@chickenback Congrats! If you were referring to your admissions outcomes, no it’s not weird. Just like most applicants, you have some admits, some waitlists and some rejects. I suggest you move on and decide on the one college to enroll before 1 May. Your four admits are GREAT. Amherst is a top small liberal arts college, Dartmouth and Rice are medium sized universities. Northwestern’s undergraduate size is twice larger than Dartmouth/Rice. And, Dartmouth is an Ivy, if that’s important to you.
If you were referring to the type of colleges/universities you applied to - they are small, medium and big colleges, some people may consider your choices as “confused” but no, not weird.
If you’re in a local JC, colleges will look at your GCE A-level scores in lieu of a high school GPA. if you’re applying before the results are released, you’ll be looking at your prelim results.
I realize this thread has kind of died, which is a pity. Four/five years back when I was applying to college, this place was so much help. I’ll be revisiting CC sporadically, if any Singaporean students have questions, please shoot, I’ll be happy to help when I see it.
Hi, I’m a third-year student studying at a local polytechnic in Singapore with a cumulative GPA of 2.942 (yikes!). My GPA this semester will probably be much better though.
One of the biggest reasons why my GPA is less than stellar is because I’m enrolled in a design-related diploma, so grades are very subjective-essentially, if the lecturers decide that they don’t like the look of your design and it doesn’t fit in with their favored aesthetic, you’re screwed.
I recently took the SAT after about a week of prep and scored a 2210 (Math 670 CR 740 Writing 800). I’ve also taken two subject tests so far (800 Japanese, 790 Lit) and plan to take Math 2 later this year.
Here’s my question: where should I apply with my decent SAT and terrible GPA? I know little to nothing about what universities in the US might be a good fit for me. I realize that my GPA is very low by American high school standards, but the polytechnic system is so different that I don’t think the American GPA and polytechnic GPA are equivalent.
@lapispore it really depends on the major you are pursuing. Your GPA might not be a big problem if you’re applying to design/art schools since your portfolio is also considered. However, that GPA would probably put you out of the running for top unis like Ivy+, etc.
You have a good SAT score, but colleges understand that many students take SAT prep courses nowadays. They will look at your GPA for every semester and see what trends they find. Make sure that you do well this year so that they see that you’re improving. But like croesus said, your portfolio would matter more if you’re applying for design courses.
Hi, I’m a current JC2 student. Am going to be applying to US colleges later on in the year! Just want to say I really appreciate this forum, have been lurking here for a couple of years now and found it really helpful, and it’s now my time to apply. I would really appreciate it if any of you want to give me advice on how to improve my application/what my chances are like! I can PM you my details (don’t feel very comfortable posting everything up here). Thank you so much!!
@smillies: Shoot me a PM, I’d be happy to take a look.
@lapispore: It’s hard to tell you where to start. I’m not much of a list junkie, but they’re a good place to start when you come in with zero knowledge whatsoever. USNews/Forbes etc; surf collegeprowler/CC. What are you looking for in a school? If you tell me more about your application “CV” I could give you a better idea of where you stand w/r/t specific schools.
I’m sorry if this sounds silly, but in the context of Berkeley and UCLA, how ‘good’ would one’s ECAs have to be to stand a chance at acceptance? If one is a “nobody”, should he/she just forget about the above 2 UCs? ><
What could one do to improve ECAs, given 4 years (2 in NS)? For example, would enrolling in ‘high school summer programs online’ help in any way?
Berkeley and UCLA are not as tough as you might think – in many ways they have a bigger reputation in Singapore than they “deserve” (their graduate programs are outstanding, however.) It’s hard to know where you stand without more information, if you message me with more I might be able to give you a better answer.
No, don’t do those summer online programs. I understand the anxiety/insecurity you might have, but there’s very little you can do to substantively improve your application, barring retaking SATs if you have a poor score.
Hi guys, a fresh JC2 here crying because of the difficulty levels of the tests and also the horrible exam results I left behind. Who’s applying to US uni this year?
Another SG Applicant here!
Accepted Boston Conservatory, CalArts, BU, Bard, SUNY Purchase Conservatory and DePaul so far!
Still waiting on Berklee and NYU
Rejected by USC, NEC and Northwestern.
Any SG students applying for music (especially composition)?
A J2 here
I’m shooting for the Ivies (trying my luck), so if any of you want to discuss apps stuff, hit me up! And good luck to everyone here for their prelims!!
Hi guys, I’m a Singaporean currently doing NS and will be headed to Yale next fall, possibly majoring in CS+Math, but still undecided. I was also accepted by Caltech, Columbia, UC Berkeley (for EECS) and Duke among others. My school counsellor wasn’t particularly helpful, and there’s a paucity of information on the web with regards to applying as an international student, so I understand the process can be highly uncertain. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me (Please don’t ask me to chance you though, I really don’t know)
@reuynshard Congrats! Do you have any tips on supplementary materials - whether it’s wise to submit a research extract for a H3 paper/IB EE if it was very pivotal in shaping my academic interests? I’m not a STEM kid, but a likely humanities/SS major.
Thank you! Any other general tips would be helpful too
