<p>Hello cc-ers, this is my first post here and I will be applying to the US this fall for the class of 2016. I have a few questions to ask and it would be great for you guys to lend your experience </p>
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<li><p>I am currently taking up A levels with 4 subjects namely math, chemistry, biology and economics. However I have made the decision that I will no longer pursue my interest in the medical field, thus rendering chemistry and biology useless. I am now planning to drop chemistry as I am way better at biology. The thing is, I know that US schools would prefer students to have accessed a broad range of subject disciplines, and dropping chemistry would mean I will only be able to take up Biology for my SAT 2, making my subject choices Biology, Math 2 and perhaps English Lit for my SAT 2s. My question is whether Biology is considered a softer science subject ? Will I be disadvantaged for only displaying higher knowledge in Biology? (as for the case of UK universities, most state that Chemistry is highly regarded over Biology) </p></li>
<li><p>If anyone here is currently doing A levels too, or happen to be knowledgeable in UK university applications, how well regarded are 3 A levels? Most of my course mates are doing 4 A levels with some doing 5. It seems that everyone is in the rat race of taking up more and more subjects, and I guess I fell into it too. I plan to further my studies in the UK if my US applications are unsuccessful. My course choices now range from law being my top priority and maybe business studies/ economics etc. Now my main concern is whether 3A2 levels will be good enough to secure a place in a relatively reputable uni for law. =/ </p></li>
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<p>Any comments? </p>
<p>Note: I have not taken my AS levels yet. =]</p>
<p>Hello! I was also an A-level student,class of 2015.US unis do not care which Alevel subjects you choose,but most schools would prefer you to take the full A2 as opposed to AS.3 or 4 Alevels are perfectly OK for US admissions.The important thing is for you to DO WELL in whatever you are taking.Also,be sure to request teacher recs and write essays EARLY.You will also need to RESEARCH the various schools and financial aid/scholarship opportunities that are available to international students.Have you joined an educationUSA advising center in your country?If not,try and join soon-It’s a great resource for US bound students.</p>
<p>hey macmill, thanks for taking time off to reply me. =)</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, what A levels did you do? I’m planning to take the SATs too and juggling both A level and the SAT is really killing me. (I guess I’m not that much of a study-person, ironic isn’t it considering I’m taking A levels) And if I take only Biology for the SAT 2, will I be viewed unfavorably over those with chem and physics?</p>
<p>I guess I should really start working to get my application right, the US app process is after all a VERY confusing one. Thanks for the advice! Congratulations on your US uni acceptance =) Hope to see you there someday.</p>
No. In fact, the biology subject test is arguably harder to do well on. 10% of the physics test takers get a perfect score and only 1% of the biology test takers.</p>
<p>hey b@r!um, thanks for your reply. So if I were to take up SAT 2 Biology and Math 2, will that be good enough or should I take up a language subject as well? I’ll be taking up Biology M as the A level syllabus is based on molecular biology.</p>
<p>I could take Mandarin but it will be really easy to score since I’ve studied it since young. And it wont show much of an advantage anyway.</p>
<p>As barlum said,the biology SAT2 test is really hard!(very different from A-level bio) However the Math,Physics and Chemistry will be easy to handle if you know your A level stuff.</p>
<p>Sadly I have already decided to drop Chemistry, and I did not take Physics to begin with. But I do have knowledge till O level chemistry and physics, but I doubt it would be helpful.</p>
<p>Is it possible to self study chemistry for SAT 2? I did my A level chem work till chemical energetics, but apparently there is equilibria in the SAT syllabus, which I have not done.</p>
<p>3 is perfectly fine! I got into UCL, Imperial College, Manchester, Sheffield and Aston with only three. All my offers were based on 3 A levels.</p>
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<p>Speaking from personal experience (and this might be very relative to your Chem skills) it is deceptively easy to do this. Get a good book. (I used Macmillan) and work your way through the exercises! I did this starting the week before the SAT IIs and still managed to get a 800. I found that the SAT Chem was way easier than A level Chem. Though you will be irritated that you cannot use a calculator. And is you are used to the metric system(as you should be since you are doing A levels), the imperial could use some getting used to. Apart from this, it was smooth sailing… :)</p>
<p>This is weird. Ok so, me and 2 of my classmates are in the CIE A Levels, and each of us took one of the 3 sciences on the SAT 2, without further study outside the A Level syllabus. All of us got 750+ on our respective science. SAT is way easier than A Level :P</p>