Would any of the schools on the list know that? As far as I recall the usual questions are date for each highest subscore (for schools that superscore) and for highest single sitting overall score so max number of dates on most apps would be 3. I only know of Georgetown that requires to know all testing dates, but stand corrected if others on OP’s list do.
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Even if the schools don’t know it, taking an ACT or SAT more than three times is obsessive, unnecessary, and counterproductive for 99% of applicants. Ivus could be aiming for a 1400+ SAT to qualify for a merit scholarship at a particular school. Given her testing track record, achieving 1500+ SAT this fall is doubtful.
I was thinking that since everytime i was getting better , which probably means getting more acccustomed in the intensity of the testing and the intricacies, i may see continuous improvement. Practice SAT at home , my best in june was 1420 (eng650-maths770),
ACT i did it twice and it is the same both times (eng 28-read27-math30) so i dont think there is any improvement promise there .
I guess the reason to improve is either getting a better chance/merit/certainty is some high targets . i agree and i know chicago will be test optional for sure and fingers crossed. Rice and austin i would love to get stronger , so that where maybe a better sat can help.
Any other targets though i may be missing on astronomy with minor or second economics or something closer to that ?
Btw, i am a she…
Have you considered UC Santa Cruz? I understand it is very strong in astronomy and astrophysics. And UCs don’t consider standardized tests.
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I went ahead and corrected your gender in my posts. Thanks. A 770 math SAT score would indeed be better than a 690. I would continue working on official practice SAT tests for several weekends, or perhaps on a certain weekday, for several weeks prior to the next attempt. Retake in either October, November, or December, the latest possible. A 700 verbal SAT score is also possible. Don’t bother with the ACT. I wouldn’t submit a 1470 to Chicago either so it wouldn’t matter to miss that deadline.
You’ve constructed a good list of schools already. Some other CC members are able to offer some additional suggestions.
Look at the UCs. They’re test blind.
Smith College in Massachusetts is a women’s college with an excellent program in Astronomy and astrophysics. It is also in a consortium which includes University of Massachusetts, mentioned above, so a student at either college can take courses at the other one to enrich their options.
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Your GCSE average would be evaluated as a 4.0 and depending on the US university it’d count as half or 1/3 of your GPA.
(7=A, 6=A-/B+,5 =B, 4=C; 8 and 9 distinguish how much the candidate distinguished themselves nationally, I think 8= top 5-10% nationally and 9= top 1%). Having 12 subjects is also exceptional. So all of that is good.
One question I’d have is How did you go from a 9 in GCSE maths with 8 in Further Maths to 86% in AP Calc BC which should have been a piece of cake based on your background? Did you not realize that homework is graded in the US or something like that?
Is 3.62 your GPA at your current US school?
ASU Barrett is excellent indeed (for astronomy/astrophysics in particular) but ASU has had major budget cuts.
UCSC is a more likely admission than others on your list and they’re test blind so you could play to your strengths. I hope the College Scholars Program has been reinstated as you may be invited. A downside is that you have few APs so your capped GPA will be low for UCs. Still, UCSC is an excellent suggestion.
Have you taken the test for AP French (it should be easy)? With French, Ancient Greek and Latin you could apply as a Classical Studies major/French minor at a college that’s “whole university admission” (no restrictions on switching majors) like Case Western Reserve or Smith, then switch later on (it’d just mean you’d take a Freshman seminar/English, a Classics class, a Math class, and a Physics class your first semester, so no difference). Your academic profile is strong enough in these areas it could work and nothing’s preventing you from doing Physics/Astronomy with a Classics minor, that’s the beauty of US colleges.
Thank you for your reply.
The first semester was a tad of a cultural schock, as i was used to a totally different system really. My 1st semester exam in calc bc was 68%, my final exam was 99%. but my whole year 86% was affected by the 1st semester i think. The department suggested me for linear this senior year so i think its good. Also they had put me to do APUSH which was too much as i didnt even have GCSE history experience. They lined me to do in the junior year, AP calc bc, AP chem,AP phsics1, APUSH, and Advanced eng lit all together.
3.62 is my calculation in websites, the school does five me only weighted percentage (94.1%)
i was referring to University of arizona, not ASU.
UCSC seems like a good target ( my school has a few admissions there over the years)
I am not very familiar with Case western astronomy, is it within target and value in astronomy?
Again appreciate your ( and everyone’s input)
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A 94 should be a very high A- or an A so more like 3.75. (it makes a big difference compared to a 3.6).
Does your school offer AP Physics C?
Sorry about the UA/ASU confusion, misread - Arizona is indeed topnotch for Astronomy and their “new” Honors college is very strong. But same issue with funding.
Case Western Reserve is excellent for any science (as well as music and a few other subjects).
Since you like Rice CWRU would be similar (collegial, urban, strong in the sciences) but easier to get into.
