<p>I am a a american student and I have been thinking about applying to colleges outside of the United States. I am really considering OXford and Cambridge in the UK because they have great programs in the fields I am intrested in.
Has anyone gone through the application to either these schools?
Also any other information would be great:)</p>
<p>are you a junior or a senior? if you are a senior, you are too late for oxford & cambridge. if you are a junior, then i would definitely do some research, because the process is very different.</p>
<p>for one thing, you have to choose what you want to study before you apply. so unless you are sure what you want to study, this might not be the right option for you. also, they are very big on AP scores over SAT or SAT 2s. they say on their website that you should have a 1400+ on the SAT, and at least 3 SAT IIs at 700+. but they prefer that you have two or three APs at 4 or 5.</p>
<p>once you have all of that, you will need to have an interview. this is not a normal college interview where they ask you about your ECs, etc. You will be given something to read (this depends on the subject, but for most humanities...) and then you will meet with a tutor and they will ask you questions about it, and you will have to argue about it. They have two interview places in north america: one in new york and one in Vancouver, BC. </p>
<p>You should also be aware that the application is due earlier than normal applications (this year it was October 1). You will also have to file an application with UCAS (ucas.co.uk). this is kind of like the common app for UK schools. You may also have to send in written work, but this depends on the college. there are also tests required for some subjects like law, history, medicine, etc. </p>
<p>Once you have completed all of this, you will find out in late december whether or not you have been given an offer. there are two kinds of offers: unconditional and conditional. most UK students will be given conditional offers based on their A-levels (which do not come out til spring). a conditional offer for US students is usually certain scores on AP exams. however, a girl in my class was given an unconditional offer, so i think it is probably a little more common in the US because there are no additional tests required. </p>
<p>most of this information is available on their website, or go to "the student room.com" (take out the spaces), which is like CC for the UK. there will be LOTS of information there.</p>
<p>I seriously, seriously considered applying to UK schools (my list was Cambridge, Durham, Warwick, Bristol, and Exeter), didn't actually decide not to apply until August - which is pretty late in the game, as the Cambridge/Oxford app deadline is in October and I tend to plan way far in advance. I filled out the UCAS form but didn't actually submit it. I'm actually having second thoughts now about not applying...but as far as advise goes:</p>
<p>You can apply to Oxford OR Cambridge, but not both.
You can apply to a max of 6 UK universities through UCAS.</p>
<p>It is pretty hard to apply to both UK and US universities - that was what did it for me in the end I think. UK unis will make you conditional offers, that is, "If you get 5's on your 3 AP tests, then you're in." You choose two of your offers, a firm (your first choice) and an insurance (like a safety, in case you don't make the grades for your firm). So you don't know for sure where you're going until you get your scores back the summer after senior year - by which time you will have already had to commit to a college in the US, unless you plan to go to your insurance.</p>
<p>If you need financial aid don't apply - there is no FA and scholarships for internationals are incredibly rare. It's still cheaper than a private US college.</p>
<p>If you aren't absolutely sure what you want to study, don't apply. Switching courses is pretty much as hard as transferring between universities. You can't just decide you don't like your subject.</p>
<p>If you want to study science, the US may be better because universities here have much much larger endowments and $$ for state of the art facilities.</p>
<p>Also, check out the<em>student</em>room.co.uk (take out the *'s) - it's like a British CC. I lurked there for a long time and posted for a while, most helpful. Americans going to UK unis is a topic that comes up pretty often there so do a search.</p>
<p>oops yeah it is the student room.co.uk not .com</p>
<p>as you can see, CC blocks it :P</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice and the info!!!!!
I am a sophmore (i know I should'nt do threads like this,blah blah) but i am seriously considering these two school proabably Oxford over Cambridge because I want to be an archealogist and OXford has a better reputation in that field. I just want to decide what I want to do now and then work towards that goal. I guess I am just an average student/person compared to everyone else on CC and have no shot but I think if I set a high goal for myself I might make it to a dream school like Oxford.
Thanks for the info but I'll defienetly need to do more resarch amd work harder in school</p>