Chance for International applicant

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
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<p>Hey guys, Im an international student of Indian origin from Dubai and want to apply in Fall 2010. Basically, I've done GCE O levels [considered the highest level for British Ordinary Level Syllabus] and GCE AS Levels in Maths, Biology, Physics and Chemistry and plan on doing A2 Course in these four subjects this year.</p>

<p>My syllabus does not offer GPA but these are my school and exam grades so far:
Subject: 9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade {+Board} 12th Grade{}</p>

<p>English B[72] B[66] A,A[76],{82} x
Maths A[86] A[86] A,A[91],{95}, {99 in C1}
Physics A[90] A[83] A,A[92],{85}, (NA)
Chemistry A[78] A[83] A,A[85],{90}, (NA)
Biology A[83] A[82] A,A[82],{82}, (NA)
Human Biology A[88] A[84] A,A[88],{81}, x
Hindi A[77] A[73] A,B[76],{76}, x
Arabic A[87] A[82] A,A[90],{87}, x</p>

<p>NA- not available atm since results come out in august, but I believe Ive done on par with my O level Board results.
x - because I did not take these in AS levels.</p>

<p>And oh, all the marks are out of 100</p>

<p>Here are my SAT I Scores:
Sitting 1 Sitting 2
CR 590 670
M 680 640
W 650 720
Total 1920 2030</p>

<p>I plan on taking the SAT Subject tests this October in Maths IIC, Physics and Biology M.</p>

<p>I also have received certificates for/achieved merit in:
- Academic Excellence in Grades 9-11 for coming in the top two ranks in the grade.
- Certificate of Appreciation for Oral presentation on World Events.
-Merit Certificate for participation in Inter School Quiz, Gulf Asian Inter-School Quiz competitions and also for conducting an Inter-House Quiz competition in my school.
- Certificate of Appreciation for Community Service conducted at Labour Camps in Dubai from Grade 9-11.
- Certificate for Best Actor in School Skit competition and also for Writer of the Best Skit.
- Participation Certification for Awareness Walk at Spring Fiesta event.
- Distinction in Mathematics exam conducted by University of New South Wales in 2001.
- Certification of Merit for Participation in Global Young Leaders Conference in Washington, New York.
- Winner of Inter-House Soccer Tournament in Grade 12.
- 3rd Position in 400m-relay in Inter-House School Athletics Meet in Grade 12.
- 3rd Position in 100m-relay in Inter-House School Athletics Meet in Grade 12.
- Observership at a local hospital for 2 weeks at the Radiology/Lab Departments.</p>

<p>Well, sorry if it is a bit too long, not really sure about what all to include and not to include since I come under the International applicants category. Also, I wanna take the Bioengineering major. Thanks</p>

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<p>umm a 76 is an A???</p>

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<p>Well as I said, I took the GCE O levels board which is considered quite challenging so the A is 75+. They only change the grade boundaries on a few occasions (like where i mentioned I got a B in hindi despite getting 76).</p>

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<p>did they assign these grades? or are those from the final exams?</p>

<p>like what does your transcript say??</p>

<p>I did the equilvalent of the GCE O and A levels and we got number grades…</p>

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<p>My School has assigned these grades along with the marks. For my O levels, the board assigned the grades as well so I hvent ‘predicted’ anything so to speak. By the way, what do you mean by ‘number grades’ ? Thanks</p>

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<p>numbers… like %</p>

<p>your SAT is subpar… maybe take it again. the problem is Rice looks at ALL scores… so taking it too many times is discouraged</p>

<p>other than that you have a decent shot, especially as an international applicant</p>

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<p>Ohh, alrite. </p>

<p>Yea, I read somewhere on another thread about Rice looking at all of the scores. Well, i know my SAT scores aren’t that great, so I plan on taking the SAT Subject Tests in Maths IIC, Biology (M) and Physics and I will try to get marks that are as high as possible (Higher than the SAT I scores anyway). Thanks for your input though, I highly appreciate it.</p>

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<p>welcome. good luck to you</p>

<p>I would recommend bio E instead of M… its a lot easier</p>

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<p>Well I actually have a lot of interest in molecular biology and I’m not a fan of ecology. You think despite this, I should go for E rather than M ?</p>

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<p>then take M… either way you need a good score</p>

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<p>Take the one that you are confident and comfortable with.</p>

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<p>i suggested E because less people take it and its easier to get an 800… i took it and did real well w/o ever taking higher bio</p>

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<p>Your superscored SAT is 2070</p>

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<p>umm… i dont think Rice superscores the SAT. they looks at all your testing history</p>

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<p>omega, Rice does not superscore the SAT because it gives disadvantage to people who can’t afford to take the SAT many times.</p>