<p>I am singaporean too, applying to Rice, UPenn, UMinn, Purdue, and Penn State (maybe schreyers too)...</p>
<p>well I've got enough to worry about with all that on my plate, coz NUS wants 3 SAT 2s (have to do phy in jan :( ), plus school exams in jan...so it never really struck me...</p>
<p>I asked all the unis if they gave deferement for NS, and they said they considered it, and usually yes...but I forgot to ask if they defer the fin. aid/scholarship package too?</p>
<p>And btw why does NUS INSIST on SAT 2s even if you've done your alevels in them? I did mine in phy, got an A....dunno if there's much of a diff, did math and got an A too, and the math sat 2 was pretty easy....</p>
<p>srrinath, that'll be pretty tough - for most science students, the A levels are pretty much more than enough to prepare them for subject tests in science. 800s with little or no preparation are common in my school at least. you're better off buying the books, or reserving them at the national library.</p>
<p>bappu if you're applying with your actual a level results (not forecast) then you wouldn't need SAT 2s. Check the admission webbie for more details.</p>
<p>can i clarify sth- if i plan to apply to us unis which are not need-blind, will it hinder my chances if i apply w/o fin aid but can only attend with local scholarship? or am i better off just applying with fin aid and hope for the best?</p>
<p>Credentials: Ph.D. graduate student at UCLA
Program: Applied Linguistics</p>
<p>Thoughts: Having gone through years in the educational and academia scene (I spent 4 years teaching Sec and JC students in Singapore, got my B.A. and M.A. in NUS, taught US undergrads in UCLA as teaching assistants, did research assistant work for professor), I believe I may have some words of advice for Singaporeans (especially those in JCs with high hopes and expectations of studying in a prestigious US university).</p>
<p>(1) Really consider LACs: Major US research university in the US are famous because they do research and produce results. Which means their financial resources are dumped on recruiting 'superstar' professors and they concentrate on graduate students. Profs are focused on doing their own thing. All these means that undergrads are undercut in the process. LACs on the other hand do not have graduate programs and Profs main task is teaching well.</p>
<p>(2)Really consider NUS: Having personally seen the caliber and academic scene of the undergraduate program here, I have began to appreciate the academic rigor that NUS does provide. I agree that NUS may not accord the same amount of prestige as some US universities, but if you intend to go on to graduate school, you may be better off getting a solid foundation at NUS or one of the LACs. If you do not intend to go on to graduate school, then maybe the prestige of a US degree may get you somewhere......initially.</p>
<p>(3) Look ahead....really ahead: This point is related to point (2). If you are not committed to get a Ph.D. at the end of the day, or thinking that 'I'm just going to get my undergrad degree and find a nice cozy job', then where you get your degree may not matter that much! Yes, life after school is cut-throat, and climbing the career ladder depends much more on political acumen and guile. If you're committed to going on to a Ph.D. program, then again it may not be such a good idea to get into a major US research university! As with point (1), you are getting undercut academically as an undergrad there; plus there is a possibility that competing with 'too much brains' might end you up with an 'average' that does not look good on a grad school application. And LACs have a huge success rate at sending their undergrads to prestigious grad school program, do the research!</p>
<p>Just a quick question to you guys. I have straight As for my As and Os (A2 also count..=P), except for Chinese: O levels: C5, A levels: C6. Why the US universities kill me for this?</p>
<p>limnieng, my son want to go to Singapore to study (college.) He's currently a sophmore in high school. His plans are international business/relations or something like that. He wants to go to some intensive summer program to learn Chinese. Can you tell me more about studying in Singapore? Is it hard for a U.S. citizen to get accepted to NUS? PM me. Thanks.</p>
<p>Difficult to say, undergrad application don't ask for a statement of purpose or something like a personal statement do they? If they do, then you can probably explain the language learning environment of Chinese as being native speakers, not as a Second Language.</p>
<p>Because I'm guessing US admission officers may not understand your how you could score such a low grade relative to your other grades, and the ethic factor involved (I'm assuming you're Indian, if you're Chinese....then....hmmmm....)</p>
<p>Some kids here in high school also takes languages as a subject. The difference here is they take all other languages besides English as second language, meaning the peg the standard pretty low. They may assume the same thing of Singapore, not understanding our language policy.</p>