The Student Room Group

American Universities Applicants 2014

Is anyone else applying for America? Where are you thinking? How are you preparing for SAT?

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All the credit for the info below belongs to Ollexandra (I'm sure you won't mind me sharing this?)

First thing you have to be aware of is that in America you cannot do a professional degree (such as law or medicine) without first doing the undergraduate BS/BA degree. So you start in college. In order to get into college you need to take your SATs (more info: collegeboard.org). However first try looking at the universities you are interested in, because if you are not a US citizen you might not have to take the SAT. Some schools don't require international students to take it . Do a little research.

The best way to start the college search is through these websites:
collegexpress.com
collegeprowler.ocm
cappex.com
collegeboard.org

and if numbers and rankings matter to you, try looking here:
usnews.com/education where you can find probably the most reliable us college / university ranking.
(edited 10 years ago)

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HEY! I am! I've already taken the SAT, last January, and just revised using prep books and the question of the day email!
I thought of taking SATs this past August just after AS, but it just blew away. Now busy with holidays and then A2 :redface:

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Reply 3
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ollexandra
I am planning to go to the USA! I have taken the SAT reasoning on May. I'm taking it once more this October and I'm also taking two SAT Subject tests on November (Biology and Chemistry).

I'm aiming for some unis in PA, some Ivies, but I haven't narrowed down my list yet. I'm waiting for the October test results.
Reply 4
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Deltaa
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Original post by wishingpixie
HEY! I am! I've already taken the SAT, last January, and just revised using prep books and the question of the day email!


You are well prepared! :tongue: How did it go?

Original post by StUdEnTIGCSE
I thought of taking SATs this past August just after AS, but it just blew away. Now busy with holidays and then A2 :redface:

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I haven't prepare at all either, so you're not the only one. Where were you thinking?
It went okay! I managed to get a 1860, so average I guess! I'm hoping to apply to Wooster, Goshen, Hampshire and a couple others!
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Deltaa
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Original post by wishingpixie
It went okay! I managed to get a 1860, so average I guess! I'm hoping to apply to Wooster, Goshen, Hampshire and a couple others!


Nice, did you take subject tests as well?
Original post by ollexandra
I am planning to go to the USA! I have taken the SAT reasoning on May. I'm taking it once more this October and I'm also taking two SAT Subject tests on November (Biology and Chemistry).

I'm aiming for some unis in PA, some Ivies, but I haven't narrowed down my list yet. I'm waiting for the October test results.


Just curious...why PA?


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ollexandra
Original post by Coffeetime
Just curious...why PA?


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I have found some really great Liberal Arts colleges (Haverford, Swarthmore, Dickinson) and reasearch unis (Carnegie-Mellon, Uni of Pittsburgh, Drexel) in there. This is mostly because of the location of PA. I'm a US citizen, but I live in Poland, so I'm looking for the states that are as close to my country as possible and with high percentage of Polish people. Also I like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh a lot, they are extremely welcoming.
I love how Haverford and Swarthmore are both near Philadelphia and New York City while located in smaller towns.

The other schools I am considering are in: NY, NJ, CT, MD, RI, IL but the majority is in PA.
No subject tests as of yet, no.

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Original post by Deltaa




I haven't prepare at all either, so you're not the only one. Where were you thinking?


Somewhere :biggrin: but someone advised that it'll be a good idea to finish off SATs just after AS so after A2 you can save time.
Original post by ollexandra
I have found some really great Liberal Arts colleges (Haverford, Swarthmore, Dickinson) and reasearch unis (Carnegie-Mellon, Uni of Pittsburgh, Drexel) in there. This is mostly because of the location of PA. I'm a US citizen, but I live in Poland, so I'm looking for the states that are as close to my country as possible and with high percentage of Polish people. Also I like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh a lot, they are extremely welcoming.
I love how Haverford and Swarthmore are both near Philadelphia and New York City while located in smaller towns.

The other schools I am considering are in: NY, NJ, CT, MD, RI, IL but the majority is in PA.


I see. :smile:

Which NY schools are you considering?
Reply 12
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ollexandra
Original post by Coffeetime
I see. :smile:

Which NY schools are you considering?


First of all Cornell :smile: then I have Colgate and Rochester Inst. of Technology. I was also looking at some SUNYs, but I know now that I'll not have the NY residency status so i decided not to go there.....
Original post by ollexandra
First of all Cornell :smile: then I have Colgate and Rochester Inst. of Technology. I was also looking at some SUNYs, but I know now that I'll not have the NY residency status so i decided not to go there.....


Cornell is gorgeous. I grew up in Upstate NY, which is why I was curious. The SUNY's are good, but never appealed as much as private schools. Now I'm not even living in NY, so it's okay.
How did you guys begin looking at/applying to American Unis? I'm thinking of applying but just have no idea where to start! Sorry for being so clueless :/
Reply 15
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Deltaa
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Original post by CassandraRoseM
How did you guys begin looking at/applying to American Unis? I'm thinking of applying but just have no idea where to start! Sorry for being so clueless :/


See my updated post above. Thank Ollexandra!
Original post by Deltaa
See my updated post above. Thank Ollexandra!


Thank you that's really helpful :smile:
Reply 17
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ollexandra
Original post by CassandraRoseM
Thank you that's really helpful :smile:


No problem. I remember the time I was all confused myself :smile:

Original post by Coffeetime
Cornell is gorgeous. I grew up in Upstate NY, which is why I was curious. The SUNY's are good, but never appealed as much as private schools. Now I'm not even living in NY, so it's okay.


What about you? Are you in college already?
Original post by ollexandra

What about you? Are you in college already?


Wellll...I should've done that ages ago. I graduated high school eight years ago. I'm old. Haha. But no, I'm doing community college classes right now and then I want to go to uni in England.
Well I was actually referred to the Fulbright Commission website by a visitor that visited my secondary school a year or so ago. From this I was able to do a lot of research into the differences between the universities as well as the application process. I personally found their USA college day to be really helpful, for there were dozens of different university representatives there that I was able to speak to. It was then a case of undertaking a lot of personal research and creating a spreadsheet to present all of the information needed. I then colour-coded this based on what I was looking for out of a university, so graduation rates, financial aid, health insurance, location etc. I've now registered to the common app, a website many of the universities use, and have begun building my application, for I am applying early action to all of my choices so that I have plenty of time to organise things. Finally, I have been looking into outside sources of financial aid to help fund my studies.

Websites I've found helpful are:

Fulbright commission, collegeboard, Princeton review, collegedata.


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