<p>Hi everyone, </p>
<p>I'm a student in Berlin, Germany, who graduated a few days ago and is planning on applying to Oxford for law during my gap year. I'm doing an internship at a law firm in Berlin during my application process. </p>
<p>I just got my AP scores, and to my disappointment, I got three 5s and one 4. I was hoping to get four 5s, so that I can apply to Oxford this October with eight 5s (the other four 5s being my scores from my junior year). I know Oxford claims on its website that all students with more than three AP 5s will be considered for a spot, I was under the impression that most people who get in have on average 10 AP 5s. Am I being stupid for worrying that my seven 5s won't be enough to have the admissions officers consider me? Fyi, I'm going to be taking three or four APs next year while doing my internship. </p>
<p>I'm aware that AP scores are just one aspect to a wide variety of factors UK universities evaluate in candidates, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask how many AP 5s successful Oxford applicants actually have on average. </p>
<p>Thanks in advance for your help!</p>
<p>What subject is the 4 in? if it is Chemistry, for example, it is completely irrelevant and won’t matter. Also, 10 APs is not that common and the number of AP 5’s varies a lot by subject- because the only ones that are considered are those that are some way relevant. So, if you are applying for Law, relevant ones might be in English, History, perhaps Government or Latin, but not any of the maths or sciences.</p>
<p>If you are from Germany, I suspect you will be considered more in line with EU applicants who would not be taking APs at all?</p>
<p>“Germany Abitur with a total mark between 1.0 and 1.5 with scores of between 13 and 15 in individual subjects.”</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/international_applicants/international_qualifications/[/url]”>http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/international_applicants/international_qualifications/</a></p>
<p>@texaspg- I did not take the German Abitur. My school is a German-American school, so I opted for the High School Diploma option. That means I can only apply to Oxford with my AP scores and report card grades.
@collegemom3717- Unfortunately, the 4 is in English Lit 
I have a 5 in European History, US History, Comparative Government, Calculus AB, German, Biology, and Psychology. I was thinking of taking English Lit again along with a few other APs that may be considered relevant for law during my gap year, so I might get more of a chance of securing a conditional offer… How does that sound? Is it even possible for gap year students to send in additional AP scores?</p>
<p>Don’t forget that there is the LNAT- you might as well take that, and go ahead and apply. If you do really well on that, you have 3 relevant 5s (though Comp Gov doesn’t have the same weight as the 2 history courses) And that might be enough to get an offer of an interview. </p>
<p>You can do more APs during your gap year, and the scores can be part of your conditions- but you can only sit APs in May, so if you got an offer with conditions you wouldn’t be sure of your place until July. Also, what about English Lang instead of Lit?</p>
<p>Thanks, I think I will take more APs during my gap year and consider doing both Lang and Lit.
Also, do you know how much school grades/rankings influence Oxford’s decisions? I know they give more weight to AP scores, but I was this year’s valedictorian and I am very confident about my grades. If my teacher were to mention in his recommendation that I was first in the class and I submitted my report cards, would that boost my chances of securing an interview significantly or would it not make much difference?</p>
<p>Wouldn’t make any difference. Your teacher could put that you were first in your class in the recommendation, but they don’t look at grades- just national test scores, because there is too much variability in grading systems between teachers, never mind between schools or countries! The key is to get to an interview. Go spend some time on the student room website, looking at international student and Oxford threads. Good information there.</p>