did not get into Carleton- no one can know why, but possibly it was because he was an international student asking for financial aid.</p>

<p>Anyone who has grown up in Jakarta, whether as an Indonesian or as an Expat will have a huge adjustment in moving to university in the US. Everyone. No matter how much you like the school, etc, etc...it is just going to be a big adjustment.</p>

<p>I suggest you look again at your priorities a bit-- if you really want a school where there is individual attention, lots of discussion (like what you are used to now)...look again at the LAC's which might give merit aid to students with your profile. My son tried to find schools with higher % internationals, such as Lawrence...</p>

<p>robyrm- what university is ur son attending now? and how should I tell about it to my counsellor?</p>

<p>Cheers, Carolyn - Since when i read from the website, it is stated that there are about 141 students from Indonesia.. and I thought it is a really big big number.. Maybe I will think about Indiana again.. Some of my friends are applying to USF (San Fransisco).. is it a good school?</p>

<p>Ledyana, Actually, my daughter and I just visited USF last weekend. My daughter wasn't terribly impressed for several reasons. The campus was nice - right in San Francisco but in a residential area. However, housing is only guaranteed for the first two years - after that you are on your own to find housing in San Francisco which can be very expensive and hard to find. This was a huge turn off to my daughter who wants a residential campus. My daughter also did not feel particularly impressed with either the quality of academics or the ambition/intellectual level of the students overall but that was just her impression. It is not an incredibly selective school. However, the student body did seem very diverse, with a high percentage of asian students in particular.</p>

<p>My son is at Grinnell. It is well known and well thought of. His stats were stronger than yours- but not stratospheric. </p>

<p>If you are at the school I think you are attending, then USF is a popular choice. I know of several kids who have gone every year for the last few years. YOur counselor probably has a lot of information. It has a very good program in international business, which is what appeals to most of the kids who have gone. Kids with your stats have definitely gotten in..</p>

<p>I think, honestly, you need to go see the counselor tomorrow if you can. You are "spraying bullets" right now-- and you need someone who knows you, your stats, the circumstances of kids like you, etc, to help give you feedback and refocus you a bit...</p>

<p>Ledyana, Robyrm is giving you very good advice. I think she knows better than anyone what you should do. Listen to her.</p>

<p>Robyrm, I am so glad you decided NOT to sign off of CC. I would miss you and your excellent input.</p>

<p>Ok then.. I think I will talk to my counselor tomorrow.. College search is too time consuming :( thanks for the help all!</p>

<p>Carolyn,
Thanks, I left and then the son asked a question and I came back and then I...well anyways...</p>

<p>Ledyana,
You still have time to make great choices and everything will work out fine, I am sure. It is really hard to make these kinds of choices from so far away, isn't it? I'll bet lots of your friends are experiencing the same thing.</p>

<p>Ledyana - One more suggestion for you to discuss with your gudiance counselor and your sister. Since you mentioned your sister went to Emory - have you considered Emory's Oxford College? It may be a way for you to combine both the liberal arts experience you want with the recognized name school you also want. Oxford is a two-year liberal arts part of Emory with its own campus - it is somewhat less selective than Emory overall. After two years, you automatically move over to the main Emory university campus where you complete your degree. Students that I have talked to who have gone through Oxford have praised its smaller classes and small-college feel for helping them get started - and then the advantages of Emory overall for their last two years. They have given me statistics showing that Oxford students tend to do very well at Emory. Attending Oxford is also less expensive for the first two years than Emory's main campus. Your bachelor's degree is from Emory University. In any case, here is the link:
<a href="http://www.emory.edu/OXFORD/Admission/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.emory.edu/OXFORD/Admission/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Again, your sister might know more about Oxford - your stats and legacy status as the sister of an Emory alum would probably make it a good bet for you if you find it of interest. At least Emory would be a school your parents would be familiar with. Hope this helps somewhat!</p>

<p>Why not a place with LOTS of internationals, and which gives lots of aid to them? Macalester and Mount Holyoke - both of which might be in the match category, and both of which are much more cosmopolitan than, say Carleton, and much more likely to provide substantial aid than, say NYU?</p>

<p>(For the record, I LOVE Oxy, but given your constraints....)</p>

<p>Good suggestions Mini - Macalester would be a good choice, as would Mt. Holyoke. Did you see Ledyana's stats on the other thread? What would you say her chances at Mt. Holyoke or Smith might be? (I remember her SATs were in the high 1200s, GPA in an IB program was 3.9 weighted, 3.2/3.3 unweighted but I might be off a bit).</p>

<p>Mount Holyoke doesn't require SATs at all - they are totally optional, though for Int'ls I imagine it would be a good idea to provide them (though Ledyana is IB.) She would certainly be in the mix, and the SAT scores wouldn't hurt particularly. Smith might be just a little bit more of a stretch, not because of the SATs (which they have de-emphasized, and hers are okay anyway - the spread at Smith is VERY wide - think 1,000 - 1,600) nor grades (which are on the low side, but still possible), but the lack of any easily identifiable "hook". They want (as they say several dozen times) "Heady, nervy, intellectually exciting" - show that you are all 3, and they are likely to throw the SAT scores out the window. Without them, you might get rejected with higher scores.</p>

<p>All 3 of these would be far more cosmopolitan than, say Lawrence, or Grinnell (which I think is an absolutely SUPERB place - the student body has lots of internationals but, obviously, there isn't a lot of "there, there". With Macalester, you could have both.)</p>

<p>Carolyn thx for the advice about oxford college.. but my sister does not recommend me to go to emory since she says that the economics courses are too easy.. but do you have similar university that offers the same program like Emory?</p>

<p>btw thx for the college list mini and carolyn.. but I think my parents want me to go to a co-ed school.. Isnt Macalester really selective? and with my stats it will be a reach school.. I havent been able to talk with my counsellor today because he was not there when I visited him.. I will try to meet him again tomorrow..</p>

<p>Yes, Macalester would be a reach. I think Mini was probably just thinking of schools with large populations of internationals. But perhaps I shouldn't put words into his mouth. </p>

<p>Oxford is unique as far as I know --- just popped into my head because you mentioned your sister went to Emory. I think Emory is an excellent school, certainly superior to some of the schools you have on your list for consideration. (for example, heads and shoulders academically above USF).</p>

<p>Macalester might be a reach, but less so than Carleton. Too bad about the co-ed school thing. I think the "admissions value" for what you are looking for to be much greater there than most of the schools on your list.</p>