If you know where you want to go then you should read the admission requirements yourself to see if it really does say that. But that 1 extra year of schooling requirement is quite ambiguous and might not be true for all schools.

My SATs were average - 2000 to 2100. Subject tests were easy if you already studied some A-levels.
I studied seriously for 1 month and another month familiarizing with the test by doing questions without any time pressure. That may have been a bad idea because the really exam was very time intensive.

One nice thing about the SAT is that you can resit as many times as you want and send the best scores.

AP tests and SAT are administered by the same people. I would imagine there are testing centers in Malaysia just like the SAT test sites.
https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/home?navid=gh-aps
AP tests are easier in the sense that once you get a high enough score, you can just forget about it and focus on the next subject - but you study for it yourself. A-levels is more of a continuous learning process but at least you have a lecturer to guide you.

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A good letter is one that shows you have a relationship with the person writing about you. And that relationship is close enough such that he/she can express your personal character and intellect through very precise examples that highlight the things you want the admission people to know about you.

A terrible letter is : Good student. Cares about his work and produces good results. <-- Seriously, I got shit like this when I asked for a letter.

Your ideas for EC activities sounds good.


I've already finished studying from one of the upper tier schools in California. I still visit once in a while and my work now deals with people on the West coast all the time anyway. I don't know much about the East coast since I never had much interest in travelling there.

Untrue, at least in the US. A Bachelor of Science in Engineering or a Bachelor of Engineering is enough for you to be an "actual" engineer. Obtaining a Masters merely specializes you further, and a pay grade bump.

To be a Professional Engineer, is a separate, external examination. You have to first take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam and obtain your Engineer Intern license. After 5+ years in the field, you can opt to take the (very expensive) PE exam to be certified as a professional. This then tacks on the "PE" designation after your name, much like an MD. The main field that needs this is Civil Engineering. It is optional for other fields.

This post has been edited by spunkberry: Sep 29 2014, 11:09 PM

Well I can tell you that most top colleges in the US do accept A Levels, considering it a more advanced course than the ones offered in their own country. Plus, I think I can transfer some credits over.

2000-2100 ain't really average lol, that's seriously in the top end of a graph, although no harm in getting higher grades, right?
Hmm, how serious is serious? I'm like 70/20 for SAT now, because I just want to be sure I can cope and get a >2000 score in the time between December and the first week of April, is that doable? And yeah, I am aware how time intensive the SAT is, really tests your patience. Also, do you mind sharing tips to me about the SAT's? What book I should get and such? Through PM or whatever

I don't know... What do you think? Does it help my chances? I mean Stern is the hard NYU school, and I would murder someone to get in!

I think I can get a good letter out of my social studies teacher? I mean he is kinda the only few that likes me haha
Do you think my EC ideas are doable over the course through A Levels? I'm just worried that I'd be too occupied with EC's and ignoring academics later.

What did you study and what field are you in now?
I have always been interested in the East Coast, much less so the West, but if I get the chance I'd like to travel the whole country.

Yes I know they accept A-levels because I used it to get credits too. But the process to get those credits is annoying and about 20% of the credits I got were undefined. It's annoying because there is more paperwork and running around because it's not a US accreditation. And once you do get the credits, some of the credits may be undefined. Meaning, the stuff you learned did not translate to any applicable course but you got awarded (useless) credits anyway. This is why if I had a second chance I would have just taken AP tests assuming I was 100% set on US universities.

Serious studying meant going through all the prep books in a month and studying word lists daily. I remember using the Princeton Review series or something but I probably got rid of those books by now.

Collegeboard should have stats for NYU. Average SAT scores etc. If you get slightly above the average score for applicants by April you should be good to go. Then you can focus on other things. If you still don't like your score you can try again later.

Your case is sort of different from mine in the sense that I had applied to a number of places but had no particular preference. I just had a rough idea where I wanted to go but I didn't put all my hopes in 1 place. I adjusted my activities and studies as I went along. I put more emphasis on studies because I was aiming for tech based majors where people are expected to have good grades.

I studied electrical engineering so being close to silicon valley was the only place to be if you want to learn from the best. I'm still working in my field in a US based multinational.

Guys.. any idea what would be a good school for a Geoscience program in the USA? Is Texas A & M University transfer friendly? I've applied to this school but have yet to hear from them.

