<p>Yeah, as you can see, I'm kind of desperate. LOL</p>
<p>hi everyone, just wonder that is there anyone who still keeps the applications that get u into top US uni?</p>
<p>Hi all! i got admitted to Umich, UCLA and LSE... but troubled over which school to choose... =s Any suggestions? thx a lot!</p>
<p>Hey, I believe finances are a consideration. Maybe you want to tell us more about your interests as well. It's hard to give constructive suggestions just based on the names of your schools. :)</p>
<p>well i'm intersted in actuarial science... a very 'cold' course i guess =S</p>
<p>actuarial science! wow i thought i was the only singaporean out there thinking of going into this field. but anyway i will be majoring in math and econs at a liberal arts college instead of doing actuarial science elsewhere, which is actually not all that uncommon in US. many of the actuaries there were math or stats majors. </p>
<p>of the three unis u mentioned, i think only umich and lse have some kind of actuarial programs. and even though these are the better known universities that offer actuarial science, they do not arguably house the best actuarial programs in their respective countries. the problem with actuarial science major is that most top universities don't offer it, and those that offer it, do not pay much attention to it (like wharton and umich). the universities that have really strong actuarial programs and actuarial clubs are like uiuc, drake and temple for US and city, kent for UK but their overall reputation is like, kinda ulu (maybe except uiuc). i suppose u took that into consideration since you wanted actuarial science but only applied to schools that have good overall reputation but not so known in actuarial science? </p>
<p>as to which college to choose, i guess it really depends on what you want. LSE is probably the most highly-regarded in singapore (though it's incredibly easy to get in nowadays), and you get to major in actuarial science. Umich is recognized in singapore and the actuarial offerings look pretty good too. In both of these unis you'll have so many singaporeans to keep you company you probably won't miss home - which can be a good or bad thing depending on whether you want that comfort zone to fall back on. UCLA would be a daring choice (i don't think they have an actuarial program?) but may well be the most fun - it's california! And besides not being able to major in actuarial science isn't such a bad thing anyway. You have more career options if you decide to switch career path when you're in uni if you major in something more general, say business, math, stats, or econs. Well, you may realize you hate to work in an insurance firm one day. And in entry-level actuarial, you either work for insurance firm or u work in consulting firms whose clients are, well, insurance firms.</p>
<p>oh i missed out possibly the most important thing. exams. </p>
<p>you may like to ask yourself two questions:
1. do you prefer mcq or structured questions?
2. do you mind studying extra material on take the exams on your own? or do you prefer to be in an actuarial program and be 'spoon-fed' (i really don't mean this in the negative light but i can't find a better word)
3. do you prefer smaller number of exams with no exemption or do you prefer a larger number of exams with possible exemption?</p>
<p>if you go US, you will probably be doing the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) papers, which consist of roughly 8 papers to full qualification. for the UK, you will be sitting for the Institute of Actuaries (IOA) papers, which consist of (seriously i lost count) very roughly 14 papers or so. the first 6 out of 8 SOA/CAS exams are MCQ - which I personally prefer - whereas the IOA exams are all structured. however, you may be able to get up to 8 exemptions under IOA if you major in actuarial science in certain universities, say NTU or City or Kent. I am not sure if the LSE program offers all the courses for exemptions (which you gotta do well in of course to qualify for exemption of course), but they probably do offer most. SOA doesn't offer any exemptions regardless of whether you majored in actuarial science. it creates kinda like an even playing field for actuarial and non-actuarial graduates, so that's probably one reason why many prospective actuaries there chose not to major in actuarial science. having said that, if you go to Umich, there will probably be sufficient overlap between the exams and courses such that you'll be spoon-fed in a similar way that you will be in LSE. even if you go UCLA (which I assume doesn't have an actuarial program), the first two exams should be somewhat among the regular course offerings - probability and interest theory. and, i think UCLA has an actuarial club - so they probably have small study groups or whatever - so you're definitely not on your own if you decide to go UCLA. if anything, i am the one on my own haha.</p>
