<p>Haha, I randomly just threw Harvard out there.</p>
<p>I’d much prefer Stanford myself, to be honest. =D</p>
<p>I’m guessing theGame got into NYU? Or Columbia?! Sorry, I haven’t been paying much attention for the last 10 or so pages =P</p>
<p>gettysburg i think he was (soz about the spelling)</p>
<p>So looks like me and shoyz (potentially) may be on the only ones on the west coast… but thats all good cause the west coast is AWESOME and in southern california we don’t have this thing called winter… which makes it even better!</p>
<p>hey everyone
I attend a selective school in sydney so obviously my rankings are not as they would be had i attended a normal school.
My question is, do colleges take the selectivity of the school into account?</p>
<p>Hey iggu_spotter. I don’t think you’ve been around here before so HI! I actually went to a selective school in Sydney too 
and I got in just fine so I would say yes they do take into consideration the selectivity of the school. BUT you need to get your school to write a letter, or they may have one already, outlining what a selective school is. Um if you have any specific questions feel free to PM me, as everyone here knows I like to talk/rant. Also most schools will have a January 1 deadline, which means you will get your HSC results and I guess now your ATAR by the time you apply which gives you a statewide ranking, so like my in-school ranking was 45/160 or somewhere around there but my UAI placed me in the top 2% of the state, so they would take that into consideration definetly. They would also take into consideration what subjects you are taking, because especially if you are applying to big schools (and definetly if you are applying to HPYSM etc.) they have tons of international applicants and they for sure will have had one from Australia before. Safe to say as much as we like to think it we are not special or individual. So they do know our system. They generally have Admission officers for each region of the world, not so much in the smaller liberal artsy schools but DEFINETLEY in the big schools. Anyways yes before I get teased for ranting again, feel free to PM me and I can rant away from scrutiny haha.</p>
<p>LOL beeish.</p>
<p>Have a question for you all.
How did you go about getting teacher recommendations? It’s basically unheard of here because there’s no such thing when applying to universities in Australia so how do you approach teachers with this? Plus I read it’s not even allowed for teachers to do this stuff. I think at my school, they’re especially strict on keeping the divide between student and teacher…they’re not allowed to do private tutoring with you,etc because it would be unfair…not that this has really anything to do with it haha.
I’m really not a fan of this part of the application required in the US, because at least in public school here it is strictly teacher and student and they hardly know us on a personal level at all. No one is friends or anything close with a teacher. Oh and also the counsellor recommendation. Don’t understand that either because with over 1600 (at least my school) and 1 guidance counsellor, how’s he suppose to do it.</p>
<p>well i personally chose my teachers and explained to them how to fill out the sheets and general stuff they could write about me for the recommendation. and if they had any questions, i explained to them as best i could (because i didnt really know much either)</p>
<p>i didnt even get my counsellor’s recommendation from a counsellor because the definition of counsellor in US is different to Aust. I got mine from my house dean. </p>
<p>the trick is though, always ask early so they have plenty of time. I told them about how i was going to ask them to do recommendation for me about 6 months before it was due and gave them the papers 3 or 4 months before it was due. </p>
<p>@ beeish - its just so hard these days to find new ways of mocking your “ranting”</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I am headed for Gettysburg, PA. NYC is another story altogether.</p>
<p>Footnote: Dragons’ spelling is better than he thinks, and beeish is more talkative than my parrot :)</p>
<p>how much aid did ya recieve in gtbrg, the gAME?</p>
<p>Hey Ruby, I’ve been thinking about the same problems actually. When I look for recommendations next year, I’m planning to just approach the teachers and explain the situation to them. Make sure you choose teachers who like you, or the teachers who take classes you do well in.</p>
<p>@theGAME most parrots I know aren’t that talkative. But hey being compared to a parrot is better then being compared to a chipmunk I guess, although I am going to look like a chipmunk in a few weeks :(</p>
<p>@beeish … that is all</p>
<p>@theGame why thank you.</p>
<p>Thanks dragon and natalle. I’m no teachers pet but it’s a good thing we get the same teachers through year 11 and 12. Can anyone tell me what the recommendation forms look like? like what type of questions it asks generally? I’ve seen a prep school one and it asks not only about academic performance but a lot about how you are as a person and have boxes to tick. Is it similar with the college ones?</p>
<p>@dragons
yes that is all</p>
<p>Hi everyone.</p>
<p>I want to ask some questions about the application process as everyone seems to be in very similar circumstances with me.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Can we complete the Common App. PERSONAL part online and have the SCHOOL FORMS part done on hard-copy, and mailed? (I recognize that most schools adhere to this process, but my visit to the US consulate-general yesterday has suggested otherwise.)</p></li>
<li><p>AND when mailing the SCHOOL FORMS part, does it have to be sent directly from the school or can we send it ourselves, provided that the all parts of the school forms are signed and sealed.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, can the required copy of the HSC (I’m on a gapyear and have completed the HSC 08) be LITERALLY copied and authenticated by a JP? (Ive visited the BOS and they’ve told me that they will ONLY make and send ‘official’ copies if they send the report directly to each school, with a fee of 40 dollars per copy. I’ve found this ridiculous and feel that if a jp-copy is legit, I’d rather have it done this way and sent in one bundle - just seems better that way.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I just felt that it was most appropriate that I ask people who have JUST gone through the process - you guys would know better that anyone else. I do have more questions but, at this stage, the q’s posted above seem more than enough. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Kevin</p>
<p>@ ruby - you can get the forms from common apps. they’re avaliable for download, just use them as the recommendation</p>
<p>@ kayevin. hi
- thats what i did.
- thats what i did. (sent it myself)
- i didnt even get it signed, i copied my original copy and sent the copied, unsigned version of my HSC results in.</p>
<p>@kayevin. HIIIII</p>
<p>To answer your questions too…
- like dragons thats exactly what I did too!
- I sent most of them myself, just get your school to sign/stamp over the seal if you are worried. my chem teacher sent in my rec though on his own even though I didn’t ask him to.
- I had mine copied and signed by a solicitor so do that if you are worried, the JP I mean, solicitor is the same. Or go into school with the original copy and get them to sign and and stamp the copies, or if you are REALLY worried just go to the notary at the US consulate and get them to sign it, costs, but americans would definetly know what a notary is. </p>
<p>And shoot away with the other questions, I dunno about the others but as theGAME says I more or less LOVE to talk haha</p>
<p>Hey kayevin,</p>
<p>welcome to our (read: beeish (the parrot)'s) crazy board.</p>
<p>I got my TEE results certified by a JP, and sent it off by myself along with other school forms that were done on paper. So that wouldn’t be a problem at all.</p>
<p>hahaha even shoyz joined it :p</p>
<p>3 against 1 so far beeish. you need to team up (if you can that is )</p>
<p>but you see dragons, all who are against me are male… and 1 female is worth 4 males… hence I am still ahead 
</p>
<p>yes gender inequality is a magnificent thing</p>