<p>you can't finish a williams education in three years. a levels count for placement, not credit.</p>
<p>also, i believe the last person to graduate from amherst in 3 years was joseph stiglitz.</p>
<p>finally, if you're fro VJ, i'll be going back for an info session on the 18th, along with a friend who goes to chicago.</p>
<p>Rubbish, there’s no such thing as “RJ does nothing”. There are countless overseas universities talks held throughout the year, and this week there is the US and UK application process overview, which tells you most of the technicalities you need to know for your application. There are teacher ICs in charge of the university application process whom you could always approach for help or if you have any questions. I’m not sure for UK application, but I thought there was the UK app teacher in-charge who goes all out for the select few who are applying to Cambridge and Oxford? There are also teachers who are alumni of US/UK unis whom I’m sure are more than happy to give you their perspectives. And then there’s the Student Services Center where you can start your initial research and all, full with Fiske Guide and the likes plus all the university brochures... Beyond that, it is up to you to make your own research, approach seniors, and everything else. You CAN’T expect everything to be spoon-fed for you, c’mon you guys are 18 year-olds. University application process is simply a highly personal affair; there is only so much the school can do for you. The rest of the stuff, you do it on your own on your own initiatives. </p>
<p>On top of that, RJ also goes all out on writing your testimonials, which helps A LOT on your application. This is the truth. Your teacher tries very hard to know you well and write you quality testimonials. The President of Students’ Council from IJC, I heard, only have 2-3 paragraphs. I also have a friend of mine from ACJC who complained that his teacher wrote a very bad testimonial for him and resulted in him getting rejected from top US unis (he decided not to apply to one of the unis at the last minute, so he had a testimonial in hand that he could open and read). This guy went on to score 4As and 1 or 2 Distinctions for A-Levels, but his teacher didn’t care for him enough to write him a proper testimonial. On the other hand, an average student at RJ will usually still have 2 pages long testimonials. It’s up to you whether to believe this anecdotal evidence or not (the 2nd one was definitely the truth, I know for sure), but it just shows how far RJ teachers are willing to help you out on your future education. </p>
<p>I don’t know whether RJ does more than HC (enlighten me, I’d like to know too), but they definitely don’t “do nothing”. I honestly don’t think I would have gotten in to Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, UIUC, and UVA when I was still failing some of my subjects during CT2 in J2, if I wasn’t in RJ.</p>
<p>Yes, count your blessings. My US teacher "adviser" in ACJC thought Williams had a business school. Well, at least he knew of Williams.</p>
<p>Oh, btw, Amherst caps their ED to around 30% of total enrollment. A&W are very similar. The main differences I think, are the location (rural vs very bloody rural) and 5 college consortium. William is more jocky, too. Amherst has a very good Neuroscience department, if you are interested in that. Open Curriculum, too.</p>
<p>Most importantly, of course RJ has a very very good reputation at US unis that makes them feel confident of accepting its students. It is a school that's very well known everywhere at the top US unis. If you are a Rafflesian and you're still complaining... Perhaps it's just because you don't know how much worse other people have it compared to you. Count your blessings indeed.</p>
<p>And what's the whole thing of "helping" anyway? Many kids in the US and UK themselves are clueless about the college app process.</p>
<p>All you need are recommendations, transcripts (and the grades and ECs to go with them), CollegeConfidential and internet.</p>
<p>The biggest thing that matters most is filling out the Common App (assuming that the majority of your school choices will use the Common App), along with other online applications.</p>
<p>70% of what guidance counselors tell American kids in their own country is suspect/useless. CC is the way to go. ;)</p>
<p>anyone has advice for me still? <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1060653608-post881.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1060653608-post881.html</a> </p>
<p>thanks!!</p>
<p>If you are applying to a LAC, make sure you don't mind when the classic scenario finally occurs:</p>
<p>A: "Where are you going for university?"
You: "Amherst."
A: <em>acts embarrassed</em> "Where?"
