It seems like everyone is submitting AP exams to Oxbridge etc. I heard elsewhere that you can take them anywhere. Is that true? Thought they might be impressive to UK, US, and other schools. Also heard they were harder than UK A-levels.
Yes, you can. APs are accepted throughout the world and the UK is one of those countries who do accept them. But the UK has a different system. They only look into APs that are RELEVANT to the subject you are applying for. For example: Biology for Medicine, Calculus BC and the Econ exams for Economics, and so on so forth. And NO, A levels are much harder. For example, LSE requires AT LEAST 5 relevant AP exams (2econs=1 AP) for entry requirements. But for A-levels, they only require 3. That’s the difference.
I know A-levels are harder than AP exams, or at least cover more material in each exam. Also, in the US, students don’t specialize much, so usually have a bunch of “irrelevant” AP exams. I also heard that the Cambridge A-levels are harder than UK A-levels. Was wondering why top US students don’t try taking A-levels more.
Because they would be daft to do so unless they are in a school that teaches that syllabus- and US schools don’t.
The vast majority of US students apply to US colleges, who will still evaluate them on US metrics- and why would the few applying to UK universities make it harder on themselves by taking on a test whose curriculum is at material variance with what they are learning. There are also minor differences in how things are taught that can throw of test results even when you know the material (for example, the terms used in math are quite different, even though the underlying maths is the same- so you could know how to do X, but not recognize the words used in the test question). Not to mention that it is hugely difficult in practical terms: finding a place to take them for a start, as the assumption is that you take them through the school.
There is a lot of dispute as to which is ‘harder’- APs or A-levels (you can guess by geography who says which), but the reality is that they reflect different teaching approaches and I haven’t seen a difference in the relative level of knowledge preparedness by students going either direction (as opposed to being prepared for testing style differences).
Obviously, you would have to self study some, and there aren’t many test centers. However, if you could show Oxbridge/LSE or whatever A/A*s, it might make a stronger application. Might even be a novelty for top US schools. I was curious partly because I had a dream of studying, sitting for them, and applying to Oxford back when I was in school, but it probably wasn’t practical then.
If you are just looking for rigour then the IB diploma is pretty common in the USA and is very UK friendly, however you must get a really good score for (good) UK schools which means choosing a good IB program that has proven results. I cannot imagine that there is much to discuss about a 2 yr A level vs 1 yr AP. There is no way 4 A levels = 4 APs in the same subject. The US AP system allows students to acquire lots of APs over high school ( e.g. my soph’s year has kids taking 4 plus, including chem, bio,calc, physics, these kids graduate with the IBD AND 10 or so APs).
That wouldn’t be common for A levels in the UK.
The A level curriculum is under scrutiny even in the UK. There is talk of introducing the IBD instead but I suspect that comes up now and again. If the A level focus is too narrow even in the opinion of UK educators, then the AP collector might look pretty nifty.
The Cambridge International A-levels, are much harder than the UK ones. The UK ones have modules and coursework as opposed to the International ones which are more rigorous
Also note A Levels are taken at the end of Year 13 (12th grade), and so people apply without them. That’s why offers are conditional. I’d say it’s unnecessary to try and squeeze in A Levels before you apply to impress Oxbridge - that’s just not really a thing.