<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm slightly worried about my future university options in the U.S due to my GCSE predictions.</p>
<p>I predict that my GCSE results will be - A*AAAABBBBCC</p>
<p>And for my AS Levels I predict - AABB</p>
<p>So do you think that I would be able to get into universities such as -
UCLA
UC Berkeley
USC
NYU
Columbia
Cornell
Northwestern
Michigan</p>
<p>Which country are you from? Your GCSE score is way too low for Michigan, but this is only one factor.</p>
<p>I’m Italian, do you think doing well in my A levels will increase my chances?</p>
<p>The grades above are different when converted to american grades.</p>
<p>They would be -</p>
<p>5 A’s
4 A-
2 B’s</p>
<p>marcoh, as GoBlue81 said, the schools on your list are all very selective. Most successful applicants from the British system to those schools have a majority of A*s with a couple of As and perhaps one or two Bs. </p>
<p>Of course, that is not to say you won’t get in. Your essays, ECs, SATs, SAT IIs, AS results and predicted A level results will all weigh in quite heavily. But, to be on the safe side, try to convert a couple of those As in to A*s, a couple of Bs in to As and try not to have any Cs.</p>
<p>I’ll do my best do get higher grades. </p>
<p>Thanks a lot for your help</p>
<p>You have a few more weeks…time to pull your socks up! ;)</p>
<p>Definitely :)</p>
<p>Out of the Universities above, which do you think would be a serious option to pursue?</p>
<p>Assuming that I improve my GCSE’s and do well in my A levels and SATs and SAT IIs</p>
<p>Thanks again</p>
<p>And also do you think taking summer courses would help?</p>
<p>Cal (for out-of-state students), Columbia and Cornell are always going to be reaches, regardless of the applicant’s credentials. We are talking a 20% chance of admission at best. Michigan, NYU, UCLA and USC are reasonable reaches, assuming you do well in all of the points I mentioned above (A<em>A</em>A* AAAAA BBB on your GCSEs, AAAA on your ASs, AAAB predictions on your A Level, 2000+ on the SAT, 750+ on each SAT II, strong essays, good ECs etc…). Northwestern is slightly easier than the first group of schools and slightly harder than the second group of schools.</p>
<p>As for summer school, if you take a couple of challenging college-level courses (such Phsyics, Calculus, Microeconomics etc…) with college students at a good university (say Cornell or Harvard) and get As, it can certainly enhance your chances. Under such circumstances, you may even get one of your professors to recommend you. However, taking elementary summer classes designed for high school students won’t impress much.</p>
<p>Ok, I was planning on taking summer courses; mainly in economics. </p>
<p>Regarding EC’s, are there any specific ones which impress Universities?
I’m planning on doing more charity work and gather some extra work experience. I know this wont be enough bit i’m hoping it will help.</p>
<p>Do you think it would be a good idea to go to a decent university for undergad and then attempt to transfer for postgrad to a better university?</p>
<p>And one last thing, what are the general academic requirements to get into a university like UCLA or NYU?</p>
<p>If you intend on majoring in Economics, I recommend you take Calculus as a summer course, along with A Level Mathematics and perhaps even Further Mathematics.</p>
<p>Universities do not care what ECs you pursue as long as you are passionate about them and do well in them. Leadership roles always impress, so if you can start a club or be elected captain of a team, all the better. Do not focus on more than 2 or 3 ECs.</p>
<p>You do not transfer to a graduate school, you apply from scratch. Obviously, going to an excellent graduate school is ideal, but approach your selection of undergraduate institutions under the assumption that you are not going to go to graduate school. In other words, try to get into the best university and program that you can.</p>
<p>The general academic requirements for UCLA and NYU are pretty straight forward and no different from the academic “requirements” of any other university on your list; Far more As than Bs, no Cs, 2000+ on the SAT (over 700 on the Math), 750+ on the two SAT IIs (Mathematics IIC and one other), strong essays etc…</p>
<p>You still have 18 months before you apply two universities, so do not sweat it too much. Try to get as many As as possible in school. Like I said, too many 4 Bs and 2 Cs on your GCSEs will pretty much disqualify you from any of the universities on your list. 3.3 students just don’t get into such universities. Get those GCSEs out of the way and worry about everything else after summer.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>With those GCSEs, here are your chances:</p>
<p>UCLA - in. (desperate for OOS tuition)
UC Berkeley - maybe.
USC - in.
NYU - in
Columbia - LOL denied! [6.9% this year - you’re just throwing your money down the drain by applying here tbh]
Cornell - denied to maybe [denied from CAS and COE, maybe at CALS and ILR]
Northwestern - maybe.
Michigan - no to maybe [depends on the program]</p>
<p>EDIT: Of course a lot more goes into your application than just your GCSE grades, so you definitely have a chance to redeem yourself and seriously aim for some of your more realistic reaches.</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>For Cornell, what do you mean my CAS, COE, CALS and ILR</p>
<p>I’m sorry for the stupid question.</p>
<p>CAS = College of Arts and Science
COE = College of Engineering
CALS = College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
ILR = Industrial and Labor Relations</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback.</p>
<p>What makes you think that AAB would be good enough for Columbia if it’s not good enough for Oxbridge? You need to do better than that if you’re serious about getting into a university with an acceptance rate of 7%.</p>
<p>I was only asking, plus universities in the U.S don’t base their admissions on GCSE and A levels alone. There are several elements which they use such as SAT I and SAT II results, as well as EC’s.</p>
<p>^ True. That’s why you still have plenty of opportunities to prove yourself. So, take advantage of everything that comes your way from here on out and get good grades (try to make sure you land those A’s/A*s). Do both and you’ll have a great shot at the most competitive colleges (HYPSM, Columbia, Penn, UChicago, Duke etc. even).</p>
<p>
Over here, Michigan gets lots of applicants with 6 to 10 A*'s in IGCSE each year. So they have plenty of choices from a score point of view.</p>
<p>Your predicted A-Level score will be more important than your GCSE scores. Good SAT/SAT Subject scores will help. And msot of these universities evaluate your application holistically. So if you have a special hook, it will compensate for your GCSE scores.</p>