Where should I apply?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hello everyone!
I just signed up for this, so please be gentle on me if I make any silly mistakes--this website is slightly overwhelming.</p>

<p>I'm 18 this year, and I live in Singapore. As I plan on taking a double degree in Philosophy and some social science (anything that allows me to learn how people work, I would love Criminology but it seems quite rare). I'm in a top school here (we have a rival school, and we just fight to see how many Ivy/Oxbridge admissions we get haha), and I'm taking my A levels this year, but we deflate our grades quite a bit so my grades aren't exactly fantabulous. At the moment I'm at the 80th percentile for all my subjects, though.</p>

<p>I've taken my SAT I, but not the SAT II, and I got a 2310 (770 Writing, 740 Reading, 800 Math) but my essay was only an 8 (I don't actually think my handwriting was legible). Taking SAT II in September.</p>

<p>My ECs are okayish--back in secondary school I was regarded as a Math prodigy and they shipped me off to Korea and China for olympiads, but I quit that in Junior College (2012-2013) because I wasn't feeling the passion for it, and joined Canoeing instead. I didn't do as well empirically as I would've with Math, but I learnt so much more, and it's really made me a much, much better person, training my discipline and stuff. I'm also in a business programme, and I have a business idea that my principal wanted to invest in, but it simply wasn't feasible for me to take on the offer as I had canoe championships around the corner and was training 6 times a week.
I also did piano (I'm a grade 8) and I have a few compositions under my belt, and I do love music but I hated how I was examined for it. I have perfect pitch, if that counts for anything...</p>

<p>I'm fine with most places, but I don't like crowds--I like empty space because I tend to live in my head. In your opinion, which schools should I apply for, and what should I emphasize on when I apply? I would think my CV looks really academic, but I'm not sure if that's really the kind of person I want to be in university. </p>

<p>Thank you so much, if even just for reading till the end. :)</p>

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<p>Bumppp!!!
TL;DR: SAT I 2310, SAT II in October, have sports and music stuff (that i am quite passionate in), I want to take philo, and I like empty space. Thanks :D</p>

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<p>The first question is what can you afford? Whether or not you need financial aid will be the biggest determining factor in your list.</p>

<p>Second, are you a Singapore national?</p>

<p>I’m not sure how to equate 80th percentile to an A/B/C or 4.0 GPA. Do you know your rank?</p>

<p>The fact that you like wide open spaces is a plus. There are many excellent colleges and universities in the US that are located in rural environments. Many of these colleges, especially smaller ones, use non-White internationals to increase their diversity percentages. </p>

<p>In some parts of America Asians are considered under-represented minorities, so look to go against the grain: rural, midwest, south.</p>

<p>Be sure to submit a music supplement to your application even if you don’t intend to major in music. Music involvement can be a positive especially at small liberal arts colleges.</p>

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<p>Thanks so much for replying :)</p>

<p>I’m thinking of getting a scholarship, but I can probably afford a 200K education.</p>

<p>I am a Singapore national. Would that be an issue?</p>

<p>My cohort’s pretty big (1250 students), but I’m probably around 100+. Definitely not too impressive, I’m sorry :/</p>

<p>Prestige might be an issue though, as scholarships in Singapore look towards reputable US unis a lot. Rural sounds awesome though. I don’t really care for shopping, I just like to lounge around with a slow pace of life and learn about myself as I go.</p>

<p>Which universities would be a reach/match for me? Or is it impossible to tell now?</p>

<p>What do you mean by a music supplement? By that do you mean my results, or would it be a piece that I created myself?</p>

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<p>Figure that a private college would cost about $200,000 not including transportation to and from Singapore. Some colleges are need blind for Internationals, some are not. In general, it helps if you are not asking for financial aid.</p>

<p>There are 1250 students in your class?! </p>

<p>It’s difficult for me to predict reach/match/safety without knowing how your GPA would compare on a 4.0 basis, but you can gauge selectivity by the percentage admitted. Under 10% super-reach, Under 25% reach, Under 40% match, over 40% safety. (This is VERY rough. Other factors will come into play as well.</p>

<p>A music supplement is a recording of you performing. The admissions committee sends it to the music department who then gives an opinion on whether your musical talent would contribute to the campus community. This is a plus. See the individual colleges’ admissions pages for instructions.</p>

<p>Some ideas for rural/small town colleges that are Asian friendly: Williams, Middlebury, Colby, Bates, Kenyon, Grinnell, Skidmore. If you are female, Smith, Mt.Holyoke. There are others, but that’s a good start.</p>

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<p>Oh you meant class instead of cohort? My class is also a pretty good class, so I think I’m around 5th? 6th? out of 26. </p>

<p>I’m so sorry I don’t really know what info to give you :(</p>

<p>Oh. Okay. I definitely need to brush up on my piano skills then, I got my grade 8 about 2-3 years ago oops :P</p>

<p>My college admins counselor was telling me around Dartmouth is good for me, but I’m not sure if that’s too high a reach for me. Plus, if they’re not counted as ~reputable~ by Singapore’s government standards, chances are I can’t get a scholarship :frowning: And my parents are /really/ adamant on me getting a scholarship, but they can technically afford a degree (if i do medicine they’ll pay for everything)
oops /rant</p>

<p>Smith sounds gorgeous, and so does Kenyon :slight_smile: And it is a great start. :slight_smile: Thank you!</p>

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<p>Dartmouth is a reach, as is all of the ivy league, not just for you but for everyone. As for Dartmouth not being “reputable” . . . good lord!</p>

<p>In the US medicine isn’t an undergraduate program. Nor is pre-med a major.</p>

<p>Your counselor probably has a good idea of which US colleges/universities graduates from your highschool with similar grades have been admitted to in the past. S/he should be able to help you put together a list of reach/match/safety for you.</p>

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<p>Oh oh I’m sorry I think I might have worded it wrongly–Dartmouth /is/ super reputable, which is not the full reason why I’m interested in it but it’ll for sure appease parents/scholarship providers. I mean, Dartmouth!!</p>

<p>Ah don’t worry about that–I was being distracted. Medicine’s definitely not my calling.</p>

<p>I guess so, but other opinions would be good too, of course :slight_smile: Do you have any idea which universities in the US have a good philosophy program? Online sources have been pretty overwhelming. :confused: </p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

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<p>I assume you go to Raffles Junior College, or a similar school.</p>

<p>I met a lot of Singaporean students on government scholarship. Regardless, don’t get stuck on the strength of philosophy departments. Here is a list: [World’s</a> Best Universities in Philosophy; Top Philosophy Universities | US News](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/best-universities-philosophy]World’s”>http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/best-universities-philosophy)</p>

<p>I implore you to just apply straight down the US News overall ranking since you have the stats and financial aid is not that big of a problem. </p>

<p>[National</a> University Rankings | Top National Universities | US News Best Colleges](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities?int=a557e6]National”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities?int=a557e6)</p>

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<p>Actually, you’re spot on. I’m in RJ. Good on ya! :D</p>

<p>Thanks for the lists! The universities there seem like a crazy reach for me :confused: All them Ivy’s. To be honest, I’m not so sure where my stats lead me.</p>

<p>Berkeley is one I haven’t really looked at, though–their programme looks pretty cool :slight_smile: The courses don’t exactly seem my type though. I’m an Asian Philosophy/Aesthetics/Language kinda person. Maybe they’ll change their classes next fall though–tbh I have no idea :P</p>