<p>I will be applying for Fall 09, the deadlines are still far but I just want to be prepared. </p>
<p>I already took SAT and scored a mediocre 1790 (definitely retaking this coming October)</p>
<p>I have good ECA and some awards
valedictorian award
i head the prefactorial board
presidented red cross society and language society
for o-levels, I was in top 100 scorer nationwide and I receive the Prime Minister Award for this
i represented the school for various public speaking competition and won but didnt reach state level
i am the commander marching band (which won state level competition)
i directed lots of plays in high school (which i will get the teacher to write me a recommendation letter)</p>
<p>Voluntary works and misc
I directed a fund raising campaign which raised $3000 in 6 hours
Volunteered for miscellanous fundraising campaign for orphanage, kids with cancer etc
volunteered internationally in southeast asia doing awareness prgrams and such
and during school breaks, i work in a telecommunication company as an admin assistant (the longest period was 4 months)</p>
<p>I took O-levels some time ago and I got straight 14As and currently I am doing my A-levels. I took 5 subjects and I sort of screwed up one of it accidentally which I think I might get a C. </p>
<p>My high school doesnt provide transcript with GPA but for 10th and 11th grade I got all straight As, never a single B. </p>
<p>Im eyeing at Columbia, UCLA, UC Berkeley, John Hopkins, Michigan Ann Habor, Wisconsin, Washington and Northwestern, 8 of them. </p>
<p>How would my single ‘C’ affect the whole application?
And I would appreciate it if you could pinpoint which one would be a safety =)</p>
<p>(I understand that my SAT score is too low I wasnt prepared when I took it so Ill retake)</p>
<p>Have you considered taking the ACT? Pretty much all colleges accept it in lieu of the SAT and its structure makes it easier to study for than the SAT (grammar instead of vocab questions, no trick questions in the math section etc). I was having a hard time with the SAT but did quite well on the ACT. </p>
<p>A question - Are you Singaporean? In addition, are you asking for FA? All the schools you listed are not need-blind for international students, so need’ll be a factor. Even if you got in, you might not necessarily get enough FA to attend. I’ve heard of cases where EFCs were impossible to meet for the families. </p>
<p>I’d not want to chance you without SAT information. 1790 and say, 2000 and 2200 are all very different and will impact your admissions significantly. Also, how do you think your teachers’ recs and essay will be?</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m just chancing you based on my knowledge of these schools’ selectivity:
Columbia - Reach-High Reach, UCLA - Reach, UC Berkeley - High Reach, John Hopkins - High Reach, Michigan Ann Habor - Match, Wisconsin - Match, Washington - Match and Northwestern - Match-Reach</p>
<p>qft. all schools are not need-blind. if you got in, expect to pay alot for tuition. i dont know of all the other schools, but UCLA charges about $26k for tuition + books alone. not to mention, living in LA is going to set you back by about $10k+ per year, maybe less if you budget alot. you’ll probably spend close to $40k per year for 4 years. thats alot of money, and not even converted to local currency yet.</p>
<p>expect your application for FA to affect your admission decision alot. i have heard of students getting admitted based on merit and yet rejected because they asked for FA.</p>
<p>and the recommendation letter should be good as im getting two of my favorite teachers(english and maths) to pen them for me. As for the essay I am still cracking my head trying to come up with an impressive one =)</p>
<p>LOL, just goes to show my ignorance re: Malaysian education system. Well, since you’re not applying for FA I stand by the chances I gave previously. That said, it hinges alot on your SATs since your grades aren’t stellar.</p>
<p>I’ve always assumed that OP stands for Original Poster. Lol. Wild guess haha but a random one as well.</p>
<p>A single C won’t really jeopardize your application, everyone of us is allowed to make mistakes once in a while.</p>
<p>As to chances of getting into the unis you mentioned… Assuming you’ll write a decent essay and your SAT score will improve.</p>
<p>Columbia - reach (Ivy League will always be a reach to almost everyone)
UCLA - slight match
UC Berkeley - reach
John Hopkins - no idea 'cos I don’t know much about JHU. Reach?
Michigan Ann Habor - slight reach
Wisconsin - match
Washington - which Washington? Not Washington at St. Louis right? Match.
Northwestern - reach</p>
<p>i think UCLA might be a reach as well. at best, slight slight match i’d say. their student body comprises of something like 93-95% california(not american) residents. and i dont think they intend to lower that percentage. </p>
<p>haha i think that might be it. lisieux i really hope they(adcoms) would think that way =)</p>
<p>yeah i saw in UCLAs page that they give priority to california residents. but they do admit quite a number of applicants for an intake, 24% that is. </p>
<p>okayss now for some clarification;
reach means there are chances sth like 50-50 right? </p>
<p>and match would mean sth like 70-30 with 70% chances of being admitted?</p>
<p>is northwestern really that selective? so maybe i can conclude that washington would be my safety net now</p>
<p>They should think that way syamil_1, don’t worry too much about the C. I’ll worry more about the SAT I score! Please try to pull it up as much as you can.</p>
<p>In UCLA, the admission rate you saw, is it not the overall admit rate, and not admit rate for OOS (out-of-state) and international students? Please don’t confuse the two. Admission rate for in-state can be (throwing a random number) 45% but for OOS and intl’s 10%, and that makes the average 24%, get what I mean? Those are random numbers…</p>
<p>Anyway. Reach means chances are slim. To me, that’s about 10% chance of getting in. Match would be 50%. Safety would be 70-80-90% chance of getting in. Yup. Definition differs slightly from one person to another, but “Reach” is definitely NOT 50-50.</p>
<p>Hmm and Northwestern is a really good uni, yes I believe it IS that selective.</p>
<p>i’d say that 93% are california residents. this would make the remaining 7% a combination of OOS students (who are american but dont live in california) and international students.</p>