I don't think I have much of a choice, I mean they asked for A Levels and that's what they're getting. I have heard lots of horror stories about credit transfers, especially in the US. I dunno about AP tests, but if that's what you are recommending me, and if it heightens the chance of me getting accepted (does it?), I'll definitely consider it, I am always just worried about not being able to cope with it or can't catch up and ending up with unsatisfactory grades. I am also worried that what if A Levels take too much of my hours and I end up with nothing.

A month of serious studying and you got 2000-2100, that's awesome! Do you mind recommending me on what books to buy? I've heard alot of mouths that the blue book from college board is fantastic, is it true? And I called Princeton Review KL once, and the fees are too goddamn expensive! What about SAT math? Is it difficult? How did you study for it? And what of the SATII Subject Test Math? Is it essentially the same thing?

Oh really? How can you be sure? (Not trying to challenge, purely being curious)

Well, I'm not exactly putting all my hopes in one place, as I will definitely apply for other schools as backups, because I would be really dumb not to. It's just NYU is the school I want, so of course I will work hard towards it. But in finance, people are supposed to have good grades too

Wow, you must be brilliant! I'm just guessing, did you go to the UC's? Berkeley? Or am I severely underestimating you and you went to Stanford?

Texas A&M is definitely transfer friendly, especially with ADP. You should check the dates of the final decision from the school, or you can just email them.

I know Penn State, U of Arizona, The UC's, U of Colorado-Boulder and U of Wisconsin-Madison have fantastic science programs and not all that hard to get in, so you can definitely try that.

How old are you anyway and what are you doing now?

HI bro Mister Lee, thanks you so much for such good recommendations, to be honest, im not very young anymore, am 22 yrs old this year, I finished my A Levels and did some credits here before applying. Deferred my studies before this due to personal reasons, my dad passed away during my A Levels. That affected me emotionally.

Yup, i had emailed them already. Insofar as it's concerned, they mentioned that results will be out beginning end of September ie anytime form now onwards. Nevertheless, the results are on a rolling basis, which means the earlier i hand in my admission/stuff, the better my chances of knowing whether im out of the race or will be an Aggie soon... ahhhh...so stressful man applying to USA.

If you dont mind me asking, may i know which part of US of A you studied previously? and what major?

This post has been edited by acgerlok7: Oct 1 2014, 12:31 AM

My sincerest condolences to you, my friend.
I have good news for you though, US colleges don't reject people because of age, and you might be easily qualified for the schools I recommended, provided you give satisfactory A Level grades. What credits did you do? I do recommend you to apply for an American college as fast as possible though, because we don't want more delaying, do we?

PM me if you want more detailed information, I'd prefer not to flood this thread with my replies

OK my CGPA with ADP is 3.54 excluding A Levels, A Levels results was not THAT satisfying though, considering the predicament i was in during that tumultuous period of time. I got ABBC... Average grade at best...defo not ivy league or Top 10 school material...not like im aiming for one anyway lol

Yeah, applying to the US is really a lot of work here in Malaysia, as we don't have alot of routes to choose from.

Well actually, I'm still sitting for SPM, but I am looking to banking and finance. I will be pursuing A Levels next year in April. I do a lot of research, so I think I'm confident enough not to mislead anybody

Wait wait wait, there are GPA's in A Levels? I might know quite alot about the American system but definitely not the British Curriculum

What subjects did you take? I think you're not in such a bad position, in the least you've got an A and 2 B's to show. Should be safe, pretty impressive GPA by the way, considering what happened. But I can recommend some more schools if you want.

Yeah pls PM me the schools if possible...haha if not moderator will think we hijacked the forum for our own convo .. No, the GPA was for my post-A level ADP... i did ADP for 3 semesters ie 1 year before applying to USA. I figured out some credits can be done here anyway, so save up even more... hence the 3.54 GPA came about. A Levels never have any GPA. It's very rigid anyway, i wish i took IB or ADP right form the start, A Levels was like high school all over again.

banking and finance is good... the schools you've mentioned to me have strong finance programs as well, esp UW madison and the UCs, particularly UC Berkeley. Of course, the best has gotta be Wharton, Harvard . But those are out of my reach, at least at this moment.

Well, I have my own choice of schools and unfortunately, UWisconsin is not one my of my many targets. For Wharton and Harvard, I think they are, as usual, really hard to get in, but I'll definitely try my best. Also, I'm not particularly inclined to the West Coast, I much prefer the East.

