I am about to begin my sophomore year at the Hotchkiss School. For those of you who don’t know the school, it one of the top 10 boarding schools in the United States. I was thinking about applying a university in the UK, such as the University of Aberdeen, but I’m not quite sure of the requirements of such schools. Is there a particular set of exams I must pass, or are AP scores and SAT scores enough? Which AP courses should I take to fulfill the requirements, and what scores must I get? In what range should my GPA be?
Wow those fees are really low as are the entrance requirements paying for three years instead of four really helps. A four year degree for £41k ($65k) is very competitive. Aberdeen has some excellent courses especially oil industry related ones despite its quite low ranking.
Word of caution: UK universities tend not to include living costs in their fees list (not sure if this specifically applies to Aberdeen but this is the general rule). So things like rent and food is not included. Perhaps expect to add on an extra £10,000 per year?
Why would a Hotchkiss grad go to Aberdeen?! Especially one who is also looking at MIT. If you are a likely candidate for MIT, then you can also be looking at Cambridge or Imperial. Or Edinburgh, if you want to be in Scotland.
Other Russell Group school to look at might include U Edinburgh and Trinity College in Dublin.
Look at the requirements (different at each school) for International students, input your country and you’ll be able to see the requirements. Most UK schools, including Oxbridge, are highly numbers based. If you apply to more than one,
UCAS is the way to go. St. Andrews is on the Common App
Be sure to do your research on the very different study paths at UK schools.
Most follow a three-year, major-specific trajectory and require that a student be very self motivated.
Very unlike the University or Liberal Arts curriculum that US students are used to.
Absolutely. If you do a three year mathematics degree (for example) at most UK universities, then you are unlikely to take a class outside of the mathematics department during your three years. It is very very different to a U.S. Degree. Better for some students, and worse for others.
A Useful unbiased view for Americans looking at the UK or vice versa, is the nonprofit US/UK Fullbright Commission, established by treaty to promote educational exchange. They have good clear advice.
Most degrees in Scotland are 4 years long. What are you paying this crazily expensive boarding school for if they are unable to provide any advice on applying to college?