Chance me for St Andrew's, Edinburgh, and UCL. Could use a little advice...

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>I'm a student from the USA. I just finished my freshman year at a regionally well known university in Pennsylvania, but it's not where I want to spend the rest of my time in school--so I'm applying to UK schools as well. I am currently studying towards a BA in Russian along with a BS in Statistics. However, I'd like to switch over to either Economics or International Business instead of math.</p>

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<h2>General Info:</h2>

<p>White male from Pennsylvania, USA</p>

<p>16 years old</p>

<p>Starting sophomore year in university this spring</p>

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<h2>High School Info:</h2>

<p>Since I'm in college now I am guessing High School won't play a big role in admittance? I was homeschooled and I don't know how that is viewed in Great Britain. My GPA was good, something like 3.9 or so. I finished high school two years early as well so maybe that is a plus?</p>

<p>SAT: 2020 (740 CR, 640 M, 640 W) </p>

<p>Is my math score too low? I am considering taking the SAT again this January, along with the Math 2 subject test.</p>

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<h2>College Info:</h2>

<p>GPA: 3.657
Grades/Transcript: French 201 (A), French 202 (A), Computer Science 110 (A-), Macroeconomics 111 (A-), Statistics 121 (A), Linguistics 230 (A-), Russian Poetry 403 (A), Advanced Russian Grammar 301 (A), International Relations 213 (B+), Geology 101 (A), Calculus 1 (C+)</p>

<p>I'm really worried about the Calc grade. Will it have any bearing on whether or not I'm accepted? Should I take the Math level 2 SAT subject test to make up for it? In the spring I will take the following courses (not 100% set yet):</p>

<p>Microeconomics, Calculus 2, Statistics 2, Russian Drama, Advanced Oral Russian, Russian Politics</p>

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<h2>Recommendation Letter:</h2>

<p>I am good friends with the director of the Russian dept at my school. Would that be an acceptable rec letter?</p>

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<p>You have a lot of homework to do, and some choices to make. </p>

<p>Transferring is very uncommon in the UK- typically if people change they start over with their secondary school exam marks. If you want to transfer you need to contact each university and talk to them, but as you are changing subject it is unlikely that you will have anything to transfer. </p>

<p>If not a transfer, then you are applying as a normal undergraduate, in which case you need to submit your test scores. </p>

<p>The exception is UCL, which requires both a year of college <em>and</em> your high school test scores. The great thing about the UK system is that it is very straight forward. For example, UCL introduces its Economics degree like this:</p>

<p>"This degree, aimed at ambitious and mathematically capable students, provides a thorough grounding in economic theory, along with the technical tools, mathematics and statistics to assist in mastering the theory.</p>

<p>5,5,5,5,4 in five AP subjects, taken in the final two years of high school; High School Graduation Diploma; plus SAT I with a minimum score of 1950/2400 or an ACT of 29 in the Composite Score and 29 in the Combined English/Writing Score. In addition the successful completion of one year of study at a recognised US university, Community or Junior College is required, with an overall CGPA of 3.3/4.0 (equivalent to a 2.1)."</p>

<p>With one of the "5"s being in Calculus </p>

<p>St Andrew’s is generally seen as being the most US friendly of the UK universities- they just want an SAT over (I think) 1950- BUT for economics you will need to have some objective evidence that you are able for the math.</p>

<p>Be SURE to read the course descriptions very carefully: they are very detailed and very prescriptive. </p>

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<p>@collegemom3717 I apologize if you misunderstood me… I don’t want to transfer. I’m applying as a first year student. I started college in the US simply because I had finished HS and my parents did not want me leaving the nest at 16.</p>

<p>As far as the poor grade in Calculus, would it be acceptable if I took the SATII level 2 math exam in January and received a good score? Would that make up for the bad score this semester?</p>

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<p>As you are applying as a first year they won’t really care about your school grades- UK unis are all about standardized testing, because they see that as a level playing field. I think without the SAT II math you will have a hard time getting into any econ course, so yes- take it! but also be realistic with yourself: if you struggled with intro calculus are you going to be happy in a really math-y course like econ?</p>

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<p>@collegemom3717 I really would like to study economics/business… The poor calculus grade was influenced by outside factors (for example I had the flu on the day of the midterm, was working a minimum wage job late into the night–my grades went from low 70’s to mid 80’s almost immediately after I quit my job). It’s just hard to explain that on an application. I should have no problem on SAT subject tests however. Also, thank you for your prompt and helpful answers! Very much appreciated. :)</p>

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<p>Go have a look at the specific course descriptions. For example, at Edinburgh you can do Business & Economics or Management Science with Economics. You might think that these are small distinctions, but if you look under the “What you will study” tab, you will see that they are quite different:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/degrees?action=programme&section=whatStudy&code=NL11&cw_xml=index.php”>http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/degrees?action=programme&section=whatStudy&code=NL11&cw_xml=index.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/degrees?action=programme&section=whatStudy&code=L1N2&cw_xml=index.php”>http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/degrees?action=programme&section=whatStudy&code=L1N2&cw_xml=index.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>(there is more detail available if you fish around the website)</p>

<p>St Andrews is harder to get course details on, though it’s worth trying. You can apply for Econ & Management, Econ & Management Science, Management and Russian, and a bunch more.</p>

<p>Be aware that you can apply to St Andrews through the Common App OR UCAS, but for Edinburgh you have to apply through UCAS. With you UCAS you can apply to 5 COURSES. So If you apply to the two that I listed for Edinburgh and the 3 at St Andrews, that is your 5. Also, you write one essay (aka Personal Statement) that goes to everybody, in which you make a mature, thoughtful case for why you are a good fit for the course. </p>

<p>Still, pretty much everybody who comes on CC who applies to StAs gets in.</p>

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<p>@collegemom3717 So if I apply to St Andrew’s through the Common App, I can ‘cheat the system’ and still apply to five OTHER courses through UCAS? That might be helpful. I’m also curious to know why you would say that everybody who comes on CC to apply to StA’s gets in.</p>

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<p>re: common app v ucas- yes, you can do that. </p>

<p>I should have said that it <em>seems</em> that everybody who comes through gets in- of course, as in all cc type things, there is self-selection both ways: the people who come on tend to be more motivated, and people who are unsuccessful are less likely to come back. But…I think most of the other regular posters on the UK thread would agree that most of the US people who post here about StAs get offers. Some of the flintier amongst us credit it to the international fees US students generate, and there is almost certainly some amount of truth to that- how much, obviously we can’t know for certain. </p>

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<p>I’m interested as to why you’ve picked St A’s? It has a very different feel to both Edinburgh and UCL - St A’s is a tiny town dominated by the university (and golf course). </p>

<p>English/Welsh degree courses also have a different, more rigid, structure to Scottish degrees, which are usually more flexible. Make sure you know how this will impact on the courses you apply for.</p>