<p>Research online just like most people. I didn't have a counselor either. If you don't know/unclear of something then ask. </p>
<p>Its hard to answer a question "please give me tips" because what "tips" would you want? What are tips anyway?</p>
<p>primeminister, a little late but i have a singaporean friend who is going to tufts!</p>
<p>to be honest i have no idea what I need from you guys.. not yet maybe..</p>
<p>oh yea, so i don't have to send my school grades if they are bad?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rjc.edu.sg/usapps/%5B/url%5D">http://www.rjc.edu.sg/usapps/</a></p>
<p>Useful in getting a general idea.</p>
<p>I had been there.. got lots of tips..</p>
<p>Hi all! (*hoping to revive this very useful thread!) Help and expertise needed!</p>
<p>I'm from Singapore and I've got a place at Carnegie Mellon doing Econs at Tepper (2011). However I did not manage to obtain a singapore organisation scholarship but really really want to go over to study!</p>
<p>I need all the expertise I can get to fund my *ahem costly education over there! Can anyone offer any useful help or advice? I was thinking of doing my first year locally (SMU) and then transfer over to a US Uni. Can anyone kindly comment on this? </p>
<p>Thank you for taking time to help me, its very much appreciated! :)</p>
<p>linwji, i know someone who did that. not to cmu, but a us college. they do not transfer all your credits over, because some us colleges do not recognise singapore classes. dont shoot me on this, i have evidence. </p>
<p>you can either get an on campus job for allowance and expenses and stuff. wont help much, but still. you can also take up loans. or rather, your parents can. contact your financial aid office, they probably have in-school loans available, interest only starts when you graduate. </p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>Thanks for your input scandal-less, appreciate it. So basically if I want to transfer I have to check out which classes I can bring over and take them in SMU first to save some time. Am I right to say so?</p>
<p>Also for international transfer students, would you know if they will give financial aid (esp a full ride)?? Would it affect admission chances? I am thinking of UC Berkeley for my transfer. Any views on that?</p>
<p>Thanks once again! :)</p>
<p>do you all know the typical stats of singaporean students who get into HYPSM etc? Thanks! :)</p>
<p>linwji, yes, do check it out. best for you to establish links now with the admissions office of the college you want to transfer to. perhaps you could get nice and cozy with someone in the cmu office. explain your predicament and what you are gonna do.</p>
<p>and international + transfer + singaporean = i dont think you have a good shot. especially full ride. and especially a UC school. if you are insistent on an american education, go check out schools which are generous to international students. it has been discussed extensively on this forum.</p>
<p>vitalism, typically 2 or more a year.</p>
<p>linwji, i hate to disappoint you. but international + singaporean + transfer + FINAID is about the worst permutation in college admissions. I'm pretty sure berkeley doesn't give finaid for international transfers, even for undergrad admissions their official policy is not to give finaid - though they do sweeten admissions offers with some full merit scholarships to woo the most oustanding applicants over time to time. </p>
<p>are you matriculating this year? or are you doing NS and taking 2-year break (if you're a guy)? in the latter case, and if you really want to go to US and you need the money, try applying to a college that is typically generous to internationals for admission as a freshman. HYPM+Williams+Middlebury are often listed as the ones to apply for if you're an international seeking aid, by virtue of the fact that they are need-blind to internationals (and pledge to meet full demonstrated aid should you be admitted), but there are also many other colleges that may not be need-blind to internationals but pledge to meet full aid anyway if they admit you. In some cases, it might actually make more sense to apply to these universities simply because the competition at the need-blind universities is much stiffer with their reputation as 'need-blind' universities. Many good liberal arts colleges are very generous to internationals - like Amherst (which is almost need-blind anyway), Bates, Colby, Wesleyan (check out the freeman scholarship), Vassar, Connecticut College and several of the top women colleges. Universities are understandbly less generous because they have enough full-paying international applicants anyway, and you sure have truckloads of them from Singapore who will be funded by our government and its stat boards. Some public unversities have merit scholarships (as opposed to need-blind scholarships at most of the top private schools) that may but rarely fund up to full tuition. In addition to Berkeley's which I mentioned, offhand I can think of Virginia, WUSTL and Miami which also have some that you can apply for.</p>
