Thanks for the detailed info! I guess I’ve heard a few of these names before but never considered them. I’ll look into the LACs you’ve listed! I’ve been doing a bit of research on LACs lately and they seem pretty rad
I’m going to try to elaborate on the reason I was sticking to only selective unis (try is the operative word here; I’m not good at explaining). There’s a pretty highly-ranked local uni near where I live and maybe it’d be weird to go overseas for a “lower-ranked”/“less known” institution. I’m trying my best to shake this thought off because it’s very much blindly chasing prestige; I’m a teenager at the end of the day and don’t think very rationally. To be extremely honest, this local “highly-ranked” uni is probably gaming the ranking system (especially QS’s) by skewing the international student percentage, among other things.
I took one of the SAT practice tests (#10 I believe) without any prep; got a 1450. Not bad I guess, but it still needs some work. I’ll probably need more practices to gauge my actual level.
I know a grad from my high school who got into UCLA and NYU. Granted, it was nearly 10 years ago when admissions was less cut-throat, and they got in with a humanities major. Apparently, they also got a 50-75% percentile in one of their subjects, but if I’m applying as an engineering major I’d probably have less wiggle room with bad grades.
Another one got into Cornell, but I don’t really know their profile. My school doesn’t place many kids to the US at all (maybe 5 in the last 10 years??). A decent chunk go to the UK though. Maybe 1 oxbridge admit per year out of 100+ students per class.
I’m not really sure how to answer the “highest levels” question (or maybe I can’t do basic comprehension). Where I live, it’s not really a well-rounded education where you study a lot of different subjects like in the US. It’s a bit like GSCEs and GCEs, where you first take a bunch of subjects in junior high to see what you like, then go deep into a select few of them in senior high. But I’ll try.
Math: calculus
Science: physics and chemistry. The syllabus has quite a bit of overlap with their AP counterparts (the physics I’m learning is more similar to Physics 1&2 than Physics C)
Foreign language: none?? There’s two local languages which are English and Chinese (by this point you can probably guess where I live) and I’ve only learnt these two
social science: history and geography in 9th grade. It’s pretty surface-level stuff.
Either in NY state itself or around NYC. Sorry that I didn’t state it clearly in my post. So this means I’m fine with anywhere in New York state, but if it’s out of state it has to be NYC and the surrounding area. A one-way 4-hour drive from NYC to the out-of-state colleges is what I’m going for.
I’ll look into Virginia Tech. Thanks for the suggestion
I made a grave mistake. I don’t think the math I’m taking right now is Further Math, but instead just some sort of equivalent of AP Calc BC. I’m so sorry.
So this opens up down to Washington, DC to up to Boston - so Maryland, Delaware, parts of Pennsylvania, parts of NY (not all assuming the city), CT, RI and more. Also parts of Mass - so there’s a lot more schools.
If you are are studying engineering and staying here, then short of going to a Cornell or MIT - it’s unlikely to matter if you go to UMD or UMASS - both great schools.
But your top food, based on all the surveys, without question within four hours will be UMASS and then Cornell. They might make a great 1-2 punch.
UMASS is 3 hours and 20 from the city and Cornell right at 4 hours.
For sure if you have a competitive local option, it makes sense only to apply to US colleges that would be “better for you” in some important way.
I would just stress the “for you” part. Generic rankings and such inherently cannot capture individual needs, interests, preferences, dislikes, and so on.
And at a high level, the US undergrad system can be pretty different from the undergrad systems in most other countries. Even our large research publics can be pretty different, and then our robust system of midsize private universities and smaller private colleges have very few direct competitors in most countries.
Again, none of this is intended to say you shouldn’t consider this local option seriously. But I would suggest thinking carefully about what sort of undergrad experience, academically and non-academically, you really would benefit from the most, as a unique individual, and not rely on generic rankings and such.
It’s not a grave mistake. Something like Calc BC is still advanced, just less so than A levels with Further Maths, and anyway what matters is doing very well in the curriculum you chose.
VTech is within a day’s drive of NY but not within 4 hours so depends whether distance matters - it does engineering, food, and college life very well.
If most of the kids at your school are applying as international students in the US, you should have a somewhat better chance as a US citizen, so something to bear in mind.
I would echo @NiceUnparticularMan’s observation about the differences in university systems. Undergrad in the UK and I believe much of Asia is going to be quite different than what you see in the US. Would you prefer a system where you are largely focused on your major from day 1, or one where you would be required to do a broader range of subjects to fulfill general education requirements?
Given the importance you place on finding good food… i thought I’d mention that many colleges have dorms with a shared kitchen with a stove, oven and refrigerator where you can cook your own meals. The downside is it’s shared among many dorm residents, and schools usually require you to buy some minimal meal plan regardless.