Physics - chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey, I'm currently in Year 11, doing my GCSE's, but after this I will do my A-Levels. I think GCSE's are comparable or similar to Honors/some AP classes so I will list them :</p>

<p>Mathematics
Statistics
Geography
Economics (Macro and Micro)
Business Studies
Citizenship
French
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
English Language
English Literature</p>

<p>These the A-Level options I will take next year :</p>

<p>Maths
Physics
Further Maths
Economics</p>

<p>Now, I love Physics and I am pretty good at Maths. Every single aspect of Physics excites me and makes me wonder - from quantum mechanics to astronomy. Therefore, I would love to do A-Level Physics and then do a degree in Physics at university. At the moment, I am aiming for the best Universities for Physics in the UK and USA. These include : Cambridge (NatSci), Imperial College, Harvard, Caltech, Stanford and MIT. As everyone knows, the admission process for such universities is extremely tough - and at times impossible. I'm predicted A/A* at GCSE's and hopefully I can achieve those. Then at A-Levels, I will try my hardest to get 3/4 A*'s hopefully. Additionally, I will sit my SAT next summer and I am hoping to get 2000+ at least. </p>

<p>By no means will this be an easy ride, it will be a lot of hard work but the subjects I am planning on choosing interest me a lot so it will be a lot of fun at the same. Other than grades, I also play leadership roles and participate in extra curricular activities such as :</p>

<p>Debate Club (Captain)
Captain of Cricket Team (Was given a scholarship at ICC Cricket Academy)
Work experience at Blackberry (Got a free Blackberry for my efforts ;) )
Volunteered at Red Crescent
Finished Duke of Edinburgh Silver ( Aiming for Gold next year)
Climbing Kilimanjaro (hopefully) this summer on school trip
Basket ball Team
Tutored kids in compound as a community service
Running
Model United Nations
World Scholar's Cup (going to Kuala Lumpur for Global round this Year)</p>

<p>Furthermore, I try to read books around the subjects I plan on choosing such as A Brief History of Time, Freakonomics, SYNC, and others to develop my knowledge outside the curriculum. However, at the same time, I keep a tight balance between academics and my social life.</p>

<p>Now, I know that over 90% of all candidates for the universities mentioned above will have what I have, however, how can I distinguish myself? Will it be the interview, the essay or other accomplishments that Ican make in the next two years? Any advice would be helpful. </p>

<p>P.S I know I follow a British system so let me clarify a few things for people who don't understand it. GCSE's is like Year 9 and 10 in the American education system. A-Levels is comparable to AP and a A* in A-Level would be a 5 in AP. Also, grade 11 in the UK is grade 10 in America.</p>

2

<p>I would say that part of distinguishing yourself includes winning awards… so enter as many contests as you can! I am pretty familiar with the British system overall, but I don’t know what you have by internships… over here people who love Biology or Physics or Law can do summer internships where they work alongside professionals. For instance, in New York we have an engineering internship so I would check that out. I think you are really on the right track so far and you need to keep working towards doing well in your A levels. My main suggestion would be to look for internships to gain experience in physics.</p>

3

<p>First of all, thanks for the reply.</p>

<p>Well, I have awards for qualifying in the Regional Rounds of World Scholar’s Cup. Also, I won a Gold Medal in the UKMT British Maths Challenge. </p>

<p>As for the internships, I live in Dubai so opportunities are limited. However, my brother is currently studying at the University of Waterloo, which is famous for Engineering so I will try my hardest to be able to have a chance to do an internship/work alongside a graduate student to gain experience.</p>

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<p>Bump. Bump. Bump</p>