You have to know that US colleges have incredibly holistic admissions, unlike the UK and Australia. A bad grade might not be your death knell, at the same time, fantabulous grades will not guarantee admissions, ever.

This post has been edited by MisterLee: Oct 1 2014, 12:54 AM

Absolutely, the exact reason why i love them . Look, the real world is not very rigid ie. You get an A* means you gonna b some kickass CEO. American education teaches us soft skills a lot. I took public speaking class in ADP in inti. Altohugh it wasnt a pleasant experience and defo cant compare to what it will be if taken in USA, nontheless, it was such a surreal experience, a lot of people froze when they were summoned to speak in public, which is a pretty important skill, and i dont think our malaysian education imparts that. STEM education in USA is also superb as they emphasis alot on hands on rather than memorising E=MC^2 and dont know what it was all about.Mind PM me ur target schools as well,i will PM you mine. we shall take things off privately then

Absolutely, the exact reason why i love them . Look, the real world is not very rigid ie. You get an A* means you gonna b some kickass CEO. American education teaches us soft skills a lot. I took public speaking class in ADP in inti. Altohugh it wasnt a pleasant experience and defo cant compare to what it will be if taken in USA, nontheless, it was such a surreal experience, a lot of people froze when they were summoned to speak in public, which is a pretty important skill, and i dont think our malaysian education imparts that. STEM education in USA is also superb as they emphasis alot on hands on rather than memorising E=MC^2 and dont know what it was all about.Mind PM me ur target schools as well,i will PM you mine. we shall take things off privately then

Yes, they emphasize all rounders, you should be familiar with the system since you went for ADP right? You get to learn subjects that are out of your majors, unfortunately, I couldn't go for the ADP so I'll be going for A Levels instead.
Actually, I would love to learn public speaking but I really hate it but you know, it's a really important skill to have.

Their unique school system is exactly why they dominate university rankings AND entire industries.

Oh and I have PM'd you once yesterday, but I think you missed it. Anywho, I will send you one once more

Hi, would like to know what are my options if I take A Levels vs SAM vs ADP if I want to venture into the US to study,
A levels costs 1 and half years while SAM is 1 year.
Assuming costs of Pre U is negligible, if I get a score in A levels of 4A or 3A1B or something like that, won't I still need to pay for 4 years of US Uni afterwards, or if I get a ATAR in SAM of 85 for instance, I would also need to pay for my own education in the US, if there are no scholarships available for such "Mediocre" results (sorry these are just examples, maybe they are great results but this is just quoting a scenario)

Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier if I enroll in the ADP program, give in my all, and transfer to a good school in the US, while also having a shot of entering the Ivies (however slim)
Doesn't ADP sound great in this sense?
It saves time.

I believe that we can excel in any course we go in, but I just dont get whats the point of going for A Levels or SAM, if we are NOT the 1%. You are just going to start 4 years of Uni edu when u r done with A Levels, not to mention that your peers in ADP are already starting their 3rd year.

Any comments on this please?

Hi, first of all, I'd like to know what kind of schools are you targeting? If you are targeting anywhere from the Ivy Leagues, New Ivies, or even the Public Ivies, you will have no chance if you go through ADP, because they consider it a foundation program and they will not accept that. I know, I've asked. Top schools want 12 years of schooling, and its hard to find otherwise. Our Malaysian curriculum of form 5 is only 10th grade in the US．

It would be recommended that you take the A Levels, as it is international and should have no problem getting accepted, of course, it is still the best that you ask them yourself. Send an email or two.

BTW, scores of 4A's in A Levels is fantastic, its straight A's since they offer a minimum of 3 subs and 5 max. I don't know alot about scholarships, you may be able to find one, I can't say for sure, because I'm doing the same thing myself too.

Well, the US is kinda like an exclusive place, you don't have alot of choices in choosing courses. This could be because there isn't enough demand in Malaysia. As we can all notice, those "study abroad companies" have no problem in helping you to UK or Australian universities, and there are barely any for American universities.

I'll be enrolling into the April intake for A Levels next year, and yeah, I get that its quite time consuming, but for the benefits later, I think I'd sacrifice a bit of time. And also, costs are a problem for me too, all I can hope is the school would be so kind to offer me enough financial aid.