You: "Amherst, it's a Liberal Arts College in Massachusetts"
A: <em>couldn't get into NUS eh?</em> "Oh." <em>Changes subject</em></p>
<p>Nadash, same thing goes for me for UVA. So it's not only LACs. :(</p>
<p>I suspect all the universities save perhaps HYPSM would get that treatment in Singapore sometimes.</p>
<p>sucks for you jeffs then. recent ST articles about the new liberal arts college have highlighted williams, and many ppl know about GCT going there. not saying williams is well known by any measure, but williams >>>>>> amHerst.</p>
<p>Williams'11 indeed. </p>
<p>More like Amherst = Williams. Go ask 100 people on the street whether they know either Williams or Amherst. I bet you will end with single digits for both schools. And those who have heard of one will have heard of the other. </p>
<p>Anyway, the article about social equality featured Amherst. There are 2 PSC scholars there currently, so the government recognizes it, too. About GCT, many (debatable) people know that he went to a odd school that no-one has heard of. Conversely, people know that Williams once had GCT as a graduate. There's a difference. </p>
<p>So let's not squabble here. : )</p>
<p>If you are really interested::</p>
<p>i would like to add a different and certainly to many, controversial opinion in response to the many enlightening views here</p>
<p>much has been said about the fallacies of opting for the overhyped reputations of overseas research universities rather than i quote, the "solid work, real profs instead of hit-and-miss TAs and smaller class sizes" of LACs or even the 215k-saving NUS....</p>
<p>most of the complaints about "hit-and-miss" TAs etc. are from outside observers, have you ever heard a harvard/stanford grad saying "my experience at harvard/stanford totally sucked"? chances are he wont, because firstly he wont have the chance of experiencing such a life-changing college experience again, not at another college or LAC, so he has no basis for comparisons, 2ndly since he has no basis for comparison (2nd-hand comparisons are irrelvant, coz one will never be able to fully appreciate the culture, subtleties of a college w/o experiencing it first-hand), what he makes out of the college experience will be dependent on his attitude to life in general, i.e. if he comes out saying "harvard sucked", are u so sure he wont come out saying "you know wat? amherst sucked too!" or "actually i tink they all suck"</p>
<p>my point here being at that point in time, when u're in the midst of experience college life (or before u even experience it), there is no way u can determine if a particular college/course's rigorosity or culture suits you....the only one with any actual experience, limnieng, is taking a retroactive view of things, he appreciates the rigours of NUS on hindsight because he is already set on an academic/research career, he is someone with a positive attitude to life, in that he appreciates his time in NUS, the "solid work", the strong foundation, but chances are if he had experienced "college life" first-hand at say some fluffed up us research uni (think TAs, booze, ONS) at a diff place, he might have appreciated the vibrance and diversity it contributed to his life, the different paradigm he has on things might even result in a breakthrough in his research, but he would never know becoz he did not experience it</p>
<p>no offence to limnieng, his posts are very enlightening and deserving of serious thought, but they are from the point of an academic....unless the majority of us here are gunning for an academic or research career, is it really necessary to opt for the most intensive "solid work", "small sized discussion based teaching" or non-stop research attachments/internships? spectator sports, sheer vibrance from a large college community, the sense of being insignficant yet striving to make a difference, and of course coupled with a suitable amount of work (which most good colleges shud have) can make for an equally, if not more, productive experience...(case in point here, SMU and NUS, SMU is imo a load of fluff, none of the rigorous educational experience compared to NUS, but it is a fact that SMU business/econs grads command a higher salary than their NUS counterparts, so unless we're aiming for a career in academia, we need to ask ourselves is that extra-rigorous mugging more useful than the social skills we gain via interaction with ppl in a non-intellectual, casual everyday fashion)</p>
<p>what i tink college should be - learning for the sake of learning, having unrestricted wild fun, coming into adulthood, having a life, ultimately, a nurturing experience rather than the oft-professed rigorous journey of academic pursuit, dominated by serious intellectual discourse and 24/7 labwork which ultimately climaxes in the pinnacle of academic achievement and the holy grail in the form of a nobel prize</p>
<p>that link is moot... were we not talking about recognition in singapore?</p>
<p>i'll venture to say that it was easier for those 2 PSC kids to get into amherst than williams, simply because amherst was not need blind when they applied and hence had a higher acceptance rate for international students than williams. </p>
<p>and how many people in singapore know of any prominent singaporeans amherst has had as a graduate?</p>
<p>UVA is a very good school, but not really in the same tier as AWS (of course, it's apples to oranges here)</p>
<p>So we continuing the squabble? Well, I'll venture this: prove it. Prove your venture upon comparision of admission difficulties. Let's look at the cold hard facts though:
Class of 2012: Amherst admission rate for the class 2012: 14.2%.
Williams admission rate: 16.3%</p>
<p>While selectivity may affect reputation, it does not affect academic quality, so I urge Reika not to use this as a point of consideration. </p>
<p>About the link, if you are capable, conduct the survey I proposed in my first reply, if not we shall have to make with that (Amherst leads Williams. By a lot). Castles in the clouds, you know? And arguing about alumni: Category:Amherst</a> College alumni - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. vs <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Williams_College_alumni%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Williams_College_alumni</a>. 342 vs 165. Maybe Amherst students just edit Wikipedia more? I don't know, I can't prove it. </p>
<p>Anyway, what's the point? I am certain that all top graduate schools and the best MNCs have heard of both schools. If you like the 5-college consortium and the Open curriculum, go to Amherst, if you like complete isolation (I love it, but not enough), an awesome campus with amazing surroundings and sports, go to Williams. Or just flip a coin. Don't base your decision on whether your friends have heard of the college. If you do, just apply for a NUS ddp, that's very prestigious here.</p>
<p>However, do note that while both are need-blind now, Amherst caps its ED acceptances while I doubt Williams does, so think hard.</p>
<p>international admissions rates are vastly different from overall rates, as someone who's been on here since march 06 i thought you'd know that. </p>
<p>i assume you're not at amherst yet. while you're there, i hope they teach you more than selective reading. i did say singaporean alumni didn't i?</p>
<p>while i have to applaud your initiative in capturing the moral high ground, it only serves to further reinforce my view of jeffs as politically correct prep schoolers who don't know how to have fun. </p>
<p>cases in point: last year, the members of the williams 2011 facebook group (which at the time consisted only of ED admits) invaded the amherst group and posted ridiculous content on their wall, etc. amherst, being amherst, could not take this in good spirit, and instead of thinking on a way to one up the ephs, resorted to closing their group and reporting the incident to the powers that be.</p>
<p>many years ago, before the williams homecoming game against the herst, a few jeffs snuck onto the williams football field and spray painted an A on the fifty yard line. williams responded by spray painting a B+ on amherst's. </p>
<p>so, before i exit, stop taking yourself and college admissions so seriously. and anyone who's free on the 18th should come down to VJC.</p>
<p>
[quote]
UVA is a very good school, but not really in the same tier as AWS (of course, it's apples to oranges here)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What's AWS??</p>