<p>Hi, I was wondering if anyone could answer my questions about the PPE program.
A little about my application:</p>
<p>My test scores:
I have a 36 ACT. If my SAT score isn't as good, do I have to turn it in as well, or can I solely submit my ACT score?</p>
<p>European History (5)
Biology (5)
Chemistry (5)
Calculus BC (5)
US History (5)
Lang & Comp (5)</p>
<p>SAT II Chemistry (800)
SAT II Math II (800)
SAT II US History (730)</p>
<p>If I were to apply to PPE, I would not submit any of the science scores, but I would submit everything else (it says that a background in history and math is good to have). This year, I'm taking AP Macro, AP Psych, AP Spanish Lit, and AP Environmental Science - which of those should I include?</p>
<p>Additionally, I live in Illinois. Would I have to fly out to another state to take the TSA or could I arrange to take it at my school on November 6 if we could get a proctor and a room?</p>
<p>I'm also applying to UCL for sure - not sure about the other slots. Additionally, I'm applying to several U.S. universities.</p>
<p>Any general advice would also be much appreciated, including tips for preparing for the TSA, interview, or recommended readings!</p>
<p>I know very little about US qualifications so I will leave it for someone else to advise you on that front, but I donât understand why youâre not intending to submit all of your grades? Some of your APs are not strictly relevant but I canât think of any reason to omit them. British students are obliged to enter all of their grades, I donât know if the same rule applies to international applicants but youâd be better off submitting them than not in my opinion.</p>
<p>Visit the the student room for advice on the TSA, interviews, recommended reading, and the Oxford application process in general. Very few people on this form will be able to give you accurate information, especially with regard to PPE.</p>
<p>As Nordicblue says, you are required to submit all your scores and planned tests. Obviously, nobody will know if you cheat, but why would you want to? from a practical point of view it increases your odds of getting an unconditional offer. Although the website says that you only need 3 AP scores, I donât know any American who has gotten an offer with just 3. As for the SAT, is your score over 2100? If so, donât worry about it not being 2400. </p>
<p>For the TSA your school can register as a test site- there are some basic instructions on the website. If you have a moderately helpful college counselor itâs not that hard (though I would suggest pre-reading the info).</p>
<p>The UCAS website has recently been revamped and is much clearer, with a good help section for internationals.</p>
<p>Finally, again echoing nordicblue, get thee to the student room. You will find threads on Americans applying to college in the UK, PPE, Oxford applicants for 2014 (the year you are planning to enter, not finish), and much more.</p>
<p>A final note: PPE is the course to which the vast majority of Americans apply (not sure why- because it is famous, perhaps, or because with three subjects it doesnât seem as narrow a course to US eyes). You might spend some time thinking, from an intellectual perspective, about why this course. In many of the joint honours courses interviewees are asked if they would accept an offer from one part of the course: what would you say if a tutor from Phil or Econ asked if you would accept an offer to read just their subject? (there is no pure Pol). Do have evidence (direct or indirect) in your out of school reading and activities that you have a substantive interest in all three parts? Have you thought about why PPE, not Econ + Management, or History + Politics, or some other combo? At the very least, some focused thinking on this will help you write your personal statement, and might help you in an interview.</p>
<p>For Cambridge at least Iâm 99% certain we had to submit ALL our marks (or they could rescind acceptance if they found out). Having extra fives will definitely not hurt you, especially for a subject like PPE which is rather broad. </p>
<p>Not sure about at Oxford, for Cam I had to fly to the UK for my interview which I would highly recommend doing, Iâve heard many a Skype interview horror story. If this isnât financially feasible, well a) why are you applying to Oxford? and b) you can always ask the college youâre applying to. Colleges tend to have extra money floating around (even the poorer ones have hardships funds and such) and may be able to help out with costs. </p>
<p>I didnât have to take the TSA, I would email admissions for the college youâre applying to directly. </p>
<p>Also, Iâm from IL! What a strange little world. Feel free to PM me with any other questions!</p>
<p>@collegemom3717: If PPE is the course to which most American students apply, is it far more difficult to get into? My prospectus lists an acceptance rate of ~15%, but does that make it far diminished for US students?</p>
<p>emeral, My impression is that the number of American students applying for PPE does not change the odds of a specific American student being accepted, at least at the current number of applicants. </p>
<p>That being said - this is a question that would be very difficult for anyone other than an Oxford Admissions Tutor to answer. My guess is that if anything, the answer might vary by college.</p>
<p>My point is - donât worry about the ratios. Focus on your qualifications. You have a great set of AP and SAT grades. If you can do well on the TSA you will most likely get an interview.</p>
<p>Pnly the relevant APs will be considered in tes of admissions croteria, but you have to show everything.</p>
<p>The acceptance rates are even less useful for UK schools than for US, so donât either count on them or be discouraged by them. </p>
<p>There are a lot of nuances in answering your question about US PPE applicants, but the most practical answer is that itâs like when a lot of people from your secondary school apply to the same competitive uni: for better or worse, it gives the uni more direct points of comparison. And the reality is that even though there is no set number, there are only so many Americans Oxford is going to take, same as there are only so many students from your school that HYP are going to take. Distinguishing yourself from the crowd is key.</p>