<p>THX a lot woebegone!! u're so well informed on actuarial science! ya i'm aware that UCLA don't really offer an actuarial science degree =s But still Umich don't seem to sound as prestigious as LSE... Am i right on this?</p>
<p>haha no prob. eh, i guess Umich does pale a little in comparison to LSE in terms of reputation, but UK is somewhat on a decline and they are really becoming very desperate for the EU-money so I don't know how it would affect the general perception of UK universities in 10 years down the road - maybe like how we perceive Australian universities now? (okie, probably not as bad, unless they pull a stunt like usnw just did) But LSE shouldn't face a decline too fast since, well, it is still regarded among the best in UK after OxBridge. I don't think you should base your decision on prestige though. Rather, you should decide what education system / social scene suit you better. And which professional examination board you prefer to take.</p>
<p>Hmm, I would say you should stick with US universities, which are UMich and UCLA in this case. As much as you are presently sure you want to do actuarial science, I urge you to give yourself an opportunity to explore other majors / interests in UMich and UCLA which offer a wider range of courses than LSE. </p>
<p>That being said, if you may have already tasted the life of an actuary's life and have enjoyed it, your college choice boils down to a matter of fit and all other factors that woebegone has enumerated.</p>
<p>I haven't really get to know how an actuary life is like but I heard people get drowned in the sea of figures everyday... by the way i heard that Umich is super easy to get in... but i'm still inclined to go there :)</p>
<p>Well, Umich does adore Singaporeans, but it really shouldn't be discredited for that. Oh but they seem to be becoming stricter with Singaporeans these days... I remember back then they used to accept something like 98% (and waitlisted the remaining) of RJ applicants but as of I last checked it's more like 80%. They probably got ****ed at us for killing their yield rate haha...</p>
<p>My school only allows 6 US applications... so I am trying to access my chances (or chances for Singaporeans in general)</p>
<p>how hard issit for Singaporeans to get into HYPMS?</p>
<p>or Columbia/U Chicago/Duke/U Penn/Dartmouth/JHU</p>
<p>are U Michigan and Cornell really that easy to get in?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>cornell really favourites rj students. it is comparatively easier for rj students to get in. U michigan is easier to get into as long as u choose engineering and is from top jc</p>
<p>elysium is right about Cornell. Ditto for Michigan. But always remember that for Michigan, you're applying to schools within Michigan, and not Michigan as a complete entity. This applies for many others as well. Please visit each university's webby and go through them thoroughly.</p>
<p>Harvard - odds are astronomically stacked against you. On average, only about 3-4 Singaporeans get in every year.</p>
<p>Yale - almost as tough, but not as tough. Ok never mind, it's just freaking hard.</p>
<p>Princeton - like Yale</p>
<p>MIT - like the big H, unless you're Lee Hongyi.</p>
<p>Stanford - not as hard as HYPM, but getting there. More realistic than the aforementioned 4 though.</p>
<p>Columbia - on average, accepts 10-12 Singaporeans per year. I'm talking about Columbia College btw.</p>
<p>Chicago - Fairly easy, as long as you have stellar A level results and don't screw up their unique application process.</p>
<p>Duke - Don't know.</p>
<p>U Penn - If you want to dramatically increase your chances, apply ED.They like that. Otherwise in a regular pool, Wharton becomes Harvard and the rest of U Penn schools' chances get sliced into half.</p>
<p>Dartmouth - Don't know. But it's an ivy, so, yeah, self-explanatory.</p>
<p>JHU - About the same as Chicago.</p>
<p>Try and bug your teachers as to whether they can be persuaded to render you assistance in more than 6 schools. They should be able to tolerate requests up to 8 schools. Just be nice about it - ask them politely, give them ample time to write their recommendations and pick teachers who you know like you.</p>
<p>Another piece of advice: Resist the urge to type your essay like 3 days or 3 hours before submission. If you don't put in the effort to write good, original, error-free essays, it will show and will considerably hurt your chances of admission. Write, edit, edit, edit, edit - I'd suggest going to USEIC (United States Education Information Centre) and looking for Karen, director of admissions for assistance in this area. She's very good.</p>
<p>Hope that helped.</p>
<p>lol, Lee Hongyi. he got bronze for international olypiad, i think is physics if i m not wrong. anyway in order to get into MIT, u need at least an olympiad award.
