Hi Pruno,
Well, I have been the same person from middle school to university–I have the same study habits and same time management. I can’t think of what other explanation there is for doing badly, besides that I am naturally bad at it. Come on, I can spend the same amount of time and get As for my high school subjects, while in university I am not even learning “difficult” material (more like doing powerpoints everyday) and still get Cs. Of course I can blame the professors for disliking me (haha), since university is not as subjective as GCSE’s.
I wouldn’t know if I can do well in these fields since Singapore does not have any course on that AT ALL, but I went to all the museums in other countries whenever I am on holiday and I read articles on astronomy, if it counts. In Singapore, there is no such jobs available (those related to astronomy or archaeology) so it’s not like I can brush up my working experience, which so far has been limited to the “corporate and business” world.
You’re right, I did get 161+170.
What is the average GPA scores in America? In my school, it’s actually 3.5/5. If you get 4 and above, you’re already seen as “very smart”. So I am “slightly” (haha) below average.
By top 30, I was referring to the common rankings you know, like overall. So it will be like Ivy Leagues is the top 10. Well, I have applied to Johns Hopkins, Michigan, UCLA last time for college and didn’t get in. So those schools are the top 20-25 correct? By top 30, it would have to be schools below their rankings. I don’t know where NYU fits but I know friends who went there and it seems like a dream school.