<p>UIUC</p>
<p>i think the decision is quite clear</p>
<p>@porcade</p>
<p>First and foremost with the exception of UIUC and simon rock(im studying in the US and never heard it before)
dont accept they accept the Os+ SAT combo</p>
<p>and since your taking Life sci and engineering i believe it would be more toward that direction for your courses? as such i will recommend purdue for your profile</p>
<p>Forget abt Michigan if you dont have straight O lvl As </p>
<p>IUB would be the best choice for business amongst them</p>
<p>and your a female right , if not there NS</p>
<p>@bouncy
how so?</p>
<p>heeeeeloooo this is extremely random but i’m a sec 3 student in HC and I’m quite sure that I want to go to US/UK for university (yeah, i’m thinking that far). UK’s quite straightforward with the UCAS system and I guess straight As will get you a place in UCL/ICL but US looks really daunting and scary with all the EC requirements and whatnot. </p>
<p>i’m hopeless in sports and i have no musical background (if you consider grade 2 piano significant at all), but i’m in the humanities programme. i’ve just started to do service learning and participate in MUNs, but i looked through the acceptance threads of several universities and the kids who got accepted all look godly with all their “nationa team waterpolo national champion this national scholar that icho champ” and i’m like ***</p>
<p>i’m not even consider HYPMS because i’ll never get in, and i’m aiming for cornell, berkerley, UCLA, NYU, UNC… etc i’m really interested in LACs too (vassar, reed, not considering Amherst becuase it
s too hard), but if i enter one i don’t think i’ll ever be coming back to singapore</p>
<p>what should i do now for my ECs?!?!??! i am desperate and stressed out and i want to die.</p>
<p>another thing is that i really want to study econs/business management/any degree that possibly leads to an MBA and i don’t know what combi to take in JC. i really want PPE in oxford too but thats just crazy i think. i really want to take HELM but i heard it’s a hipster combi and you’re nuts if you take that. </p>
<p>ps: my father works in nus and the thought of being in the same school as him scares me. idw local U will bore die me :(((((</p>
<p>k i know i sound like some crazy person but please reply me i hope i didn’t tarnish my school’s reputation ahhhhh</p>
<p>^ dont panic lol you still have a long time to decide.</p>
<p>regarding ECs, it’s not INCREDIBLY IMPERATIVE you fill up your CV. but the problem is you are aiming for these top schools where everyone has impressive scores. your ECs are just what makes you stand out from the rest. i have read around the web that public schools tend to place more emphasis on academic achievement though. </p>
<p>also, don’t place TOO much weight on what you see in the acceptance threads around the forums. americans have a lot more time on their hands to pursue their interests than we do(but then again you probably read a bunch of overachieving internationals’ stats too) my ECs don’t look impressive at all but i still got into a pretty good school for my course. besides you still have a couple of years to beef up your CV if you so wish to do so, but don’t just do things for the sake of it. </p>
<p>and almost ANY degree i think can lead to an MBA. how is wanting to study PPE crazy? if you really want to take HELM then you should. would you rather be studying some crap you’d rather not be or would you rather study something you have an interest in?</p>
<p>I took HELM and I never knew I was a hipster.</p>
<p>@intro</p>
<p>If i rmb right , your com sci or engineering related right? first off , IMO UIUC is better known , better alumni and better brand name</p>
<p>secondly is that com sci or engineering overall UIUC is ranked higher</p>
<p>Finally you come midwest i can see you for midwestern games:D hahahahaha</p>
<p>@bouncy</p>
<p>haha yeah i just accepted UIUC. was worried about the location and weather but in the end i reasoned it would be a good experience for me. now… time to withdraw from NUS and hope my visa has no issues!</p>
<p>visa is usually a breeze for singaporean , that being said why dont you withdraw after you get your.</p>
<p>when i was visiting UIUC for a singapore event , there a large pool of singaporeans, which im sure they will help you settle down . if not feel free to pm or email me , as afterall midwest is still the boring midwest hahahahaha</p>
<p>hi every1…i am from india and have applied for both nus & ntu with 95.4% in cbse xii and 95.4% in icse x…does any1 has any idea if i can get into any of the two?</p>
<p>@ClassicJuice (page 311 of this thread)</p>
<p>"“It was much more difficult to score well in NUS than in UO in my English modules.”</p>
<p>and that’s why I feel local uni grads have a much more difficult time applying for grad school because nus/ntu grades seem “inferior” when compared to US grades."</p>
<p>I agree. Another part of why local uni grads may have a tough time applying for grad school is that local (Singaporean) profs may be too steeped in the system of academic hierarchy. A local univ. professor refused to write my friend a grad school application letter simply because she did not have first or second upper honours. My friend has 10x more passion than a lot of grad school applicants who are gliding into expensive US grad schools with the help of ministries/scholarships that fund them. But that Singaporean professor cannot see beyond grades-- grades are not everything in the US when it comes to grad school applications.</p>
<p>"“The department is not famous internationally, so you’ll have to take that into account.”</p>
<p>especially true if you plan to apply for grad school in future."</p>
<p>The department’s fame is one factor to consider for your grad school apps, but if your recommender happens to be the head of your department, senior in age and experience, famous in his field and well published, that may give you a leg up even if your school’s brand name is not so good. Depends on your field though. And on the grad degree you are applying for. Top unis, of course, always have more $ to invest in student advising and grad school preparation.</p>
<p>@onelast</p>
<p>For crying out loud, you’re still in Sec 3. I didn’t even know what JC I would go to when I was in Sec 3. Relax lah. :)</p>