<p>I read somewhere that you need a minimum TSA score to get an interview - that the school takes a group of people based on their other standardized tests, and separates that group further through TSA scores. How should I best prepare for the TSA? For the MC, I plan on taking the offered practice tests on the TSA page, and for the essay portion, I plan on asking my philosophy teacher to discuss it with me (honestly one of the smartest people I know, I think heâll help quite a bit). Is there anything else that I should be doing?</p>
<p>Regarding the TSA - it sounds like you are doing the right things to prepare. The books mentioned on the Oxford website as prep for the TSA are more general knowledge and probably not directly helpful at this stage. The essay will probably only matter if you get to an interview and at that point itâs relevance depends on the college and will not be known to you.</p>
<p>One piece of advice on the TSA. On occasion there have been questions that assume cultural knowledge that you may not have. My suggestion is to try to recognize this when sorting out the problem. Donât allow yourself to get stuck or to spend too much time on that question as most students have a tough time completing the MC section. If you feel that one or more questions put you at a disadvantage you might make a note on your essay paper regarding what assumptions you made.</p>
<p>You have not mentioned your personal statement so my assumption is that you have this sorted. If there are other U.S. students reading this thread please understand that it is highly unlikely that you will be able to use any essay prepared for a US college or university application. The personal statement is a distinctive essay with a specific set of expectations. These expectations are best documented within The Student Room and within other UK university admissions websites.</p>
<p>Yeah, when I looked at the TSA practice questions it seemed as if at least a few questions were about aspects of British culture I knew nothing about⊠maybe itâll be different this year!</p>
<p>I plan on writing a dry, UK-style personal statement.</p>
<p>In your original post you asked about AP exams. Earlier comments referenced reporting AP scores that you have earned but not what to include within your predicted scores. </p>
<p>If this works within your schoolâs policy, my suggestion is to plan on taking only those AP exams in May 2014 that your school predicts you will earn a â5â in. As the year progresses you can reconsider as the College Board does not need to know earlier than January what tests will be administered at your school. Of course, I am assuming that AP Macro is a predicted 5.</p>
<p>My point is that you need at the most 2 or 3 AP scores as well as showing that you are not slacking off this year.</p>
<p>@UniDad, Yep, Iâm planning on taking Environmental Science, Macro, and Psychology next May - should be a cakewalk compared to last yearâs five My school accommodates whatever tests need to be taken - last year I know that one guy took the AP Japanese test, even though weâve never offered the course. </p>
<p>It was basically for that exact reason that I decided not to take the AP Spanish Lit exam, even though Iâm currently enrolled in the class; Spanish has always been a weak point for me (only briefly considered the Philosophy and Modern Languages course), and I doubt that taking that exam would help me in any way for meeting a possible Oxford offer.</p>
<p>I am not suggesting that all of the 450 pages are worth your time. However, Chapter 7 (pages 257 - 312) provides a great overview of the process from an insiderâs perspective and is worth a skim if you have the time.</p>
<p>The TL;DR version is this: Admissions tutors are focused on identifying students most likely to earn First class honours (1st) degrees (might be compared to Latin honors in a U.S. university). Students need to be considered âteachableâ - âbright and giftedâ is not a sufficient condition - âable and motivatedâ is. Tutors, like many people, are risk-averse. They want to feel confident in the ability of the students they are admitting. </p>
<p>Note: This paper describes the admissions process from 10 years ago. Some of the overseas interviews have been replaced by Skype. My guess is that Skype interviews address many but not all of the disadvantages overseas (non-EU) applicants face. See pages 301 - 303 for a description of how overseas applicants fare.</p>
<p>@UniDad: Wow, thanks! Iâll definitely be taking a look at that. I know that the application process for PPE was different too - the TSA wasnât administered, and they had to submit written works. Either way, I expect Iâll learn a lot from it.</p>
<p>Iâve done a lot of research on it because I think that Oxford is genuinely the place where I want to go; before my friend let me on about the process, I was really approaching college applications with a lackadaisical attitude, and I had the mentality that I would âend up somewhere somehowâ. But after hearing about Oxford, Iâm really gearing up to try the hardest that I have at anything in my life.</p>
<p>Having my parents express support is really excellent as well.</p>
<p>In addition to everyone being different for you when applying to universities in the UK, it is also different for your school. Reference letters for the UCAS/Oxford application are described in the teacherâs e-guide on this page:</p>
<p>I would not get too worked up about this. Oxford expects that US references will be glowing and as a result does not pay too much attention unless there are some problems/issues that are included.</p>
<p>Thank you! This is really nice, since my schoolâs never had a UCAS applicant of any kind and my counselor is really supportive but doesnât really know the ins and outs of it.</p>
My school accommodates whatever tests need to be taken - last year I know that one guy took the AP Japanese test, even though weâve never offered the course. </p>