12 LIVING IN SINGAPORE
Singapore American • January 2016
Because They Can By Jeremy Craig
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"American universities make up 17 of the top 25 world universities in a recent (and highly dubious) international ranking. American universities are some of the best and most costly on the planet."
Photo by Luiz Gadelha Jr, HarshLight, InSapphoWeTrust, James MH, Adam Jones, Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, Bro. Jeffrey Pioquinto, SJ, rafeejewell, Adam Solomon, WalkingGeek
ubjective. Byzantine. Unfair. Biased. All of these are valid descriptions of the American university application process. Compared with other countries that adopt a rational and transparent process based almost entirely on academic results, American universities require about five times more work per application and, even then, it is often a bit of a crapshoot. Intangible factors are carefully considered such as personal background, leadership and athletic prowess. There are other factors, too, such as legacy, familial connections or just plain net worth. These considerations are largely absent from the gushing, glossy university prospectus where the grass is always impossibly green, the sun is always shining, the food looks amazing and a student of every ethnic group imaginable is sitting around a weathered, wooden table with a copy of The Iliad led by a professor right out of central casting. Why do the universities insist on such an onerous process? Because they can. In the past 20 years, the number of American applicants to universities has roughly doubled. More people want a higher education now as an undergraduate degree is considered the bare minimum for the modern workplace. Also coming into play is sheer demographics, as the baby boomers all tended to have kids at the same time and there are more high school graduates now than 20 years ago. Purely based on these domestic trends, universities can afford to be more choosey. American universities make up 17 of the top 25 world universities in a recent (and highly dubious) international ranking. American universities are some of the best and most costly on the planet. This quality is attractive to foreign students of means and the flow of foreign students into America has increased after a slight bobble following the 9/11 attacks. In 2013-14, there were more than 866,000 foreign students at American universities. Of these, almost 275,000 were from China, more than four times the number in 2005. Most of these students work really hard, don’t cause a fuss and, importantly, pay full fare with no need of financial aid. Most have
their eyes on the usual suspects such as the Ivy League schools and also large public universities with strong STEM programs. University of Illinois is now nearly 10% Chinese at the undergraduate level. Why are top universities accepting such a small percentage of applicants? Because they can. So, what to do? There is still a chance of kids getting into Stanford and Brown, but just not as good as it was 10, or certainly 20, years ago. The most attractive universities now have single-digit acceptance rates and coming from Singapore doesn’t help matters. Smart Singaporean students are the most concentrated of all foreign students in the US, thanks to Singapore’s many government scholarships that pay for everything, but have very short lists of which schools are “acceptable.” Our best advice is to venture off the well-trodden path and look hard at schools that have specific programs of interest. If students are still undecided (a great feature of American universities), then look for a school in a location where you’d like to live for four years with a range of solid programs. Next, talk to the university guidance counselor at the school. They know best and hiring outside agents is largely a waste of money for someone to tell you what they think you want to hear. Lastly, the SAT has been mismanaged in Asia so badly by the College Board that most schools are switching their students over to the ACT, which is also universally accepted. The SAT is also changing format in 2016 to something that looks suspiciously like the ACT to the untrained eye. Make sure that you register for these tests well in advance, especially if you are at a school that is not a closed ACT test center as seats are taken quickly. The ACT is on April 9 and the first new-look SAT is on May 7. *All data from www.iie.org For more information about ACT and SAT tests as well as advice on applying to US colleges, check out www.testtakers-sg.com.
AAS NEEDS YOU! Home Hospitality is a wonderful program run by AAS that connects sailors visiting Singapore with families living here who host them for dinner or perhaps a tour of the city. We are looking for the right person to run that program for us. It's a wonderful way to give back to those who serve.
INTERESTED?? Email generalmanager@aasingapore.com