Thanks for the rejections but I’m applying again

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi there. Yeah as the topic goes, I applied as a 2014ers last year but, got rejected by most of the schools.</p>

<p>Here’s a list of the school that I applied to:</p>

<p>Brown (interviewed)
Dartmouth (interviewed)
Cornell
U mich ann arbor (waitlisted)
UCB
UC davis
UCLA
Duke</p>

<p>I used to believe that if the school wasn’t even worth going, there’s no point in applying, but no, I was totally wrong, I just want to study in the states and I don’t really mind if the school’s not that prestigious. So there, I’m applying again this year. And I hope I can get some suggestions from you guys to set up my school list.</p>

<p>Here’s my stats=></p>

<p>*Country: Taiwan
*intended major: possibly environmental science, nuclear engineering or physics</p>

<p>*Academics
High School: best HS in central Taiwan and second best in the nation
SAT I: 2120 (CR630, M800, W690)
SAT II: Math I & II, Chem, Physics => 760s for all
GPA: my school goes really strict on our scores and mine’s around mid 70’s (but that looks horrible on my apps even if I’m really not that bad XD)</p>

<p>*Awards</p>

<p>(National)
Spelling Bee Contest, Group Champion
Ironman Creativity Contest
High School Writing Contest, champion
National Music Competition, orchestra second place
National Music Competition, flute 16/37
National Dance Competition, modern dance second place
National Music Competition, orchestra champion
Culture Music Competition, flute champion
National Dance Competition, modern dance champion</p>

<p>(Regional)
Rotary English Speech Contest, second place
Chiayi Music Competition, orchestra champion
Chiayi Music Competition, flute champion
Chiayi Music Competition, flute third place
Chiayi Dance Competition, modern dance champion
Chiayi Dance Competition, modern dance champion</p>

<p>*ECs
Honor Guards Club (leadership)
School Choir Conductor
Ruting Dance Company
Peishing Dance Company
School sport events, high jump, 400m
Science Affair, Biology Research
Physics Olympiad, school representative
Co-founder of the Taiwan Honor Guards Development Association</p>

<p>*Volunteer
Flute performance at a local nursing home
International volunteer in Nepal</p>

<p>*Work Experience:
Tuku High School Honor Guards’ Coach
Worked part-time at a math cram school
English assistance at National Experimental High School at Hsinchu Science Park
Apple Inc. seller</p>

<p>My school list
U of Virginia
U of Mich ann arbor
Northwestern
U of Wisconsin Madison
U of Texas Austin
Boston U
UIUC
Chapel Hill
Washington U seattle</p>

<p>I’m wondering if this list is safe enough…does anyone have any other school suggestion? </p>

<p>And there’s something that I’m really worried about. I always know that Brown’s a reach, but I really like this school and even if I had applied once, I’d still like to apply again. Would it make me sounds really obsessive to them?</p>

<p>Lastly, I’m currently a high school graduate and I’m attending Tsinghua Univ. for a year before I go to the US. So how should I be categorized? Homeschooled?</p>

<p>Those who have read so much of my boring lists and ignorant inquiries, thanks a lot. And thank you even more if you’re willing to leave a word here =)</p>

2

<p>I am pretty sure you’d be a transfer student now unless you are “special enrolled”.</p>

3

<p>So, did you take the exam and got into Tsinghua? Why not stay there, graduate and go to USA for the masters? Many Tsinghua grads goes to MIT and Stanford for their MS and Phd. Its equivalent to a NTU graduate.</p>

<p>Wow, 70 from Hsinchu Experimental, not bad. But they don’t know it. Besides, your CR is too low.</p>

4

<p>@run2flyfree: well what I meant was to apply as a freshman again. is it not allowed?</p>

<p>@artloversplus: that can be an option. but where I get my bachelor degree isn’t the point, I like the college life in the US and I hope to spend my future four years there. Actually I’m from Taichung Girls’ Senior High, not Hsinchu Experimental. I work there instead.</p>

5

<p>Most schools I recall have a 12 credit limit policy determining if you are a transfer or a freshman… Hows your rank from highschool? And going to college for a year could be more beneficial to your app specifically because if you maintain a high average, it could negate the low(to adcoms eyes) marks of your highschool.</p>

6

<p>id suggest some real fallbacks, im from california
so i would suggest uc santa cruz, uc merced, cal poly slo, san jose state</p>

7

<p>@run2flyfree: it’s 328/800. 12 credits limit policy? But on Brown’s resumed undergrads’ page said that as long as you don’t take more than 2 full-time years in college, it’s ok to apply. I didn’t research deep into this issue since I thought it’s a quite common situation in Taiwan to apply again, it should be allowed in the states as well.</p>

<p>@mccormickt12: thank you for your suggestions. I’ll do some research on these schools</p>

8

<p>It’s not common in the U.S. to apply for a second time as freshmen. This is because most people wouldn’t want to waste the time simply for a better school.</p>

9

<p>“But on Brown’s resumed undergrads’ page said that as long as you don’t take more than 2 full-time years in college, it’s ok to apply.”</p>

<p>After you take more than a certain # of college credit hours after high school, you’re applying as a transfer. When it comes to the top schools in the U.S., it’s even harder to be admitted as a transfer than as a freshman.</p>

<p>Colleges have different rules about how many hours you can take after high school before being considered as a transfer. You have to ask each of the colleges you’re considering about this.</p>

<p>There are no rules against reapplying to colleges after being rejected from them. However, what I’ve seen on CC is that the few people who do that tend to get rejected again.</p>

10

<p>first of all, I assume you do not need FA for the schooling, if you do you will have probelms with the list you have.
secondly, you should take another year in tsinghua and transfer then. At that time, the hs reconds will not be part of your application. tsinghua is so powerful, you could get into a higher ranking school. not sure if the ivies will take you, but a higher ranking school.
Thirdly, there are 50 years ahead of you in your life, if you get a degree from tsinghua and come to live in the states, the two or three more years at tsinghua is not going to kill you. My wife is going to her 30th reunion of Taipei First Girls, looking at her classmates, there is little difference had they got here in the US in 1980 or 2000.</p>

<p>My suggestion is either stay there another year and transfer or graduate then come.</p>

11

<p>And…</p>

<p>If I were you I would get a degreee in tsinghua and go to graduate school here. A degree from tsinghua is such a powerful key to open the doors at US universities and it is free education. Would you rather spend 50k/year for three years at UCI or Wash. State or get a free education at MIT and some money to spend? The choice is obvious.</p>

<p>My friend went to tsinghua and got a phd from MIT 20 years ago, raised a family here and went back to teach in tsinghua again. if some one meant to be back where they came from, what is the rush?</p>

12

<p>Dude getting to Tsinghua and getting a degree from there is impressive. Get over it and don’t reapply. Get your degree then apply to MIT/Stanford or whatever you want afterward for masters. It’s just an undergraduate degree. It’s just like high school but better for four more years then you can get your REAL, more important degree.</p>

13

<p>you will not be considered as a freshman applicant at most colleges (in fact, at all colleges that I know of)</p>

<p>You have two options </p>

<ol>
<li><p>apply as a transfer applicant</p></li>
<li><p>lie and say you never attended university, and apply as freshman</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I know a lot of people who chose the second option, but I also know some who were caught in the process. More people succeeded though…</p>