<p>After long hours of reading reference and guidance books, it's time to narow it down... thanks for the help in-advance. </p>
<p>Super Reach:
Princeton (friend got in with 2350 sat and almost perfect sat2, gpa 4.0)
Brown
UPenn
Duke/Stanford ( which one is harder to get admitted by the way?)</p>
<p>Reach ( quite stretchy too )
Amherst
Swarthmore
Wesleyan
Brandeis
Possible match:
Haverford
Grinnel
Vassar<br>
Macalaster ( my friend with similar stats got in for fall 06 with lotsa aids )</p>
<p>Safety
Lawrence ( not so high ranked but offer intl fin aid, very small and peaceful school, admire its personal contacts with professors )</p>
<p>If you noticed, almost all of them offer intl aid,and i've read much about each school,i think i need more safeties, and need to cut down some not reachable or un-match schools. however this is the list of schools i will be happy to go to...( i think )</p>
<p>ps. How much higher is the chance to super reach and reach schools in respect to higher sat scores? ie the correlation between chances and scores?? ( digressed a little, coz i got friends who got in northwestern with low 1400s and umich with middle 1300s, thus raise my question about SAT's importance )</p>
<p>well once you start thinking about schools like duke, stanford, p'ton, amherst, penn, etc. from what i have seen/heard, there is really no difference b/n say a 2200 and a 2300. a 2400, maybe. but once you hit a 2200, i think the rest of the points are just luck. alos, i 'd say it depends on how spread out your points are. for example, 800 math but then 650 cr? or 750 on ea? however,i could be wrong here. just to clear things up, what is your sat score??</p>
<p>yeah i think it make sense, 1360/1600 and did not hit 2000, 9/12 for essay, however i was told that the CR part is less accounted for international students, i got a badly done 580 but it is possible to boost it up to 700, or if more effort put in would reach 750 ( hope so ) and as long i maintain the maths part, hitting 2200 should be possible, by the way english was my third language..does it matter?? at all??</p>
<p>ok yes, if you raise yours up to 2200 then that will make a huge difference. i don't know much about how internationals are dealt with, but i would say if english is your third language then it will matter, especially if you boosted it up to 700. personally, i think thats incredible. good luck.</p>
<p>well any schools i should cross out?? application fees arent cheap these days..haha, and i don't wanna burden my parents, i'm paying all my exam fees thru summer job...hmmm maybe some super reach or reach should go??</p>
<p>You are obviously intelligent enough to pick out schools from guide books, etc. based upon your scores. Now I'm going to be real tough on you (yes, I'm an adult) and ask you: What is it YOU are looking for from a college or university? what are you looking for in terms of (preliminary) major? Social life? Size, locale?</p>
<p>You, like so many of your peers, throw out a set of stats, which frankly, thousands of students meet in equality, BUT, what you don't do is state: WHAT DO YOU WANT IDEALLY?</p>
<p>Without this, you are not much more than a number, i.e., a number that is similar to many other thousands of numbers. Now, how about thinkiong of YOURSELF and something called "FIT"...then consider all the schools you've listed. You don't need our help to do that, you are capable of narrowing down the list because, after all, you are quite in tune with what's going on out there.</p>
<p>You want to get into a good college/university? Please start thinking in terms of which schools are the right "fit" for you, then you'll have something to go from and something meaningful to ask about, don't you think?</p>
<p>hahaha sorry lights_out for causing you getting the lecture...
well Phewl thanks a lot for the advice,
I really love the Liberal Art concept, that doesnt narrow a student to a vocational type.. now asnwering your questions.
1. I like small classes, with more attention rather than a 120 ppl lecture ( which i've experienced.)
2. I want to learn for learning sake, but i will be more likely to work in the econs/banking/finance/business sector.
3. Social life, diversity is a definite for international students. (wouldnt wanna spend four years in a school 90% dominated by white) Work hard play hard mentallity is important!
4. Size: few hundred to below 5,000. State uni which is super huge and no international fin.aid is definitely out of consideration.
5. Midwest atlantic-New England basically the east, though i like california's weather, the UC's are out of question. ( aid problem )</p>
<p>Basically, my list was first based on colleges who offered international fin.aid, then intercollegiate fencing as the second filter.Then only i slim it down to this list after reviewing each school from books.
However, the need to request advice is because books and datas might not be accurate in reality. And my circumstance makes me impossible to visit any of the colleges. I agree with you that numbers..are mere numbers...
However, how do you define fit or match?</p>
<p>I wonder why you trimmed Stanford out of your list. It has a lot of international students and is rated 2nd most global in terms of diversity. I love that just down the hall, there's a girl from Sweden and a guy from Nigeria. International students have many resources and are well-integrated into college life.</p>
<p>FIY, I'm a A to A- average student. I will describe myself as bright but not genius nor superstar!
For me, P'ton = Stanford (in selectivity and prestige)
however, if i got into P'ton, most prob i;ll get into Stanford (hypothesis)
If i have to choose among two, higher chance i'll choose P'ton over Stanford.
However the chance of getting into Stanford but not P'ton is also there, but i will probably do business related/econs major, then Penn would be better (especially PPE) Well i still love Stanford, less stressful (compare to ivies)tech savvy and california sunshine! I had two seniors who went Stanford for the past year, but knowing them, they are the superstars... so chances of me getting in..is quite slim... : ( (financial wise, P'ton offer need-blind admission, Stanford is not!)
And it all goes back to test scores, if my Oct SAT reach 2200 mark, i might exchange Brown for Stanford...currently reading "the google story" tho..hahaha</p>
<p>I would keep Duke and Stanford on your list...they are so similar to Princeton and Penn and since college admissions is pretty random when it comes to the top schools so it will increase your chances of getting into one of them</p>