<p>U apply to all IVIES? , with grades like that i doubt your essay are subpar</p>
<p>31 for ACT, should i retake for penn/stanford?</p>
<p>@ arvedui, which schools did you apply for? That’s a very solid profile.</p>
<p>Question for everyone: Do the universities keep track of your previous app if you applied before but got rejected? If you want to apply again in a different admissions cycle, will they still see your previous essays/scores/teacher recommendations etc?</p>
<p>@ g3cyz, yeah I think you should retake it. I got 31 too and according to silverturtle’s conversion of SAT to ACT scores, 31 is something like a 2060 SAT and therefore I doubt its competitive in an international app.</p>
<p>I think its dependant because some of the u I was rejected did mention my case record will be kept and be welcomed to apply again</p>
<p>im STILL divided on whether to retake my SAT 1 in October. anybody can help me make up my mind?</p>
<p>edit: scores were 760/800/570 for CR/M/W respectively</p>
<p>edit2: arvedui: 
what schools did you apply for?</p>
<p>@ bouncy, which schools were those? What did they mean your case record will be kept like your entire app, recommendations and all? I’m guessing that would disadvantage a 2nd time app though, what do you think?</p>
<p>@ introverted, have you taken your SAT 2s already? How many times have you taken SAT1 and do you think you can realistically improve your writing score?</p>
<p>Anyway guys, there’s a international uni fair coming up this Sun 17 July at Suntec 10am-3pm. Anyone going? Any idea if it’ll be uni reps or just alums talking?</p>
<p>Bouncy: MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, Chicago, Harvey Mudd. So no, not all Ivies, but close. Even if my essyas were not subpar, they weren’t good. I shudder when I think of them.</p>
<p>Dinosoar: (Refer to my reply to Bouncy) I heard the last round of admissions were particularly hard. It gets harder every year, but the last round, hmm. I don’t know, maybe I’m trying to comfort myself. Still, I’m going to apply to a wider range of colleges this time. Am considering UC Berkeley (or is UCLA better for physics?) and UIUC. Most people say that if you get rejected once, they’re most likely going to reject you again. It could be possible that most of the people they reject aren’t of sufficient calibre. I have heard of some people reapplying and getting in with better essays though. Not sure how it works. Welcoming us to reapply is good news, but to what extent do they really mean it?</p>
<p>Introverted: (Refer to my reply to Bouncy) I sugged retaking, you can improve your writing by 100 points at least</p>
<p>oh crud i have duty this Sunday.</p>
<p>@dinosoar
yup i’ve taken my SAT 2s already. i took my SAT 1 3 times already, but the first two were more or less throwaway, i dont know what compelled me(i think it was my parents actually) to take the test twice after my O’s with practically no preparation. im not sure whether i could improve it. i know nuts about the technical side of english and i can’t write a good essay to save my life either currently. thus my indecisiveness.</p>
<p>@arvedui: wow. i feel like such a small fry compared to some people in here. imo you probably could reapply again but just include some safeties. i dont know, 100 points seems like alot!</p>
<p>Arvedui, I know of quite a few people in your situation. Last year was a killer year for applications. With the USD headed down, there are probably even more international applications this year. The problem is not that you don’t have good results, but you are being compared with other Singaporeans and many have excellent results also, so you need to distinguish yourself from the pack. Another issue is whether you require financial aid? </p>
<p>You might consider Cornell & Penn as they are a little easier to get into given the large intake. Cornell accepted around 70 Singaporeans last year. Did you get waitlisted by anyone? 2nd round might be better then. </p>
<p>There is one Singaporean on CC who got rejected by everyone but Duke the first year. He improved his application and was accepted by Princeton, so yes, it is possible. You might want to try to enhance other parts of your application to make yourself more rounded. Can you do volunteer work in Texas this year for example? Maybe help counsel people at the Air Force base etc. </p>
<p>Lastly, I’d say that there is some room to improve your SAT writing score and to get 800 for SAT math, which many Singaporeans with your results can achieve. A solid 2300+ would put you on par with other Singaporean applicants applying to the top schools.</p>
<p>Introverted: With the right mugging, it should be possible. Which safeties do you suggest?</p>
<p>Dad1983: I don’t require financial aid, I’m on the A*STAR National Science Scholarship. Yep, the only thing I can really improve right now are my essays. I’m not sure how to go about taking SATs here, but that’s a possibility as well. Still, I have already taken it thrice, and my credibility (allegedly) decreases with too many tries.</p>
<p>Good idea, I’ll look into them for this round of applications. I got waitlisted by HMC, that’s all.</p>