<p>Stop thinking of the prestige of your potential CCAs/application-boosting activities for a while. Maybe it’s just my blind faith but if you do activities that are in line with whatever your passions are, I believe things will fall in place for you. Definitely continue with your service learning and MUNs. You can even join a youth volunteer community in a charity or even form your own volunteering club, attached to a charity or youth organisation or CDC. Then you can crown yourself the president (wink wink), gain CCA points, and pursue a passion at the same time. And showing initiative will look good on your application.</p>
<p>If you “want to die” 3 years before applying to uni-- imagine what would happen if you actually get into one of those top universities? You will still be stressed and unhappy. A university should be a place to fulfill your goals and dreams. Not a status symbol you pursue to make your parents happy and to be on par with your friends. I promise you, 2 years after you graduate from university, this application process will seem so far away to you and like a piece of cake. So, TL;DR: find your passion first, pursue it, then find universities that will work WITH YOUR goals. Don’t mould yourself to the university. There are zillions of universities around. Find one that can make YOU shine.</p>
<p>@onelast</p>
<p>I know someone with a BA in English Literature who got into an MBA program. Basically-- anyone with a degree can get an MBA. But only go for it if you know that you will do well. It may take you a few years of working experience AFTER your undergrad degree before you know whether the MBA is right for you. So why not take any undergrad degree you like, knowing that if you do well in it, you can get an MBA anyway? (Disclaimer: I’m not familiar with business/financial fields haha)</p>
<p>When the time comes, and if you’re sure it’s still your goal, read up about the value of the MBA. Not all MBAs are created equal, and some may be considered “easy degrees”.</p>
<p>@trufflepuff</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Generally, I won’t recommend anyone who has serious plans on doing grad school to go the local uni route. The % of first and second uppers given out is much lower than overseas schools (especially if you compare with UK schools). And as you’ve said above, profs are very stingy with recommendations. </p>
<p>A lot of the opportunities in the local unis are chosen on the basis of grades - exchange, research opportunities etc etc. In short, everything revolves around grades. Don’t get me wrong, I agree that grades can be used as an indicator of ability (but NOT interest!), but the extent that the local unis use it to judge everything is just - sorry to use this word - lame.</p>
<p>@ClassicJuice</p>
<p>Even though I don’t believe going to NUS/NTU/SMU is “The End” for one’s grad career, sadly I have to agree with you about the overemphasis on grades. ^^ Anyway, it’s more important that your PhD is NOT from a local university if you want to be a local uni prof-- they don’t hire their own PhD grads. Your undergrad degree can be from anywhere local, lol.</p>
<p>Well, I found meeting the target grade (3.5/5) for exchange programmes in NUS pretty manageable. If I didn’t go on exchange in the US, I probably wouldn’t even have applied to grad school in the US. It helps that one of my recommenders is an American prof in NUS-- the other is another prof who doesn’t believe that grades determine your future, and the other is an instructor who taught me in the US. None of them are Singaporean haha ha</p>
<p>Not everyone can afford going abroad to study-- I certainly couldn’t as an undergrad, you guys are very very fortunate.</p>
<p>Hi all, </p>
<p>I am an ex-RJ NSF who have just received my results this year and it wasn’t good, with 2 H2 Bs and As in the rest. It was rather surprising since I predicted straight As from my prelims. May I know how important do the good US unis (i.e. NYU, UCLA, UCB, UIUC, CMU, Cornell and the likes) perceive A level results in their admission processes? I have a 2310 SAT score and decent ECs (3 Raffles Dip merits, although this understates my achievements IMO). As for subject tests, I’m pretty sure they won’t be much of a problem…</p>
<p>Alternatively, if I retake and obtain As for the subjects that I did not get A for (I’m planning to retake 3H2 and GP, which i got ABB/A), how will such an outcome affect my chances? I’m in a stay-out vocation (down-pes from an injury LOL), so there is time to <em>revise</em>.</p>
<p>No financial problems with oversea studies…</p>
<p>Really appreciate your replies!</p>
<p>@sizhsg I got EXACTLY the same grades as you did, im from RJ too, got roughly same (lower actually) SAT scores as you did. I was a CCA leader, medalist archer, research programs etc etc. I got accepted into Umich, waitlisted in CMU ECE…going to Umich this year. I dont think retaking your alevels is very necessary. Maybe you can do something extraORDinary(heh heh) to boost your application…Perhaps an overseas CIP trip, or take up an interesting new hobby (MMA? competitive sudoku?). IMO everyone from SG presents crazy stats so try make yourself different in other ways. Good luck =D</p>
<p>@techtechy Congrats! I ORD in Nov, so there won’t be much time left to do anything before I submit my applications, unless i take a gap year, which i definitely do not want.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply! I guess I’m really thinking too early. I think I’ll stress myself when I enter NS, or I can just apply to UK since everyone says admissions are based more on exam results.</p>
<p>Hey guys, I know that this is probably a long shot since most of you here are talking about direct entry to college and are from JC background.</p>
<p>I was just wondering whether anyone is planning to go to/is at/went to Community College? And specifically, I’m looking at Diablo Valley College to transfer to Berkeley Haas Business School.</p>
<p>If anyone knows anything about this, could you perhaps share your experience?</p>
<p>Also, I was wondering whether it would be worthwhile for my parents to spend all this money on me going over with unknown chances of transferring to Berkeley and if I don’t make it in, end up somewhere else. Or even so, just seeing as how I’m going to be doing a very general degree, as opposed to a specialised degree like engineering/science/etc.</p>