<p>Hi I am applying for 2010 entry from the UK and would really appreciate if any current UK students could post a link to/put up their admission profiles. Mainly as American academic and extracurricular terminology is very confusing (and therefore a little difficult to compare my own to)! Thank you in advance!!! :)</p>
<p>I don’t know about current students but there’s definitely at least 2 Brits applying at the same time as you. Welcome to the club! I can’t give much advice because I’m in the same position as you are but I’ve been around here for a while and have picked up quite a bit of information so feel free to ask any questions and I’ll do my best to answer :)</p>
<p>Ah thanks for the advice! Are you applying with English qualifications then?? I was really just wondering about the academic specifics/what a UK student’s profile would look like… A-levels, GCSE grades etc. And also how the transcript, GPA and class rank equivalents work out exactly. </p>
<p>Have you taken the SAT subject tests? As I know that Yale says that you can substitute completed A-level grades for them but is this advisable? And do other top/ivy universities allow you to do this? Sorry for all the questions!!!</p>
<p>I am actually doing SATs but that’s because I did A Levels a few years ago and didn’t do fantastically. Are you applying straight from high school? Your A Levels can be substituted for SAT subject tests (Yale requires 2 but others, Harvard and Princeton included ask for 3) but I am fairly sure you still need the SAT I test regardless. Your best bet would be to look into all the places you’re interested in, it’ll say on their websites whether or not they will accept A Levels.</p>
<p>You don’t need to worry about GPA and all that stuff, on the Common Application there’s a section to invite your “counselor” (or… headteacher, head of 6th form, A Level tutor of some kind) to fill out the details of your grades, this is essentially your high school transcript. They can do that online or if they prefer, can print off the forms and mail them. You’ll need recommendations from 2 teachers (probably one rec from whoever you’re using as your counselor, and one from another teacher who has taught you for A Level).</p>
<p>As for grades, it depends really. Considering Yale, other Ivy schools, top Universities and LACs are the UK equivalents of places like Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick, UCL, Imperial, Durham, St Andrews, etc… you would need AAA or AAB for most of those. So you’ll need fairly good grades to consider the US equivalents. That said, the American colleges take a much more holistic approach to admissions. They take into account your essays, recommendations, your passion for whatever your extracurriculars are. So in that respect, you could technically afford to have slightly lower grades if you have an overall amazing application to back you up.</p>
<p>But do remember that there’s over 20,000 people applying to Yale. The acceptance rate is around 7%. And 10% of those are international. So if you don’t have good grades and don’t sell yourself adequately in your application, there’s going to be many thousands of people who do. So work hard on those A Levels and essays!</p>
<p>Hey thanks very much for all that information! Well basically a little bit about myself then…</p>
<ul>
<li>I have already completed my A-levels and so will be applying as GAP year student.</li>
<li>I haven’t taken the SAT I yet so can’t really comment due to my lack of scores. However, without meaning to sound full of myself in any way, I have taken and scored well in the UKcat medical admissions exam which seems quite similar?</li>
<li>I got AAB (Maths, Chemistry and Biology), although the B was only 475/600 so only 5 marks off. Do you think that will make a difference in the way they look at it? Also B for A /S history. </li>
<li>10A*s and 1A for GCSE.</li>
<li>Also I received an additional GCSE English Literature Top 5 mark award from AQA.</li>
<li>National Maths Challenge certificates (1 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze.</li>
<li>Duke of Edinburgh award: gold, silver and bronze completion.</li>
<li>County level representation in netball.</li>
</ul>
<p>Extracurricular activities include:
- Work experience in and around the hospital setting (around 250 hours).
- Volunteer work in a children’s nursery (around 200 hours).
- Volunteer work in a residential/nursing home (around 100 hours).
- Qualified youth counsellor in my school ACHE counselling scheme.
- My appointment as a Senior prefect in sixth form.
- Member of the school charity committee.
- Singing in various choirs and participation in musical productions.
- Additionally touring South Africa with my school choir, donating musical instruments to township children with the fundraising money raised.
- A long-standing commitment to netball since the age of 9, having played at school, local league and county level.
- And also, working in a local family-run shop for the last 4 years (but probably not woth mentioning).</p>
<p>Sorry to ramble on but thought it would be best to mention everything. And sorry if this seems rude but would you possibly mind giving your opinion on my chances?
I applied for medical school last year here in the UK and got into 3 out of 4 schools but later decided that it wasn’t a career I wanted to pursue - probably a huge waste I know. But I’m kind of hoping that the US schools may look at the applications in a similar way to medical admissions staff (with the whole holistic approach etc). Crazy notion?</p>
<p>Anyway, if you could give me any ideas either way I would really be so grateful.</p>
<p>Hey, thanks for all that, that does give a much clearer picture of you as an applicant. I will stress though that there is no way I or anyone can “chance” you. The thing is, you have GREAT grades (the B is fine). And you have good extracurricular activities. But if you take a look around any of the “chance me” threads for any top US college, and they’re all quite similar. You fall into that pool. Don’t get me wrong, that pool is very strong indeed. But because there’s SO many people with similar profiles, it’s really impossible to say who would get accepted and who wouldn’t. Use the essays as a blank canvas to paint the picture of you as a person, and not as a list of activities and grades. If they think you’re right for Yale, then you’ll get in.</p>
<p>Do apply to other places though… even if you don’t get accepted at Yale, you’re a strong applicant so I’d say you’d probably get in SOMEWHERE great. If financial aid isn’t an issue, you can definitely get a place at one of the top schools.</p>
<p>As for the medical admissions test you took, I very much doubt you could use that as a replacement for the SAT I. But I might be wrong on that one so do look into it further.</p>
<p>Thanks very much for the lengthy reply… and the encouragement 
I know that getting into any good school is a long shot but it’s worth applying, even if I’m not successful.</p>
<p>I’m just a bit worried as I’m way behind on the application front and feel extremely clueless about it all. My school careers guidance person doesn’t know anything about the US admissions system either, which could act as a problem. Do you think it’s worth hiring someone to help me with it all? Or do they simply charge a great deal of money for not a great deal? It’s definitely important to have someone who knows what they’re talking about for checking essays etc. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>P.S. I am kind of in need of financial aid, hence applying to the wealthier institutions.</p>
<p>To be honest I don’t think it’s worth it to pay for that. People here are happy to read essays and give feedback, and you’ll need to assign a teacher to fill out your school details anyway so they can always check your essay for you as well.</p>
<p>It’s really daunting at first being new to the whole application process, I originally planned to apply last year but just didn’t feel prepared enough so I took the extra time to find the colleges that I loved, sit SATs (though I’m still cutting it fine with that, oops) and learn more about the whole situation. I think the best way is just to browse the posts here and get all your information from there, much cheaper than one of those hired counselor people!</p>
<p>If you are only just deciding to apply to the US I would suggest that maybe it is worth applying next year instead, as then you’d have the time to really get a feel for the schools you’re interested in - I know that if I’d applied this time last year I’d have chosen the wrong colleges for me. But don’t take that as discouragement, I’m just speaking from personal experience.</p>
<p>Oh no not all, I appreciate the honesty! It’s a very good point though. And also thanks for the wake-up call about the tutors - of course it is SUCH w waste of money!! Thanks again for all the help and good luck with it all if I don’t speak to you before :)</p>