American Applicant to UCL, LSE, and Cambridge

Student Lounge International Students
1

Hey everyone, Im currently an American upcoming senior who is planning to study economics in college. I currently have 2 5s on my AP tests and I was wondering if I would have a good shot to these colleges with my following stats. I’ll be applying for economics at Trinity in Cambridge and Im pretty nervous for that considering all of the horror stories I have heard.

So my stats are:
5 on AP World History
5 on AP English Language

34 ACT

The tests I am taking next year are:
AP Physics C mechanics
AP Physics C E&M
AP Macro
AP Micro
AP Calc BC
AP United States Government
AP European History
AP Statistics
AP Computer Science

I know that UK colleges do not care about extracurriculars but for the personal statement, I plan to tie in the businesses I have started and my views from participating in speech and debate because we do debate economic issues.

Thanks a lot everyone!

2

Clever you, choosing a college that doesn’t require the TSA :slight_smile:

One small thing I would say is that math is really important to that course, but you are applying with only humanities tests. I know you are doing Calc BC, but do you have any standardized testing already- such as an SATII in math- that would demonstrate quantitative ability? Imo, it would make your app stronger, since econ will be a very quanty course.

Also, you are taking a whacking load of APs next year, 5 of which are either info heavy or seen as some of the tougher APs. If you get an offer from Cambridge it would be on condition of meeting scores in specific APs- at least 3, and they could ask for more, depending on the subjects. So (to make up an example) they could ask for Calc, both Econs and either of the Physics. Be sure that you are confident that you can get 5s for any combination that they could throw at you.

3

Im planning to take my SAT 2s in October but Trinity says they dont accept SATs so does that mean SAT 2s as well?

4

Also I took calc ab and AP US History but I got a 4 in both; therefore, I think those will only help me for UCL

5

eeps. Pretty sure that you are required to report ALL your test scores- I know that Oxford is rabid about this and would be very surprised if Cambridge isn’t the same way.

I ask this very gently, but if you have a 4 on AB, is a 5 on BC + 2 or 3 others (& you don’t know which ones) realistic? You will have:

Tuesday AM: Comp Sci
Thursday AM : Calc BC
Friday AM + PM: US + Euro
Monday PM + Late PM: Physics Mechanics + Physics E&M
Tuesday AM: US Gov
Wednesday PM: Macro
Thursday PM: Stats
Friday AM: Micro

The SAT question is irrelevant, as the AP AB means you have a math standardized test

6

Also, are you applying to any American/other unis?

Why the English unis? Where do you plan to work and what citizenship/residency do you have?

7

Yeah im applying to American universities and I plan to work in London for investment banking after college. Also Cambridge never said anything about receiving all scores so would it be alright if I did not report the ones I did not do well on?

8

Do I have a chance for LSE and UCL? Thanks for everyones help so far!

9

LSE is as hard as Cambridge to get into, and wants the same as Cambridge- 5 5s on APs (they will accept one 4 for some courses), and their list of acceptable APs is a bit shorter- but you have enough relevant ones. UCL is a notch less demanding: if you meet the reqs for the course you have a strong likelihood of getting an offer.

Do you have a citizenship that will let you work in the UK?

10

I dont think so, but would it be difficult to get one?

11

Oh yes indeed: your potential employer would have to demonstrate to the UK government that they can’t find anybody else with your qualifications to do the job in the UK- or the EU. A tough standard for a newly minted graduate.

12

There is another poster struggling with the same dilemma. While I was trying to find the specific rule, @Conformist1688 posted the following:

So even if Cambridge didn’t say a word, when you apply through UCAS, you will have to sign that declaration.

13

Hello everyone! I have self-studied for a lot of my scores and I received some negative scores such as a 2 on AP macroeconomics, a 1 on AP Psychology; yet, my 5s were also self studied. Could UK colleges look past my detrimental scores if my recommender states that I self studied them?

14

Lots of people self-study- in and of itself, that won’t do anything except show interest. And, as you did very well in some self-studies and not well in others, I’m not sure what conclusions they would draw.

In feedback to UK students I have seen tutors say that if the marks are in irrelevant subjects (a Math applicant gets a low mark in History, for example) and there are enough high marks in the relevant subjects, the low ones can be overlooked. A 2 in the subject that you are applying to study (even though the UK unis don’t rate the Econ APs very highly!) is more problematic.

15

Possibly, as you obviously didn’t have the benefit of proper tuition. If you’re taking macro again in school next year, as you mention in your first post, and retaking the exam, doing well in that will take care of the earlier poor score.

16

Hello again everyone, Im still tailoring my college list and I was wondering how I would fare for the university of Warwick as they allow applicants to take a mix of AP tests and subject tests for the economics course?

17

Your choices, Cambridge, UCL, Warwick are all wildly different from each other, real extremes. Do you know what type of environment you want to be in?

18

Well I really admire the environments at each of those schools and I am just wondering which of them I have a likely shot of getting into! Any advice would be further appreciated.