Why the US ?
Pros
Admissions officers look at you as a whole person, not just one examination result.
Teaching by renowned professors who wrote the books you read in JC, and learning by debating with outspoken classmates.
Your major may take up as little as 1/3 of your classes — the liberal arts philosophy encourages you to explore Japanese, psychology, pottery, etc. Non-engineers can often change majors as late as the third year.
Four years might get you both a Bachelor's and a one-year Master's, if you work hard and use your 'A' levels to accelerate.
Cultural exposure gain experience of different cultures and different ways of learning.
Freedom able to study almost anything in addition to your major, rent your own apartment, to be independent.
Brand recognition Some MNC's recruit directly from top colleges on campus.
Money you may know about scholarships already, but many American colleges also give financial aid in the form of grants, loans and jobs.
Cons
Admissions Every university has its own application requirements, usually requiring three recommendations and several essays. You're coming up with all this just when you want to concentrate on your prelims or 'A' levels.
Your major may not provide the complete and in-depth grounding of a UK degree, and you must fulfill both science and humanities requirements (e.g. MIT's). Professional undergraduate degrees are rare (e.g. business, architecture) or not available at all (e.g. medicine, law).
Four years Acceleration policies vary widely across universities. At the top schools it's getting harder to get a Bachelor's in three years, especially if you're converting Arts 'A' levels. What's more, most Master's programs nowadays are two years, not one.
Freedom To make mistakes in living and learning choices when close friends and family may be a long way away.
Brand recognition If you haven't heard of top schools like Duke and Caltech, let alone Wisconsin and Texas , will future employers be impressed?
Financial aid requesting this lowers your chances of admission, except at the five schools which are need-blind for internationals (Harvard, Yale, Princeton , MIT, Williams and Middlebury).
Money Scholarships are not the answer for everyone: you'll be signing away precisely those years when you'll want the most freedom.
If not the US , where else?
Singapore : Affordable, all the comforts of home (food, laundry, transport), and some courses you'll find nowhere else (Singlish linguistics, Peranakan history).
The UK may be better for you, especially if you want to concentrate on your own major or are more comfortable with British culture. See Education UK Singapore website for more information.
Canada : Canada is an excellent bargain for good education. McGill, Toronto , UBC and Queens are comparable to top US universities. Refer to US or the Canadian Education Centre for more about why and how to apply.
Australia and New Zealand are more affordable than either the UK or the US , and much closer to home.
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