<p>@MYOS1634 Thanks. I’ve sent emails out already. Await their replies.
@artloversplus That’s great to know you have a personal experience, and yes I’ve looked into Ohio Weslyan. It seems interesting, but again, what would you choose if you were me. I have backup schools at my home country that’s ranked 30-ish worldwide, and I don’t have to pay a penny for it. Then there’s schools in the US where I have to pay a fortune. That’s why I’m just trying to aim higher for US, or else it doesn’t feel like it’s worth coming this far. Thanks anyways.</p>
<p>An issue is that the world rankings only apply to the graduate level, NOT the undergraduate level. The schools may have prestige in your country but may not grant you a great undergraduate education, especially if they devote most of their resources to graduate students and research.
Obviously do apply to your country’s schools, it’d be foolish not to and that’s not what I’m advocating - but don’t just look at rankings. Visit, sit in on classes, talk with students to get an idea of how satisfying their experience is.
It also depends on whether your family have the funds or not. If not, then it’s a no brainer - don’t get into debt. If they do, look carefully at all your options.
For instance, Wooster, Hendrix, or Ohio Wesleyan are worthy schools for kids interested in research when research is reserved for grad students in their country. Same thing for not-highly-ranked public universities’ Honors Colleges.</p>
<p>I understand that ranking isn’t the best condition to saying some colleges are better than the others, but this is just a simple way to analysis when especially I don’t get to sit in classes, get in touch,etc. </p>
<p>World 30 Unis are world 30 unis, whether it is UG or Graduate, they are basically in line with the Ranking. I have not seen a world 30 college that is very weak in UG but strong in Graduate School. There is no reason for some one who can get in Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, HKU or Singapore U for free to look into US Unis. By far US Unis are more expensive than any other FREE world 30 unis.</p>
<p>@artloversplus hahah that’s what I meant, that’s why I’m so desperate to look at schools beyond that. No that I’m saying some lower ranked schools have worse education, it’s just the image it presents to everyone…esp when I would never get the chance to experience anything!</p>
<p>You’re in at Ithaca and Wisconsin but I would say rejected everywhere else with your grades.</p>
<p>@PSC2IVY I do have conflicting results (like much better than those of my schools) in public exams? Does that help?</p>
<p>In the US, we don’t care about public exams. We care about grades and SAT. You have the SAT, just not the grades. Obviously you won’t get in if you don’t apply but I would be preparing for cold weather if I were you. Wisconsin and New York get very cold during the winters.</p>
<p>@alafae: how about you come back here to post which schools will accept the IGCSE’s and AS levels + predicted, and which ones will want the whole enchilada? This way, we’ll be able to chance you more effectively.</p>
<p>So I’ve emailed UMich, Yale, Northwestern and some others (hadn’t heard back from them yet), and they’ve all said GCSE/GCE results are sufficient. However, a school transcript in addition helps, and I’ve talked to my school, agreed that my scores should be put into context, where my school is very competitive thus my scores aren’t too bad, etc.</p>
<p>That said, does it help to chance me better? I’m preparing just to send my public exam scores, and if particular schools want more, then the transcript, which will probably do less harm than I had previously thought.</p>
<p>If the school only requires the GCSE/GCE results, that’s what you send. (BTW, that would be the typical situation, and intermediate transcripts are rarely produced by British-patterned schools since the results are the aggregate of the school terms + national boards, similar to AP classes with an AP score.) Don’t send the whip to get yourself flogged, ie., don’t send records they don’t require and that would be damaging. Imagine if you had a poor relationship with a math teacher, the college didn’t require a math recommendation, and you’d be sending a recommendation from the math teacher? That would make no sense.</p>
<p>If you only send your GCSE/GCE results, you’re very competitive for all the schools on your list. Do include a couple Top 20 LACs, perhaps those in a consortium such as Amherst, Haverford, Pomona/HarveyMudd/McKenna (depending on your preferences: future researcher, future scientist/engineer, future banker?)</p>
<p>Just got this reply from Wellesley:</p>
<p>“We require your four most recent years of schooling, which includes anything that you might have in progress. We would need to see your transcript which lists courses taken and any marks earned, and if you have any intermediate or predicted results we would ask for those as well. We would also want to see your O-levels. We’ll have a better idea of what we would require once we actually begin to review your application, but to prevent a delay in processing your application I recommend that you send in anything your school might have for a transcript, as well as any exam results that you have available.”</p>
<p>That doesn’t sound too good. </p>
<p>To reply @MYOS1634, I’m not actually that interested in LAC. Why do you mention them? Purely because I don’t have much on my list or are they more lenient towards the gradings and stuff? </p>
<p>P.S: Future communication/business-related job wanted. With artistic environment.</p>
<p>Wellesley is a LAC. I mention them because you want prestigious schools, and a school like Haverford would be more prestigious than UWisconsin, depending on the circle you’re considering. Also, being full pay and looking for ‘safer’" schools, you’d have some luck I think with LACs that are higher-ranked than their national university counterpart. For instance, you’d have a better shot at Barnard than Columbia. Most LACs are need-aware, being that your being full pay would be a boost for you, and there are fewer applicants than national universities, so your odds would mathematically be higher. Obviously, LACs aren’t very well-known to the general public but they’re very well-known to relevant circles (businesses or universities). However, I agree that flagships are safeties too.</p>
<p>Now, it’s up to you: submit everything to Wellesley, or not.
If you choose to apply to Wellesley, it opens up another can of worms about how to differentiate what your school sends to some schools, and what it sends to others (it’s possible in the commonapp, as far as I know, but it requires a bit more skill and planning).</p>
<p>Working in communications/business doesn’t mean you need to major in this, it means you need to look for colleges with ready access to this field and get internships in these.
Just so you know, communication majors are often looked at as only a step higher than Fashion Merchandising majors 
so I wouldn’t advise this for a serious student, unless you get into a specifically preprofessional and highly-ranked program.</p>
<p>Speaking of the ‘majoring in communication’…if I want to get into the business, what should I major in then?</p>
<p>I heard about the competitiveness and how students are more cut edged competitive than helpful/friendly in Wellesley, that’s why I’m doubting</p>