chance me for oxford please:)

<p>School type: public
location:Maryland
race/gender: Indian,female
major: biology
current unweighted gpa: 4.0
class rank: 1/430</p>

<p>SAT- total:2270 breakdown: math: 740 CR- 730 writing: 800
SAT II's took bio-700 ( will take again) , will also take chem and math II. got a 760 on U.S history</p>

<p>Courses
9th grade
Gt English ( highest possible except for ap)
Gt math
AP biology- 5
Gt American gov
french III
orchestra</p>

<p>10th grade:
Gt English
AP chemistry- 4
Ap statistic's 4
GT precalc
french IV
Gt world history</p>

<p>11th grade
AP english 4
Ap Macro economics 5
Ap microeconomics 5
AP french
AP U.S 5
AP Calc a/b 5</p>

<p>12th grade</p>

<p>AP calc b/c
Ap Lit
Ap Psych
Ap human geography
GT accounting
AP euro
gym</p>

<p>Extracurriculars I know these don't count for anything at oxford but I think I'll mention a few things, expecially the significant research in my personal statement and probably get a reference that says somthing about it</p>

<p>MAJOR
-will have done a summer internship at NIH in the lab of cardiovascular science for two summers. summer of 2008/2009. i'm close with my mentor and she's impressed with my work so i hope to get a rec from her.
-discovery channel young scientist semifinalist 2006- for excellent communication skills
- 2006 baltimore science fair- 1st place and another award for best project in medicine.
-2009 Baltimore science fair- award from u.s corps for excellence and one from another company
2008- NIH poster day/ science fair- 1st place.
- will be part of a research paper that will be published at some point in the future </p>

<p>MINOR</p>

<p>-3 years varsity tennis in high school.
-key club( 9-12) have done a lot of volunteering for it french club(9-12), nhs(9-12), literary magazine(10-12) It's academic( 11-12) math Nhs( 11-12) french nhs(9-12) science nhs- 12th grade. peer tutoring- 9-12.
Started south Asian society (SAS)-president/ founder- basically we watch asian movies. play asian games, asian cuisine.it's really ethnic but anyone can join and feel comfortable
-volunteer at the greater Baltimore temple and help set up other activities.
- do Indian dance rigorously. will get my dance degree end of senior year. typically takes about 8 years. I've been doing dance since 6th grade
- black belt in taekwando</p>

<p>Other Awards-
Tennis:
9th grade. 1st place county and regional tournament
10th grade. 2nd place in county and regional tournament
11th grade: 1st place in county and regional tournament, 4th place at states
-awards for maintaining a 4.0 gpa during varsity sports seasons/ earned varsity letter every year
future business leaders of America- 1st place at school and regionals, 2nd at states- topic was introduction to business communications
- 11th place in state for french national exam
- 1st place in high school poetry competition Baltimore county
- AP scholar
- published a memoir/ short story in Maryland voices which gets submissions from all of Maryland.</p>

<p>i may have missed a few things here and there though. if i think of anything i'll post it i guess.</p>

<p>I'm think i should be able to get a good refernce from my ap biology teacher teacher and will have an excellent personal statement that will convey my passion for biology.</p>

<p>With those grades you have a shot at least. The thing with Oxford is that the interview truly can make or break you. Make sure you know everything - and I mean everything - about biology before you head for out for the interview (which I think you will). I once heard of a girl who was given the skull of a giraffe and then had to explain it to the interviewers. So expect something of the like.</p>

<p>lol. explain it? explian in what sense? i’ve heard for biology interviews they really don’t ask questions from memory. They really want to see your thinking process apaprently so memorization about biology doen’t help.</p>

<p>Well I’m not a biologist myself – what do you study in bio anyway? But now that I come to think of it, I’m pretty sure the girl didn’t know which animal’s skull it was in the first place and so I assume that’s where they started. She would need to explain the reasons that led to this conclusion from there on, wouldn’t she?</p>

<p>But I mean if you don’t want to believe my tips, then don’t. It’s just hearsay anyway.</p>

<p>you didn’t string straight 5’s and you didn’t break 2300, so not that great</p>

<p>avident: Thanks for your advice and explantions. The interview thing seems interesting to me. </p>

<p>ChoklitRain: Fair point. But, I looked at the criteria for u.s applicants and they ask for only a1400 in math+ CR and > 700 in writing. Ap’s and sat ii’s they say 3 5’s or 700 or greater in 3 related subjects…Although I don’t greatly surpass the criteria, I do pass it. so hopefully, lol, I have a tiny shot. </p>

<p>But I really thank you for the honesty!!!</p>

<p>^ if you raise the SAT to the 2350 range you’ll be a good candidate. had you asked for chances at Ivies like Penn/Dartmouth/Columbia, I would have said great chances, but Oxford is about pure stats and the interview.</p>

<p>Anyone know what the interview for medicine is like? Do they quiz you on anatomy or make you diagnose simple disorders?</p>

<p>thanks chokilit rain. I’ll see if I can take the sat’s in october…but i doubt it cause i have to take sat ii’s</p>

<p>Hey, snowy (or anyone else for that matter)
What is the latest date we can take SAT II’s and have them count for our Oxford app? I need to take Chem, but I would rather take it later then sooner since I’m self-studying.</p>

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<p>This is actually a really typical interview. I got slides showing some cells with lots of mitochondria (Natural Sciences interview at Cambridge). These are the sorts of questiosn I was asked (roughly. It was a long time ago)</p>

<p>Q:What kind of cells are these?
A:I said I didn’t know, but lots of mitochondria mean they use a lot of energy. </p>

<p>Q:what tissues use the most energy?
A:I said muscles, or maybe brain?</p>

<p>Q:What kind of muscles use the most energy?
A:Leg muscles</p>

<p>Q:what kind of muscles might be more active than leg muscles?
A:jaw?</p>

<p>Q:Think of a mammal with an unusual ability.
A:Like the ability to run very fast? Like a cheetah?</p>

<p>Q:What about flight? This is a bats wing muscle.</p>

<p>So you can see I didn’t KNOW the answer. They sort of lead you to it. They are looking for confident students who will engage with them. It’s ok to be argumentative, and also ok to admit you don’t know, and that your first ideas were wrong. Remember most UK applicants won’t even have finished their A-levels when they are interviewed, so they can’t. Spending a lot more time studying won’t help you. I was also asked “What makes these curtains green” and talked about electrons and light waves etc.</p>

<p>In the case of the giraffe skull, they would probably ask things along the lines of, what kind of animal it came from and then things like how can you tell it’s a herbivore (teeth) etc. Discuss the object is the standard form for Biology.</p>

<p>Interview are VERY much like the tutorials you will have if you are admitted. More like a academic discussion/argument. I know there are definitely videos of interviews on the Cambridge website (and Oxford will be evry similar) and probably some Oxford ones around some where (YouTube? I don’t know).</p>

<p>If anyone tells you the interview involves throwing bricks out of windows, this is an urban myth!</p>

<p>wow cupcake. the interviews are tough. so i suppose they aren’t really looking for right answers all the time… thanks for the detail and example, that was very helpful!!!</p>

<p>What are the medicine interviews like?</p>