DUBAI BOY ON A MATHEMATICAL HIGH

A 19-year-old Dubai boy, who notched up perfect scores in SAT 1 and SAT 2 in his quest to study in the United States but opted for admission to the Trinity College of Cambridge University, has been 'ranked in the first 10 in the world' in 'Further Mathematics', ...

By Sushil Kutty

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Published: Sat 30 Oct 2004, 2:16 AM

Last updated: Tue 14 May 2024, 2:03 PM

and his school in Dubai - the Dubai College - has been "congratulated" for the achievement.

Ramsey Sulayman Khalaf, an exceptional student who did exceedingly well in his attempts at SAT 1 and SAT 2 late last year, after being "taught the techniques of answering multiple choice questions by Score Plus — The Princeton Review of Dubai", has gone on to score 598/600 in 'Further Math' and 599/600 in Physics in the 'edexcel' examination, results for which were announced recently.


Ramsey is the elder of two sons of Briton Dr Barbara Haywood and Syrian Sulayman Khalaf, who is associate professor of Anthropology in the Sharjah University. Barbara is a professor at the Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai. This latest in a string of achievements has thrilled Barbara and Sulayman, though nothing less than this was expected from their "very gifted" son.

"In school, his classmates called him Ramsey 'Einstein' Khalaf," smiles Sulayman. "He was always gifted."

At age 10, Ramsey was keeping a daily diary, noting down the day's happenings in a jaunty hand. His recordings of a vacation spent in his father’s village (where his grandmother hosted a party for over a 150 villagers in their honour) near Damascus were published in a Dubai magazine.

"He was paid Dh300 for that. Not bad for a 10-year-old," recalls Sulayman.

Not bad at all. Point is, even a genius needs to ask for directions in uncharted terrain, and life after high school to each one of us is to a great extent just that - uncharted. True, parents are beacons. And school teachers are counsellors, and guides. But would that do?

Take Ramsey - "very tall, 1.85 ...very slim" - for instance. He was "ready for the independent learning at university" and with "his attitude and academic ability" he had "enormous potential for the future". But to tap that potential to the full, he had to get into a top-class international university, for which he had to get past high stake admission tests like SAT and SAT 2, and the 'edexcel'. These tests call for special "answering" and "timing" techniques to notch up those perfect scores.

"He wanted to study in the States after school," says Barbara, who is head of Instruction at the Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai Men's College. "His friends were preparing for SAT. He was influenced by them, and so joined classes at Score Plus. He got perfect scores in both SAT 1 and SAT 2."

"We first met Ramsey in August 2003 when he came to prepare at Score Plus - The Princeton Review. He started off with high scores on our initial diagnostic exams. He put in a lot of work knowing that it is much harder to score from 720 to 800. We are very happy to have helped Ramsey get perfect scores on high stake college admission tests such as SAT and SAT 2s. All our efforts paid off with this admission to Cambridge," says Kamal Kalwani, CEO and founder, Score Plus.

An 800 out of 800 in Math and 710 in English Verbal in SAT, and perfect scores in Physics (800) and Math (800) in SAT II.

"The Princeton Review helped him in English. He had his problems there. The sessions with Princeton Review gave him a degree of confidence where he lacked," says Barbara. "But there was never a doubt, we always knew he would do exceptionally well."

Especially, in Mathematics. "Ramsey is a naturally gifted Mathematician, one of the most outstanding Mathematicians I've come across ...academically at the top of a very able class. It was no surprise when he scored 800/800 in SAT and SAT 2 ...I can predict with certainty that he will achieve a grade A in both Mathematics and Further Mathematics," says Graham Altham-Lewis, his teacher in Dubai College in his "Reference for Ramsey".

Barbara and Sulayman wanted Ramsey to take Pure Mathematics in Cambridge but Ramsey opted for Computer Science. "He said it was a perfect marriage between the theoretical and practical," says Sulayman. "There were no arguments after that."

Ramsey speaks of his interest in computer sciences: "I'm fascinated by the level of intricacy and complexity found in computers. Sometimes I sit in front of my PC inspired by the amazing technology and hours of development that have gone into these machines. I want to find out more about how hardware and software work seamlessly together and how computers can further shape and enrich our lives. I can build a computer from scratch..."

Delving deeper into his interest, Ramsey notes in his personal statement to Cambridge: "Perfection. Is it worth striving for if it is never actually achievable? I think so... May be that is why I enjoy the sciences and mathematics, because they have a clear logical and methodical approach. They just seem to make sense to me, and I usually find the concepts and ideas easy to grasp. I have been interested in sciences for as long as I can remember, perhaps because I was good at them (he won the junior science prize in 1998) but also (because) I always wanted to know how things worked."

"Sometimes, I hate being a perfectionist because of the way small things can annoy me. However, this has taught me something else - patience. Having a brother who always seemed to get his way also used to try my patience but we are now the best of friends," says Ramsey of his brother Sami who, according to father Sulayman, is more the "all-round sportsman than the academic".

Ramsey closes his personal statement with the words, "So there it is. My attempt to put my character on paper. Not bad, but definitely not perfect." Looks as if, with the 'perfect scores' that he has been notching up in high stake admission tests, Ramsey 'Einstein' Khalaf was for once in his life way off the mark!


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