<p>Hello! I'm a junior in high school, so this year is very important in terms of my looking into colleges and trying to find the best school for me. I've been extremely interested in going to a UK school for almost a year now. I've read articles and many threads on this website, but I wanted to start my own to ask my personal questions.</p>
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<li><p>How likely is it for an American Student to get into a UK university? I've recently read articles stating that more and more are applying. </p></li>
<li><p>How do I calculate my GPA to their A Level system? I've also read that you need to score a 4 or higher on three AP classes, is that true? I'm taking 3 this year, and I took one in my sophomore year.</p></li>
<li><p>Is there a specific GPA that UK schools look for? </p></li>
<li><p>Do they make you take test, just as US schools do? SAT or ACT? Or is it completely different?</p></li>
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<p>Hope someone can answer my questions! I've looking into certain environments, living costs, etc. and it seems possible for my financial situation. I'm 16 at the moment, so I still have two years but I wanted to get started as soon as possible!</p>
<p>1) There is a large number of international students applying to universities in the UK; this however, does not mean you have any less of a chance.</p>
<p>2)We do not have GPA here in the UK; A Levels are a standalone qualification like AP’s in the US. Most universities in the UK look for 3 or more AP exam scores of 4+ in order to make a competitive statement.</p>
<p>3) No.</p>
<p>4) No, we are nice. lol. I’m slaving over books studying for the SAT’s! Thanks America.
There are requirements for each country. Yours would be the SAT reasoning test plus three AP exam’s of a certain score or 3 SAT subject tests.</p>
<p>Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Thank you so much!! I hope everything works out for you in the U.S.! :)</p>
<p>It really depends on your major because I was looking into UK universities as a potential premed student and they require you to take both AP Biology and AP Chemistry to be considered. So depending on your major you might have to take certain AP classes.
England may sound very exciting and there are amazing schools such as Oxford and Cambridge, however, I would strongly advise against it. I have looked into this possibility myself because I found it very appealing but then realized I would be way better off staying in the US for university.
First is that schools in England will not give you financial aid, especially highly ranked schools, because they barely give their own citizens financial aid (I have no idea why). And it is about double the price for foreign students. You are looking at about $75,000 a year to study at somewhere like Oxford. If your family cannot afford this then your only choice is loans which is a lot to pay off after 4 years. In a US school you can find a much more affordable price and schools willing to offer need based financial aid.
Another reason is that you are not likely to get into a great school in England. It is almost impossible for a US resident to get into Oxford or Cambridge. It is about twice as hard as getting into Harvard because they only accept around 5-9% of foreigners. So you will have to end up going to low end school while you could probably get into a much better one in the US.
Finally; it is a really big transition from being at home to being 1000s miles away from home. The culture, dialect, and environment is different there and if you feel lonely or miss your family they are a whole sea apart. It is better to make slow steps to first maybe move to a college out of state and not out of the country right away. You don’t know how you are going to feel on your own.
I would reccommend you go to a school in the US at least for undergrad and then if you feel ready to make the move then you should apply for the Rhodes Scholar. UK awards like a handful of US citizens every year a chance to study at Oxford on full scholarship after they have completed their undergrad degree. This is obviously a very competitive scholarship and you would have to have an amazing GPA and be very involved on campus. But if you are serious about studying in England it is a great opportunity. Look into it, it is a very famous program.
Good luck</p>
<p>Well…as a fact of matter, Oxford and Cambridge do offer scholarships to undergrads as they have the endowments to do so. However it’s true that getting into Oxbridge is extremely hard for US students (at an undergrad level) as the educational systems are so vastly different. I have pointed out in some other topic that, for example, there are about 700-750 US grad students at Cambridge but merely 60 undergrads. For grad studies, the Rhodes (Oxford) and the Gates (Cambridge) scholarships are designed mainly for US student - extremely competitive, but hey, you can give it a shot. </p>
<p>Be as it may, I fully agree with the statement that it’s better to attend college in the US. Cambridge and Oxford are wonderful places, but as the op mentioned, he doesnt stand a chance at these institutions. UCL, Imperial and, to a lesser extent, LSE are top notch institutions, but not very well-known in the US (apart from some, mostly academic circles), and the same applies to virtually every UK university, apart from Oxbridge. You can do better attending to a decent state flagship, for example
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<p>Thank you so much for your wonderful advice! All these replies have given me a lot to think about. I would just like to say that there are other schools then Oxford and Cambridge in the UK. I know those are EXTREMELY difficult to get into. But thanks again! :)</p>