<p>oh and you're looking at transfer, be very prepared to take on loans. i would say at least 80% of the schools that award need-based finaid to internationals (which in itself is quite a select group) will not do the same for international transfers.</p>
<p>hey woebegone! Thanks for this comprehensive reply! ok, to clarify things I have finished my NS and am matriculating this year. My current plan could be to go to SMU first and then perhaps transfer. But after reading your reply.. hmm.. ok change of plans! </p>
<p>ok, is it advisable to take a gap year and then apply to the LACs of need blind colleges you mentioned again next year fall(and in the meantime go study at SMU?). Wonder if that works... any views on that? </p>
<p>oh having said that, I understand that there are also admissions in Spring (instead of the usual fall). Is there any difference and Would you recommend that?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>scandal-less, getting nice and cosy with someone in cmu office sounds really weird! ok, maybe its just traditional Asian thinking. </p>
<p>Ok, I'll try ringing them up and see if they can do anything. but I seriously doubt that they will bend their strict no-international-aid for 1 international student like me. But it beats not trying! Thanks for the suggestion, I'll let you know of any updates!</p>
<p>by itself gap year is not a bad thing - and might even help in college admissions by adding that extra experience onto your activity list. but for us poor singaporean guys i'm not sure if we can afford taking a third gap year, considering we have already wasted two years 'serving' the nation! i'm in the same batch as you, matriculating this fall and i think i will already be as old as most of the rising seniors. i'm not sure if you want to waste another year - imagine the girls at NTU will be GRADUATING before you MATRICULATE! that's just depressing. </p>
<p>i am not sure if it's okay to study at SMU at then apply as a freshman to US colleges either. because technically speaking once you enroll as a freshman else you cannot apply as a freshman to another college anymore (but instead as a transfer). of course, no one is going to know unless you tell them. however, that means you can't transfer credits anyway. so in the end, you don't really get anything out of it apart from gaining some basic business knowledge and getting to make more more friends - which is fine except that it makes it harder to account for your gap year without telling them you actually studied at another university which you are not supposed to. </p>
<p>i guess it's kinda late that you decide to take action only now... why didn't you do something about it last year or something? if you ask me, i wouldn't take the risk of doing a gap year, not when i'm not even sure if my subsequent applicant will work out at all. i guess you have only two options - one to enroll at SMU and apply as freshman/transfer to US seeking financial aid (and coming up with some crap to explain your gap year if u choose the former) or perhaps the more feasible one would be to transfer without seeking aid, which isn't going to be very hard so long as you have a nice gpa and some decent recommendations from your professors.</p>
<p>as for cmu... well you can always try but i won't pin much hope. if they made it clear that they don't award finaid to internationals i don't see why they are willing to bend it for a student from a country which sends truckloads of full-paying students to its university...</p>
<p>another option, you can apply now for february admissions. not all schools offer that, but some schools that woebegone has mentioned do. go check out what the schools policies are. and i dont mean asking cmu for finaid. you probably wont get it anyway. what i was saying is keep in intimate contact one particular cmu admissions person. since you are good enough for cmu now, chances are if you are gonna transfer again you will be good enough then. it helps to have someone be familiar with your case.</p>
<p>What i meant was the profile of Singaporeans who get into HYPMS every year? Like what's their ccas in school, what sets them apart etc</p>
<p>Anyway i thought there's more entering these schools every year. Surely there's more than 2... i heard the stanford officer mention at least 20 to stanford alone...</p>
<p>Any RI GEP class of 2005 here?</p>
<p>I'm getting desperate so I'm posting here...</p>
<p>IS THERE ANY SINGAPOREAN GOING TO/HAS GONE/WAS BORN IN POMONA COLLEGE???</p>
<p>HELLO? ello, ello, lo....lo......o....</p>
<p>born? wow</p>