<p>F16Parent, there are a lot of good tips on the AP Maths forum on CC for the Calculus BC exam, here are a few in condensed form along with a few of mine:</p>
<p>[ul]
[<em>]Know the AB very well. Obvious, but sometimes, like this year, most of the questions were based on AB concepts.
[</em>]FRQs always have one question regarding Maclaurin or Taylor series and Riemann Sums.
[<em>]Memorize all the tests for convergence or divergence (Ratio Test, Integral Test, etc) and know all the series concepts really well.
[</em>]Lastly, don’t stress since one needs only ~60% to get a 5
[/ul]</p>
<p>However, my dad doesn’t seem to like the idea of getting a 5 at 60%. Given, ethically, these tests should be preparing for college and not be a way to just skip a class by getting a 5 through knowing just 60% of the syllabus :p</p>
<p>I agree with your Dad…getting 60% should not be equivalent to a 5 Students who are not comfortable should really keep reinforcing concepts over summer, if they want to skip over a Math AP credit class at college…else it will bite them back at the competitive schools.</p>
<p>(Thanks for your tip on AP Cal. Looks like either I will talk her out of it, or have her get a head start over summer).</p>
<p>Guys, a quick question here. Well, I am having my visa interview day after tomorrow for <a href=“mailto:summer@brown”>summer@brown</a>. So, what do I tell the visa officer if he asks me if I am going to apply to colleges in the US?? Should I say yes, but I fear that the officer may think that I intend to stay in the US after college or should I lie?? ( I don’t like the second option).</p>
<p>Be honest. I bet you it’s going to go smoothly and most probably, the interview is going to be even shorter than the time you wait to get an audience.</p>
<p>I’m a junior now, and when writing college apps, when they ask you what is your favorite book/movie/quote and why, do you be sort of honest and say like (off the top of my head) a book like Harry Potter, or some kind of book that seems erudite/scholarly? I’ve been told to be honest in college applications, but books like HP won’t fly with the AdComs…</p>
<p>Well, if you want my personal opinion, then you should be completely honest. </p>
<p>I think that works in your favor. Your application and all its bells and whistles form a complete package which is the sole thing that admissions officers judge you on. It’s no secret that admissions officers don’t admit students based on past achievements but future potential. I’d imagine that a person shows this great promise when they show commitment towards a particular thing. If you are honest, and you do put down HP (or any other books), then these books will complement the rest of your application and by complement, I mean positively affect. </p>
<p>If you say that you enjoy reading A Brief History of Time but you never really liked flipping through those pages, then trust me, it shows on your application. Because nothing else will be related - or even if it is, the majority of the application wouldn’t reek of the student who likes to read A Brief History of Time and would give incentive to the admissions officers to question other aspects of your application. However, don’t take this as my perception that no one can enjoy an odd book that isn’t relevant to other aspects of life. If you do actually enjoy reading scientific books, go ahead and put them down in the application :)</p>
<p>I was in the same dilemma as you, because the only books that I ever read were Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle and a few books like Gatsby, The Color Purple and Othello which were school requirements. I admitted in the application that I enjoyed reading these books but wouldn’t have read them had I come across them otherwise.</p>
<p>I think honesty is the single most important thing because it makes sure that your application is a true and solid representation of yourself, making yourself a very potent applicant.</p>
<p>All that being said, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t blow your own horn. Sell yourself - by all means. Make yourself stand out, but at the same time, let the thread of honesty fabricate a network that connects all those glowing pieces of your application.</p>
<p>For future reference, what kind of books did you put down, and what were your “reasons” for it? I would imagine something along the lines of “it made me a better person” or “allowed me to look at a broader/global perspective” :P</p>
<p>(I’m not going to copy what you wrote obviously, espec since I don’t even read books haha)</p>
<p>On a similar note, how do (should) you tackle questions like “the person/experience/historical figure who’s had the most effect” or “why did you choose this college?”</p>
<p>Sorry for being a bit paranoid :)…apps are getting to me - when do you recommend I start them? I’m just trying to get a basic idea</p>
<p>Most of these books were eye-opening for me, in the sense that they provided solid bases to what I already knew/believed in.
[ul]
[li]The Reluctant Fundamentalist: Provides the perspective of the other side in the decade long America-Paskistan/Islam antipathy.[/li][li]My family and other Animals: It is an exciting and memorable autobiography of a renowned naturalist, woven with the light-hearted humor of a family’s antics viewed through a child’s eyes. The book’s quirky structure seamlessly transits from that of childish impetuousness to that of scientific inquisitiveness, making the book humorous, entertaining and relatable. The plot thrives on the diversity apparent in the family. Yes, I can go on talking about it forever :)[/li][li]The Colour Purple: Without saying a lot, this book made ninjas appear out of nowhere and cut onions around me.[/li][li]Eragon/Eldest/Brisingr/Inheritance: This is the best fantasy series I’ve read, maybe because I have never read HP or LOTR.[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>I’ll PM you the answers for the rest later, okay? Exams >_<</p>
<p>For those students whose parents are also accompanying to the US on a tourist visa for the initial admission/summer program, they will apply for the tourist visa (B2) alongside the student’s F1 visa. Any idea / experiences in that front - that is, do the parents and the student have the interview at the same time (Family) or the parents have it separate and the student (f1) has it separate?</p>
<p>Did not come across any such posts in the international threads so far …</p>
<p>I can confirm that the interviews will be done separately as the type of visas are different. I am not sure but I think that visa interviews are 1v1 only (except in the case of minors). Might be wrong about that though.
Right now I am so worried about my I20…</p>
<p>Your parents will be on B1Visa and you will be on F1 Visa.
Here in Mumbai we parents had a separate time slot, though it sort of overlapped with our D’s time. This is because they have different people assigned for various Visa categories at the embassy.</p>
<p>Also they expect the student to be confident to walk in for the interview on their own, the logic being if one is old enough to go to College in the US, they are adult enough to handle the Visa formalities as well. My D went in on her own and was out in less than 10minutes. And she was 17+ at that time.</p>
<p>Anialways, how much time does one wait in the line outside the embassy?? Like my interview is scheduled for 9.45, when can I expect the interview to finish, when will I get out of the embassy on a normal day??</p>
<p>You should arrive 30 mins before interview, submit the documents, and wait for your interview inside. They let you in to submit about 10 mins before your interview. They are very efficient and adhere to time slots as they have the whole day planned out weeks in advance. Maximum One hour of your time in all once you reach there. That was my experience.</p>
<p>9:45 means definitely plan to be there at 9:15-9:30 and in queue by 9:30 and submit papers, they will give you your window number for interview, wait in front of that, they will call out for you, 10 mins max wait for interview and he will stamp right in front of you and you are good to go. The passport with visa will be delivered by courier or if you want you can collect in person at a scheduled time and date.</p>
<p>Thanks. So, the parents - mom and dad - do they get interviewed separately or is this done joint since both need the B2 for the same purpose? Do the parents need to give the i20 copy as a reason for their visit? Since you had undergone this procedure for your D, it would be useful if you could share the experience which would be useful for other parents as well.</p>
<p>Did you have to show a travel itinerary and an invitation letter from friends/relatives if any in US?</p>
<p>angad</p>
<p>Isn’t i20 automatically sent out once the forms/relevant docs are sent out to UIIC. Why are you worried?</p>
<p>Parent will be interviewed jointly. And you are very welcome. All the best. The following links will help you with required documents list both for student as well as parents.</p>
<p>Regarding documents, there is a list that you are required to take along. It is mentioned on the visa interview site.</p>