<p>How did he improve his application? I’m the youngest and lowest rank here, no one is going to listen to my counsel. Was thinking of giving tuition to the regulars’ children, but no one seems to be interested in that.</p>
<p>arvedui: If you are on NSS(BS) you may want to rethink some of the schools, as the nature of the T&C of the scholarship can create complications in schools that are strictly on 4-year programs, such as MIT Stanford Caltech and Harvey Mudd. Talk to your senior scholars.</p>
<p>Given your totally awesome ECs, the only thing that I can think of that would’ve hindered your entry would be essays and teacher recommendations.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Actually, Stanford is not on a strictly 4 year program and it is definitely possible to complete your requirements and graduate in 3 years. Do talk to your seniors though.</p>
<p>Trivolve: A<em>STAR sponsors 8 years of education, so if I spend 4 years on a BS, it’ll leave only 4 for my PhD. So I’ll most likely have to fund myself/find funds for the last year. I was talking to a senior from Caltech a few months back, she did the 4 years thing. A</em>STAR doesn’t like it, but they do not forbid it.</p>
<p>Well, my class rank wasn’t as good as it could have been. Spent more time on research, which I really love. Would you mind reading through a few of my essays and giving me comments? Hm, I don’t know, is it viable to ask my teachers to write stronger recommendations?</p>
<p>Frankchn: Yep, I have someone from my batch doing Stanford in 3 years. It’s really hectic, she says. A level credits are worth a semester or so, I’m told.</p>
<p>arvedui: afaik their stand changed this year. what they told this year’s batch is that they won’t approve a 5-year PhD course if you’ve already taken a 4-year undergrad course, even if you’re funding the last year, and the best scenario out would be to do PhD studies in Europe. But maybe its just their way of discouraging 4 year BS, and <em>maybe</em> they might still approve it in the worst case scenario. And of course I wouldn’t know if they would change their mind again in a few years’ time.</p>
<p>Trivolve: Hm, my information is from this year too. Anyway, this discussion is moot if I can’t even get in. I’ll just focus on the colleges where it’s possible to complete in 3 years, just in case. Like Stanford. Should I EA Stanford or Princeton?</p>
<p>arvedui, its good that you don’t require aid because most schools have limited aid for foreigners. The chap who got into Princeton 2nd time round has a nick “screwitlah”. I don’t know him personally, just read his posts over the years. You might try to contact him via PM. </p>
<p>You seem to be quite focussed on research. If you have already decided the areas of research you are interested in, you might try contacting top professors in the field and seeing if they can help you get in assuming they are impressed with what you have done so far. This generally helps more for graduate school, but you may already have some research cred if you have helped to author some papers etc.</p>
<p>Giving tuition was not my idea of improving your record. It was more the idea of volunteer work to help a community. Many American and Singaporean kids go to far flung countries to help impoverished communities and that counts towards Universities perceptions of their character. You can organize fund raising for a cause that you champion etc.</p>
<p>I’d agree that taking SAT the 4th time will be looked at negatively, so unless you are certain of significant improvement (say because the last 3 times you couldn’t practice due to illness, work etc), I would not do it.</p>
<p>hi arvedui you can pm me ur essays if you want…i applied and got admitted to pton, possibly going to be class of 2016…</p>
<p>i think its really interesting that you’re posted overseas for your NS, and in an air force unit too, I’m sure there would be something interesting to say about that beyond the usual Brunei, Taiwan, Thailand etc…</p>
<p>hey all, i’m new to this whole US application thing. i wanna try for a top 10 university in america. does anyone know the typical profile (A level grades, SAT scores etc) of students who get in? i’m in my first year of jc.</p>
<p>Usually straight As for A-level, but A-level doesn’t matter that much since you’ll be applying with your prelim grades. The important things are your teacher’s recommendations and predicted grades. If you do decent for prelim (which is harder than the real thing) and you are in a top JC, then your predicted grades should be straight As. Even if you eventually get one or two Bs in your final grade (though this is rare), the college is unlikely to rescind its offer.</p>
<p>SAT scores are at least 2200, with many above 2300.</p>
<p>And then you have the usual CCA/student leadership experiences, participation in international competitions, CIP, entrepreneurship, etc. You don’t need to have everything (though some people do), but at least have some combination of these.</p>
<p>thanks jcx! which jc were you from? i see you’re in stanford now! i think people in this forum are very helpful! can i also ask how do most people in other jcs prepare for their SAT? do they self-study or do they take a course? it seems that most people in my jc (VJC) self-study…but i dunno about people in rjc and the rest</p>