<p>Now you're teaching me life lesson, oh my god, this is funny.</p>
<p>Sorry, if this is a bit repetitive; I didn't really take the time to read pages 2-4 of the replies. You have no reason to take the AB Calculus exam if your taking the BC one- the BC has an AB subscore that most colleges will accept as an AB score. </p>
<p>Also, a tip on the SAT: the classes really don't help all that much, but taking practice exams over and over again increases your scores dramatically. I've taken 30+ practice exams, and looking through them and correcting my mistakes helped me out a lot more than the classes. Even if you are a Math whiz (not that I doubt it, you look pretty strong as it is there), the SAT has the singular ability to read one way during the test and take another meaning looking over it again after taking it, especially the Math. The Math on the SAT is trickier than the Math IIC, even if the math is easier.
All I'm trying to say is that when you get more of the math you need under your belt for the SAT, make sure you also get the practice because that's just as important.
Oh yeah, you want do all I'm talking about before your PSAT's, too. I got a 203 sophomore year and I still only got a 222 on my junior PSAT, even with all the practice I got, so you definitely need to get that practice as soon as you can. Take as many of the old exams as you can- even if they are old, the new SAT format reflects the old in many respects.</p>
<p>OK...nice criticism...</p>
<p>Your SATs suck if you want to get into rice, but I'm sure that you'll get a 2400, so don't fret.</p>
<p>There, nice.</p>
<p>Man, he's only a sophomore. Give him a break- I've known people with applications that screamed of mediocrity getting into Rice. I think you've got a chance- just work REALLY hard at whatever you do and make sure Rice knows. You do have two years, after all. </p>
<p>One of the things I really think colleges look for is your ability to improve- if you can show Rice that you raised from your sophomore year to a 2200 or 2300+ score, it will definitely show that you have the potential to succeed later on.</p>
<p>Also, I would work as hard as you possibly can to get all the math you can. If you want to emphasize your math abilities through UIL, it would really help if you managed to get a perfect on the SAT and SAT IIC Math portions.</p>
<p>angryazn, at my school you take a semester of AB and a semester of BC if you choose to do so; however, I will only be taking one exam. Maybe you were confused that I was listing AP exams I'd take rather than classes.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your advice. Perfect score on math might be a reach, but I'll try. I can make complex mathematical calculations in my head very quickly, my math teacher told me that she would tell the math UIL teacher about me if I wanted her to, so I said yes.</p>
<p>That ability is key to winning UIL. This is a HUGE reach for anybody.... but if you can get 1st at UIL District, Region, and State, you will establish your reign as the "Math King" of Texas. Really try it- I got to state for Biology, but fell off there. Maybe you can do what I failed to do. Good luck.</p>
<p>Do they have chemistry UIL, because I'd rule at that I bet. Chemistry was such an easy class for me, one of my favorites of all time.</p>
<p>Yeah, they do. Science is the overall category, but you can win in the individual Biology, Chemistry, or Physics areas. However, you have to be THE BEST- while the top 3 overall scores go on to the next level, only 1st in Chemistry (in your case) can move on. Try it, but study a lot before you do.</p>
<p>I'm not exactly expecting to win right away, but I definitely have a talent for science.</p>
<p>The way I see it, biology is memorization. Chemistry is easy math applied to a real situation, and I've heard that physics is somewhat the same idea, math based but somewhat more difficult than chemistry.</p>
<p>Biology is memorization at some levels, but when you get to the Region and State level exams (they get harder, from Invitational to State), there's no way to know everything- you have to know enough of the subject in general to deduce the correct answer. When it gets to that point, it really is a science and not just memorization.</p>
<p>If anything, chemistry is memorization of formulas, though you do have to use insight on some questions. There's much more to memorize in Biology in general, but the Chemistry equations you have to get also make quite a list.</p>
<p>Physics, above all, requires that you have a mind that can apply math to situations you have never seen before. There's always strange stuff on the physics that they don't teach you how to do in class- you have to be able to take the equations you know and apply them to situations you don't.</p>
<p>Whatever you do, realize that you will be competing against people who have had these subjects at an AP level. It might not seem like an enormous advantage, but it is. If you really want to win that badly, make sure you take the science of your choice at an AP level your junior year and beat the heck out of everyone- the colleges won't see anything if you do it just on your senior year.</p>
<p>I'm taking AP Chemistry next year. Unfortunately I can't fit in AP Physics and Biology until senior year.</p>
<p>Good luck on that, man. If you can do it, that will really boost your chances.</p>
<p>Any other ideas, or suggestions?</p>