hey just to add on abit, ur chances will greatly increase if u choose apply to engineering and science and maths related subject.
anyone know which uni favours vjc students? lol, and how hard it is to get into berkeley?</p>
<p>hi D.T and elysium, your analysis are very detailed and informative :D
I have a few questions for you, hope you can share your knowledge with everyone...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Other than cornell favoring RJ students, are RJ students favored by any other universities?</p></li>
<li><p>Which schs are good with fin aid for international students (either with admitting or meeting) other than the need-blind few?</p></li>
<li><p>If you want Wharton, do you apply to Upenn separately? Even for ED?</p></li>
<li><p>Can you apply ED even if you require fin aid?</p></li>
<li><p>Can teachers resend their recomendations if one is using the common applications?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it possible to enter the major schs w/o doing any olympiads?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you very much!!!!</p>
<p>hi vitalism, seems like u r from rj. i cant answer all of ur questions but i will give my best answer and be as accurate as possible.</p>
<p>1) rj used to have this list whereby the success rate of rj students in each uni is stated. on the list there will be things like how many students applied and how many got in for both ED and regular. however that was like 2 yrs ago. i dunno whether they still have it now. u should go to the website and check it out.</p>
<p>2) generally, us universities are quite stringent about giving financial aid to international student. however, there are a few( i mean like 3 unis) which will be need blind towards international student. Princeton is one of them. the rest u need to find out yourself.</p>
<p>3)check with upenn admission office</p>
<p>4) check with repective schools that u r applying to</p>
<p>5)i think can. i think the the teacher just write one and send the same copies to all the schools</p>
<p>6) possible</p>
<p>hope it will help.</p>
<p>hi elysium, </p>
<p>Thanks for your reply.</p>
<p>Yes, I am from RJC... actually being here may not be helpful cos it's so competitive ><</p>
<p>My dream schools are Princeton and Stanford... however they seem really hard, so I am probably applying to safeties as well... and since RJC only allows 6 apps, I have to plan my choices carefully...</p>
<p>Should I apply to Harvard and Yale and MIT just for the sake of it? Since they are need-blind towards Internationals as well?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>my msn/email is <a href="mailto:davidyin44@hotmail.com">davidyin44@hotmail.com</a> btw</p>
<p>There are 6 schools that are need-blind to internationals: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Middlebury and Williams. There are some schools which are need-aware but promise to meet 100% of your aid requirement if you are admitted. I know some LACs are very generous with their aid, so do check them out.</p>
<p>List of scholarships: <a href="http://www.rjc.edu.sg/usapps/colleges/scholarships.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.rjc.edu.sg/usapps/colleges/scholarships.htm</a></p>
<p>Success rates for RJ: <a href="http://www.rjc.edu.sg/usapps/colleges/rjc.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.rjc.edu.sg/usapps/colleges/rjc.htm</a></p>
<p>I think you should apply to Harvard, Yale, and MIT because I think you stand a realistic chance of getting in.</p>
<p>As for how to plan what schools to apply to, you must realize you have to serve 2 years of NS, which therefore gives you 2 additional years to apply (so you have 3 years in total, inclusive of your J2 year) . It doesn't make sense to apply for safeties at the very first year because:</p>
<p>1) if you get into your safety and no dream school, you have to give up your place in your safety in order to reapply for your dream school in the following year.</p>
<p>2) if you get into your safety and dream school, you still give up your place in your safety.</p>
<p>So, either way, it's a waste of money to apply for your safeties in your first year. Leave them to the 2nd or 3rd year when you don't get into any of your dream schools. Meanwhile, shoot for all your dream schools in your 1st and maybe also your 2nd year. Good luck. :)</p>