UC application questions (I'm an international applicant)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
1

Hey guys, how’s everyone faring in the applications cycle? Pretty stressed, personally.

Anyways, my UC application is basically finished, but before final submission, I wanted to clarify a couple of things. Anyone applying to UC, associated with UC or knows anything about this, please help! Deadline is on the 30th of Nov.

  1. Traditional US Math courses such as Algebra I, Math II etc. is not provided here in Bangladesh. However, we do have to sit for GCE 'O' Levels in the 10th grade (British system) and thus prep for those exams in grades 9 and 10. For instance, in Maths D I had Algebra I, Maths I and II, and Geometry as components of the entire syllabus. So, can I enlist those courses as I covered the same material in my Maths D course?
  2. Currently, I'm an A level student and many have said that the A levels are approximately equal to AP (debatable if it's harder or easier). Whatever the case may be, it says on the UC help page that AP or SAT subject tests equate to the 'Elective College Preparatory' category. So, can I put my 4 A level courses there in that category? P.S A levels in total have 5 papers per science subject, and 4 papers for math. The science subjects I took (chemistry, bio and physics) have rigorous lab work as components of the courses, so it qualifies all the criteria for the 'Elective College Preparatory' category.
  3. My last question is about the grading scale. I chose A B C D E as my grading scale, while the actual grading scale in my school is A* A B C D E and U. I never got anything lower than B(only thrice) so the later grades don't matter anyway. A* is defined as 90% and above, A as 80% and above and so on. Do I need to choose 'Other Grading system' and explain this or is A B C D E fine? Also, the website mentioned that + or - signs such as B+ or A- is not considered. Is it fine to use A* A B C D E as A B C D E?

Thanks for reading through the whole post. Help me! :’(

2

Please guys, I’m pretty tensed about this, so any help would be appreciated!

3

@SATHATER6969
Cool username xD
Ok so I’m an international applicant from India (who submitted app and is freaking out)
I’m not too familiar with the Bangladesh school system but I’ll try to help.

  1. go for ‘other scoring system’ and enter your grades. In the ‘additional info’ section in grading, explain your school’s grading system ok?
    Then in the end they’ll ask about special exams as you mentioned. I’m pretty sure it includes A and O levels (I think I saw them as options) and enter marks there as well ok.
  2. in the Foreign language section mention of you’ve studied urdu,hindi etc.
  3. in the ‘classes you’ve taken in grades 7 or 8 in prep for high school’ write geometry and algebra 1

Maybe you should try taking pro help? There are organisations in Bangladesh which can help you. Benefit is that you can be assured that your application is correctly filled. Are you allying for aid? UC will give none to internals just saying.

Hope this helps!
Best of luck!

4

Thank you so much man. No I’m not applying for aid. Don’t they give scholarships based on merit though? I would contact an agency but I’m a bit short on time. Can you pm me screenshots of what you entered on those pages as you gave similar types of exams? Thanks

5

@Littlenitanxious, @SAThater6969, It’s never a good idea to send other people any part of your application. Just fill it out the best you can.

I don’t believe the UCs offer any aid. They used to, but I think they phased it out.

6

Regents (merit) is available for all applicants but you need to be in the top 1% of applicants and the amounts are small in comparison to the $55K+/year price tag.