<p>Hello everyone, (sorry if this is a repetitive thread, I had trouble searching what I was looking for)
I'm just starting my second semester of junior year in Washington DC, and I've decided that I should begin to consider my college choices a little more seriously. My main interests are in chemistry and physics (to some extent), and I do not really know what programs are the most competitive out there. Right now I am breezing through AP chemistry, and I'm taking the SAT II for it in a couple weeks. Also, I will be taking AP physics next year in combination with AP Calc BC. I live in the states, but I'm particularly interested in going abroad for school (england for example). Any recommendations based on that data? Thanks.</p>
<p>We want to see the rest of your file if you want to be chanced for some schools.</p>
<p>But schools that you might consider, given your inclination for chemistry:</p>
<p>Domestically:</p>
<p>U Wisconsin
UIUC
U Michigan
TAMU (best if ranked in the top 10%)
UT Austin (best if ranked in the top 7%)
Purdue
U Minnesota
Berkeley (best if able to pay full freight)
Stanford (a reach for anyone)
PSU
MIT (a reach for anyone)
Caltech (a reach for anyone)</p>
<p>Abroad:</p>
<p>UBC
U Toronto</p>
<p>Thanks! Those give me a pretty good idea of where I should start looking.</p>
<p>Just try to maintain your GPA to a high level if you’ll be applying for Berkeley. Berkeley likes high GPA applicants as they weigh it more than they do SATs, unlike most private schools. Berkeley’s Chemistry department is truly world-class, and their labs are brand new, lots of research to get involved with too, good placement to top grad/postgrad programs, etc… Go for it!</p>
<p>Thats good to hear. Do you know if they’re more interested in weighted or unweighted? I’d consider taking fewer AP’s to maintain the rest of them, but that is a bit of a gamble</p>
<p>They follow their own computation - they call it UC (weighted) GPA. Doing more APs would help you a lot. You can even skip a few subjects when you’ll be doing freshman level there primarily due to the APs you’ve earned. You can then graduate earlier than 4 years.</p>
<p>Here’s Berkeley’s freshmen stats: <a href=“http://admissions.berkeley.edu/studentprofile[/url]”>http://admissions.berkeley.edu/studentprofile</a></p>
<p>This is how Berkeley selects students: [How</a> Berkeley Selects Students | UC Berkeley Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.berkeley.edu/selectsstudents]How”>Selection Process - Office of Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>Do you plan to go to grad school? You might want a school where research opportunities for undergrads are accessible.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone,
I will plan on taking the extra AP’s (lit, econ, bio), however there might be a conflict because I also plan on taking part in a program called the ‘‘georgetown bridge program’’ where I can enroll in a class at georgetown once I have exhausted what my school offers. If I do this (for chemistry most likely?) then I would have to drop one or two other classes which would probably be AP’s. Still unsure if two AP’s looks better than the one other class. Finally yes I do plan on going to grad school, so research is important. Thank you.</p>
<p>The Chemistry program at Berkeley is actually small. It is somewhat a college on its own - has dedicated building, faculty, laboratory, learning grid, computer lab, lib and so on. Undergrad students of Chem are highly encouraged to do some high-quality level research. Many of those who do oftentimes do research with top grad students and supervised by world-renown faculty/advisers. The notion that it is hard to get into research as an undergrad at Berkeley is a myth. Berkeley is a major research powerhouse and the level of research that they conduct there is of the highest level. As an undergrad there, you will be mingled with grad students who often are the best students in the world in the field (mostly top of the top undergrads from HYPSM, Caltech, Berkeley, Oxbridge, Imperial London, Warwick, Tsinghua, Fudan, IIT-India, U of Tokyo, Waseda, Toronto, U of the Philippines, NUS, McGiill and more. The level of exposure alone is unmatched. Again, no LAC can match that. Berkeley sucks only for introductory classes, and that’s mostly true before. Berkeley has slowly addressed that problem now, though there’s still a lot of work to be done in that area. But like I said, if you did a lot of APs, you may be able to skip some of those intro classes which often are large classes. You will then graduate earlier than your required number of years, and you can start grad school earlier too. Many Chem grads get into top Chem department anywhere in the world, including Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, MIT, Caltech, Columbia and Imperial College London.</p>
<p>Would Imperial London be another good option for undergrad? Like I said at the top, I’d love to leave the country (assuming my parents approve) for college.</p>
<p>^^^ Yes, it is. Imperial is highly respected worldwide. Maybe it’s not popular for mainstream Americans, but for those in the know, it is a highly respected university. As a specialized institution, its focused are in engineering, technology, physical sciences (including chemistry and physics) and medicine. It is the best alternative to Cambridge/Oxford in the UK. But Imperial is extremely selective for international applicants, as it is an extremely selective university itself, in the first place. Perhaps only 1 for every 15 applicants for chemistry/physics is accepted. But who knows, you might be of those lucky few in your time, right? The good thing though is that, Imperial is not the only excellent university in the UK for chemistry or physics. There are also very established, well-respected UK universities that offer excellent physics/chem programs and these include the ff: UCL, Warwick, Durham, Bristol and Edinburgh. You may also take a look at those universities. They’re all highly regarded in Europe.</p>
<p>Good to know.</p>