<p>I am a Chinese student with an ambition for the following universities:</p>
<p>1.RICE UNIVERSITY
2.UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
3.UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
4.GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
5.UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
6.UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-TWIN CITIES</p>
<p>I have now a SAT score of 590+760+650=2000 and a TOEFL ibt score of 93(my primary language is cretainly not English). I will take SAT reason test again at Oct.9th.</p>
<p>My questions:
1.As you can see, should I take the SAT subject test according to my school list? My timetable perhaps will be very tight after my 10.9 SAT (an admission examination in China called GAOKAO is appoaching and I have to prepare assiduously for it) so that it will be difficult for me to take the SAT subject test.</p>
<p>2.My TOEFL score is not satisfying at all, but I can not retake it. Can I waive it if I get a SAT reasoning test score of 2200+(CR650+)? the current situation is that I can not apply U of North Carolina at chapel hill with such a TOEFL score because UNC require a TOEFL ibt of 100+ but does not show whether we international students can waive it or how high a CR score.</p>
<p>3.is University of wisconsin-madison a desirable unversity? Some in Chinese forums states that this univ is an awesome one on academic fields, but others argue that this univ is tinpot because its admission standards is very low and many inferior students can enter it even without a SAT score (no offense to students there).</p>
<p>4.How high a level should I achieve in order to qualifiedly be admitted to schools in the list?
(for example: a high score or community working experience or a high GPA)</p>
<p>Maybe my language is somewhat awkward and hard to read, excuse me.
Thank you!!! I really appreciate your advice.</p>
<p>Can’t really help with any of your questions except for #3. UWisconsin-Madison is a great school that offers quality programs across the board. Many people would put it above UMinnesota-Twin Cities.</p>
<p>waiting for reply~</p>
<p>I could wrong but I think the only school on your list that requires the subject tests is Rice. UW-Madison is an excellent school. Most applicants submit the ACT test rather than the SAT. The ACT is just a different kind of college entrance test, no better or worse than the SAT. It is a very competitive university for admissions. Your TOEFL and your SAT should be OK for UW. UW-Madison has many excellent academic departments. The state schools on your list will be most interested in your test scores, your GPA, and the kinds of classes that you took in high school. Rice will be interested in your extra-curricular activities as well. The state schools will also require you to be able to demonstrate that you can pay for all of your own expenses. Rice might have financial aid for internationals, but it is unlikely that the state schools will.</p>
<p>thank you for your insightful reply。</p>
<p>Oh,U of wis madison has a acceptance rate of 57 percent, is it a “very competitive” university for admission??? REALLY?</p>
<p>Wisconsin is a fine school, regardless of the admission rate. State-serving public universities have to keep fairly open admission requirements in order to meet their obligation the the citizens of that state.</p>
<p>You will find all of the opportunities and rigor at Wisconsin that you could take advantage of.</p>
<p>your reply truly helps, thx a lot.</p>
<p>excuse me, I have to raise another question: Is the USNEWS’ college rank worthy to consult？ In China this rank is nearly the only “official” path for us to glance various universities and colleges in the US.</p>
<p>thank you all for your help, I’ll appreciate it.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While USNews’s college rankings get a lot of attention, both here on CC and in the states in general, there are plenty of reasons for taking them with a large grain of salt. Among them:</p>
<p>One significant factor in the US News is “quality of incoming freshman class.” But US News does not look at what happens to those same students after they graduate. In other words, US News does not even attempt to measure whether the individual colleges have actually made a real difference in their students’ lives.</p>
<p>US News also heavily weighs peer assessment in the rankings. In other words, college presidents are asked their opinions on the quality of other institutions. Frequently this peer assessment is based on things that do not much matter at the undergraduate level for the typical college student. Things like total grant money and the number of big-name research profs with lots of awards but who don’t teach undergrads can very heavily influence the peer assessment part of the rankings.</p>
<p>Quality of undergraduate teaching, which is difficult to measure objectively under any circumstances, seems to play little or no role in the US News rankings.</p>
<p>US News downplays or ignores affordability in a serious way. For students who must pay the full price for a college, there are real questions about whether $50K+ per year is really worth it when there are ample other institutions (usually state flagships) available to a US student for far less cost. US News also makes notes about “average student debt at graduation” but does not seem to take this into account in the rankings.</p>
<p>And there is some concern about whether individual colleges can manipulate the data they submit so as to artificially increase their rankings. For example, it’s alleged that some colleges: artificially increase the number of their overall applicants just so they can reject more applicants; accept a very large percentage of their freshman class through binding ED programs so that they can increase their yield; and cherry-pick which students’ SAT/ACT scores to include in the data to increase their 25-75% test score ranges.</p>
<p>But in spite of these concerns, the rankings are still seriously considered by many people in the US. But distinctions between closely rated schools really should not be over emphasized: The difference between a school in the top 10 versus a school in the 50-60 range may be significant in some way, but the difference between schools in the 1-10 range and the 10-20 range are not significant.</p>
<p>Ok I’ll give you some advice on the schools. I attend a top 5 Minnesota Public HS. We send a ton of Kids to Madison every year. From what I hear, its a great school. I know fabulous students who go there. I’m also applying the U of Minnesota TC. Its a big school, lots of people, but if you like it, its great. Has a great Business and Engineering program.</p>
<p>thanks, thank you for your earnest reply.</p>
<p>
This figure is out of date. Last year’s admission rate was 50%. In any case, admission rates don’t tell the whole story, because they don’t take into account self-selection in the applicant pool. UW-Madison is a very strong university.</p>