seeking advice from the seniors here...

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>hi everyone out there. u can call me VC for short. i'm from china, currently studying in singapore...no no i'm not rich i'm on a scholarship :p so i'll apply for substantial fin aid...sigh, i know how difficult that is, esp when u are from a terribly over-represented country and a (even more) terribly over-represented high school in singapore. </p>

<p>i've finally decided to post my stats here, and maybe some seniors can help me out? (hope my senior doesn't mind)</p>

<p>schools i may apply/applying:
Williams, Columbia, Colby, Hamilton, Skidmore, Macalester, Colgate,???
questions: for those in the LACs now, which school do u think suits me the best? coz i want to 'be myself', not pretend to be someone then end up in a college that doesn't suit me and be upset for four years and regret for the rest of my life...</p>

<p>which one should i ED? i'm wavering between williams and colby, but other colleges are appealing too..
any other safety/match school suggestions?</p>

<p>SAT I: V710;M800;W700 (no big deal..a lot of students from my school did better than that)
SAT II: Math 800; Bio+Chem to be taken in Oct
GPA: N/A. doing A level. got 9A1s and 1A2 in O level, top secondary school.
ranking: my high school doesn't rank officially. hopefully will top the class for Prelims last month,but the class is how small...waiting with my fingers crossed and kowtowing to Confucius.</p>

<p>Letters of rec won't be bad</p>

<p>Taking the most challenging subjects for PRCs: Bio Chem Math & Econ. probably the only PRC scholar doing this combination in singapore. or if u know any other ones pls tell me. :)</p>

<p>Gold, Singapore Math Olympiad
High Distinction, Australian Math Competition
Rep.Sch in a few national/international math/science/humanities/IT competitions, even Mensa Brainhunt...</p>

<p>Computer Club. I learnt how to use computer in singapore, then in 2 years rep. sch in competitions :)
MIT-Apple bioinformatics project.
Founding member, Chinese Society
Weiqi Club. I learnt the game in singapore too! haha really love trying out new things.
Class Vice-Chair in the 2nd year in singapore; almost became a student councillor, but i have to be in the sch for at least 2 yrs..sigh
Class chair, international students language course.
Honor Club member;the first foreign student to be admitted in my school(probably still the only one) “Under this system the teachers recognize positive behaviors such as courtesy, integrity, responsibility, consideration and positive attitudes towards work…the excellent qualities consistently demonstrated” , quoting the school. something similar to the Honor Code i think.</p>

<p>not many community service hours in school.. though i did quite a lot of things outside the school, for example student tutoring--the juniors i taught improved their grades from failing to A1! really glad for them. (yeah of course they are hard working) i lost count of the hours...</p>

<p>piano player since 10. play other instruments too--i learnt them on my own.
love to sing/draw/act, though not a professional...
performed in the school and hostel (forgot to mention tt i'm staying in an all-females hostel now)
love playing touch rugby and soccer, but not in school team...sigh. they don't allow me to learn by playing. the school is competitive anyway. btw i helped my class to clench the champion title in inter-class competitions.
registered bone marrow donor in singapore! so proud of myself <em>wink wink</em> btw if u can register pls do go for it. u might be saving lives!
crazy about politics/economics/environmentalism/internationalism etc etc (have made use of the opportunities in singapore which are not available in china)</p>

<p>last but not least, my class said they love me coz i was helpful and different from other scholars:)</p>

<p>so, could u pls leave ur comments? thank you very much!</p>

<p>p.s. dunno if i shld join the chinese thread or singapore connections, coz i'm more aware of the things happening in singapore now, yet i'm still a chinese. <em>cry</em></p>

2

<p>hm..i would presume you either come from RJ or HC:)..Your stats is damn good, esp your verbal and writing..When it comes to ED, why don't you ED to the school that you would love to spend the next 4 years in and it's willing to give you financial aid. While not enough finaid is the only way to get out of an ED contract but it's quite tough as you have to prove you are really incapable of paying. It's really only you that can decide for yourself whether you will be happy at williams or colby. Look at their website, check out their boards here, have a feel of these schools and see which one you like more:)..Good luck:)</p>

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<p>alright i said this when you PMed me and i'll say it again. fit is so, so important and personal, that only you should decide where you'll fit in. i understand its pretty hard to do this given your inability to visit, but i just wanna highlight the fact that stereotypes you hear about schools... well they're mostly self-perpetrating, and hence true.</p>

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<p>hi tbhnams,thanks for the encouragement! I PMed you just now...I myself won't say they are 'damn' good; there are a lot of people better than me. so I just hope they are all heading for the big Unis...</p>

<p>maybe i didn't say it clearly: i thought asking the int'l students already there could be a good way to get a feeling of the school, such as whether there are many students like me or whether I would be contributing to the diversity. I believe I've done quite thorough researches; it's just that I may be subjective, and the school websites etc will more or less flatter the schools. Am I right?</p>

<p>I can't trust usnews ranking totally either. The Economist has got an article about the new ranking. The title was something along the lines of 'climb the social ladder; or make your lift smell lemon'...Anyone interested to know?</p>

<p>so I guess asking opinions from successful seniors will help me :)</p>

<p>to sixsixty:
hi, yeah at first I thought my school is very exclusive. apparently my classmates are not as cold as the stereotype suggests, also partly because I've done a lot for them. stereotypes can be wrong, too. so I think I'll get a gauge of the life as an int'l student there from you all then decide for myself. sorry i'm still confused about which year you are entering willy.</p>

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<p>But it's quite good compared to the normal score i have seen from PRC students..Of course I know there are ppl who have gotten perfect on their SAT.. I mean asking ppl who have been there can be a good way to get the feel of the school but their opinion might be objective as well. Even like through meeting with the admission officers from different schools, it can be subjective also as you might think you like the school but actually you like the way they sell the school to you. I still think it's better to email straight to those ppl you know that go to those schools as being your friends, they are willing to give more candid opinions. But at the end of the day, you should ask yourself if you will be happy in a school for the next few years. Look at the weather, campus life, surrounding area and all that too since your stats could possibly get you into most colleges. And yes, i agree that rankings are super unreliable:)..While websites can try to make the schools sound better, you can always get a feel of what they deem important to their school through the way they present their information rite?:)</p>

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<p>I think you've made a good point about everything can be subjective.</p>

<p>I still doubt that my stats will get me into most colleges...sometimes the AOs seem to be quite cold to me.</p>

<p>btw, i can't edit my previous posts right? thought that i should change some questions.</p>