Have you taken a SAT test prep course or worked with a tutor? Many upper middle/upper class students do that in the US and it would likely help you because if you were able to get 8s&9s in GCSEs you likely don’t find the SAT material difficult but the tricks&ways they ask the questions + the cultural difference of not having to develop your reasoning but going through questions very quickly, almost automatically once you’ve recognized its type, is a skill you would likely master quickly once you started knowing how it works.
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the school i think offers physics c but the department suggested me for AP biology instead and the advisor said that she will explain the physics 1 curriculum in the school in that it covers a lot of physics c material. i dont really know why as my physics 1 got 4 in AP and 94% in grades. I think they may either not have enough students for the class or they are positioning me as more breadth than depth? i dont really want to challenge this ( or my parents to ask ) and i also like a lot different things like physics and classic languages
i will certainly get the case western in the mix then.
i have never had tutoring as my parents decided that from the beginning and i dont really like that idea as well now. I improved the scores , i guess as i am less stressed in the exam , and i am creating custom made dynamic sat style tests in AI.
i know also it is a reach and it incudes scores, but what about chances in JHU as my pioneer is with a JHU prof if i get very good grade and recommendation on the project by september.
I’m going to second the suggestion of at least one SAT tutoring session to learn the “tips and tricks”. This is what my student did after doing the psat with no prep - innately strong at the material but realized after the tutoring session that there were shortcuts and approaches they hadn’t realized - and they didn’t do any other tutoring apart from that one session. At the very least go over YouTube videos on how to use desmos efficiently. (And obviously do some practice tests.)
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They share some common topics but Physics 1 is algebra based, Physics C is calculus based and split into two courses or two parts (E&&M, Mechanics), and since you want to go into Physics and you’ve already taken Calc BC, physics C would make the most sense. Some of Physics C isn’t covered in Physics 1 (not sure if it’s the M part or the E&M part) so perhaps you could get into just that part?
American students have had some form of standardized testing almost every year of their school life. It’s a peculiar type of testing, in that the material is easy but in order to get a high score you need to understand the tricks and shortcuts. Because it’s standardized, the patterns are discernable from repeat practice. You haven’t had that repeat practice so you start with a disadvantage. Some American students have figured it out from years of testing without tutoring (although most upper middle class kids “prep”) but for students who come from essay-based testing (such as the UK) at least a session or two on these tricks&shortcuts would allow you to have a level playing field with them.
(Understand that for all the colleges you like, such as Rice, JHU, etc, a 1500 would be expected. Even if your research is with a JHU prof, with your current scores it’s a no-go.)
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If you don’t want to use tutoring, you can learn “tips and tricks” from The SAT prep black book (3rd edition) (unofficial)
The most important resource for sat prep is the official SAT question bank, which has thousands of free questions.
For reading and writing (which I imagine would be more difficult for you than math), I recommend Erica Meltzer’s books
Make sure to get the edition made for the digital SAT
For Desmos, the YouTube playlists you can check out are the ones by jwtutoring and tutorlini
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AP physics C EM has very little overlap with AP Physics 1
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Thanks.
It’s strange to me that a US school would discourage a future Physics major from taking Physics C when they did well in Calc BC and Physics 1. It’d certainly ding them for rigor at highly rejective colleges.
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Classroom performance often doesn’t correlate with AP exam performance. E.g. you can earn 100% in physics but score a “3” on the exam.
Physics 1 and 2 are algebra-based; Physics C, both Mechanics and Electricity & Magnetism are calculus-based. A possible astronomy/astrophysics major should be taking Physics C whenever possible, even if your high school only offers one or the other, which is often the case. Unless you able to and interested in taking both AP Biology & Physics, hold off college-level biology for college.
well , this is what the science department recommended for me and it is rather difficult to challenge this ( my parents are considering it but it then can be delicate matter). the physics teacher said that she will cover this point in her reference letter ( as she is the one of the two recommendations i secured) . In physics 1 i kept 94% all year long and the AP exam i got 4 this may
Also just to correct the original entry , i notice a typo, my end of junior year GPA is now 94.6% weighted.
The five medical papers are submitted for publication and under review in peer reviewed medical journals with IF between 2 and 6 ( my dad is a doctor and i got involved doing data curation for the research group)
The AP score of “4” in AP Physics 1 is a very good score.
There must be a reason why the science department is recommending AP Biology over AP Physics. You reserve the right to know why. Sometimes, the reason could be for something unrelated to your previous academic performance, like class counts (e.g. needing to fill up AP Biology with 20 student count to meet budget). A potential gatekeeping reason could be a required minimum of 90 or 95 final average in AP Calculus/previous AP Science and/or minimum 3.7 unweighted HS GPA in order to register for Physics C. But there are always exceptions to the rule. Your parents should contest this since you are a potential astrophysics major and not a biology major. Your previous AP exam performance in math and science indicates that you are very likely to pass the AP exam, in either biology or physics, with a “3” or higher.
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