<p>I’m applying to the states from Hong Kong too =P which School are you at? I’m at one of the last bastions offering A-Level. Well a few things.
First, I think your obvious gift in sciences would be ok for sciences, but realistically, you need to be sure that your english is good enough for 4 years of study in the US. You may also need to pass your Toefls as well so try to brush up in that regard. You can also look at Caltech, and Olin. I’d suggest you look at techy engineering schools in the mold of MIT rather than 4 year institutions with engineering programs like Berkeley, because they might be more willing to overlook less than stellar english skills/ec’s in the face of scientific prowess.</p>
<p>1900 was two years ago, one and a half years is plenty of time to improve. As I assume your problem would be in the CR section, read the SAT section on this board, and if you pm me I can send you some notes I wrote about how to score higher on the CR. </p>
<p>Realistically, MIT accepts far too little people…even if you had perfect scores MIT would not be anywhere near a definite. You need a few safety’s and match schools too, but MIT will have plenty of people gifted in Science applying, who have good verbal skills as well, so that is a definite disadvantage.</p>
<p>What exactly is your interest in music? If it’s significant I’d play it up…it’d help your application stand out. If it’s mainly Boston you’re interested in, Boston is the ultimate college town, there are loads of universities there for you to have a look at, so make sure you explore your options.</p>
<p>Well…you should never base your university decision on rankings…they’re meaningful to a point, but not HKU = 39 and BU = 40. HKU is a decent uni sure, but I’d definitely pick many institutions below it simply because I don’t think it’d be the right environment for me. I know your parents might not think in that way, they want to pay for the best education but think of it in these terms. Universities have different advantages beyond a ranking that fluctuates a lot.</p>
<p>1) What are your future goals? For me…I don’t plan on working in Hong Kong, and I hope to go on to graduate study in the US. For that reason I’m not interest in a Hong Kong degree which wouldn’t be ideal for my planned future.</p>
<p>2) What is your planned program of study? HKU is excellent for med, presuming you’re going to stay in Hong Kong to work, but school’s in the US may be better if you’re interested in say engineering. </p>
<p>3) How much higher is Hong Kong in the rankings? Berkeley was no.2 in 2004 and no. 7 now, as a comparison? Are you sure the lead is definite?</p>
<p>4) Which university is the best fit for you? I wouldn’t be interested in HKU…and my studies would probably suffer as a result. Pick a university you’re interested in. A case in point, i had quite a dearth in college knowledge when I was picking, and I had no idea of the ivy league beyond Harvard Yale Princeton, and I assumed Stanford =P I found Columbia, my first choice now (touchwood hope i get in) just through exploring universities, and totally fell in love without having any inkling of their reputation. I was sadly shocked when I saw their admission stats =P But I think it’s a good idea to do that, if the counselllor recommended you two universities you’ve never heard of that’s a boon. Do not look at any rankings but just explore the uni, fall in love with what it is, if your counsellor recommends them to a stellar student they can’t be that bad, so go into them with an open mind.</p>
<p>Ok if you have any questions, or want to discuss anything feel free to PM, can msn or sth if you pm me for details if that’s more comfotable, but good luck for your admissions and I hope you get into your uni of first choice.</p>