I’m a high school senior and I’m curious to see if my expectations are too high/too low for the universities I’m applying to.
AP Scores:
AP World History: 5
AP US History: 5
AP English Language: 5
AP French Language: 5
I’m taking AP US Government, AP Macroeconomics, AP English
Literature, and AP European History this year. (Also do I have to have my recommender predict these grades? Please let me know if you understand the grade predicting system.)
SAT score: 1300 (I hate this; can I choose not to submit it?)
GPA: 3.91 unweighted, 4.89 weighted
Class rank: 45/852 (top 5%)
Relevant extracurriculars:
Model UN
French club (I’m the club president this year)
Applying to:
University of Glasgow (International Relations & Social/Public Policy)
Queen’s University Belfast (French and International Relations)
University of London Institute in Paris (International Politics with French)
Stirling University (International Politics and French)
University of Kent (International Politics and French)
Questions:
Would I be rejected by any of these universities even though I already surpass the entry requirements because of my AP scores?
I’m not super interested in Stirling or Kent, but they have my course, are in a nice location, have lower tuition, and are my “safety” schools on UCAS. Would I be safe replacing them with LSE, Bath, or Bristol (would be more interested in but I don’t want to be rejected everywhere lol)
Will my SAT score hurt me if I have to submit it? Because my AP scores are good, but my SAT… anyways…
Stirling is a cool university so keep it as your safety (you only need 1 because if you’re rejected at all 5 you’ll be able to add a new safety).
Look into the Liberal Arts “course” at Queen’s Belfast.
International Politics is very good there with a special area of strength in terms of conflict, intelligence, etc. Liberal Arts allows you to customize your studies while including International Politics&French. Either program is good and you’re likely to get in.
UGlasgow is a reach but your 5’s in relevant subjects will help so you stand a good chance. What about adding UEdinburgh, replacing UKent (especially since you’re not especially excited about it)? Both would be your reaches.
What about SciencesPo ? (Application is outside Ucas)
The obvious choices would be Reims (North America minor) plus either Le Havre (Asia Pacific minor) or Menton (Middle Eastern minor)
THANK YOU! Edinburgh would be a dream, but I’ve ruled it out due to the cost— Glasgow offers great scholarships for international applicants, whereas Edinburgh does not (as far as I know). And thanks for your advice about QUB! I’ll look into SciencesPo while I’m at it too; my only hesitancy would be doing a degree entirely in French. I’ve certainly excelled in French in high school, but full immersion at a French university would be particularly challenging. Thanks again for your response, it’s very helpful.
The programs that I listed are taught entirely in English for the core courses, with mandatory intensive French classes the 1st year and “politics-related French classes” your 2nd year. Obviously a good command of French is required (B1=AP, “independent” - Other levels: B2= advanced - C1= Expert. C2 is Expert/professional, which only academics and translators can hope to achieve.)
Oh ok! I didn’t realize that SciencesPo taught in English. I’ll certainly look into that, and Aberdeen as well.
On a side note, I have a two specific questions about UCAS. I don’t know if you’ll have an answer, but thought I’d throw them out there.
Do I need to enter “high school diploma” under qualifications? If so, how do I add my GPA and my grades in each class? I’ve heard conflicting responses; some people have said UK universities don’t care about GPA or grades in classes besides AP and SAT scores, and will ask for my transcript if they want it. Others have said to add each class I’ve taken since 9th grade as a module under the high school diploma qualification. This seems rather tedious and unnecessary, though. But I don’t want to not put my high school class grades if the universities want to see them.
I’ve heard some people say that once a referee on UCAS finishes their reference letter, it’s impossible to make adjustments to the personal statement or other details of the application. This worries me as I have not finished my personal statement or otherwise finalized my application, so I’d have to rush these things in order to give my referee adequate time to write my application and not miss the deadline. Do you know if this is true?
Qualifications = national exams - you enter “US high school diploma” as the general system but then you’d enter your AP (subject and score) with the date of the result as well as your current APs with “pending”.
I’m not sure wrt changing the statement after your recommender has sent their recommendation - you must complete your statement and send everything before Jan 15, and your recommender has till Jan 15 too. Your statement is different from the commonapp essay and is sent to all universities so it should detail how you’re qualified for the subject you chose. imho it’s not as hard to write as the commonapp essay.
Sciences Po doesn’t teach in English except for the 3 specific programs (“minors”) I listed and for the dual programs with the US/UK/Canada. You must apply to 2 minors or 1 minor and 1 dual program. Then they decide if they send you to Reims, Le Havre, or Menton. In your case, Reims would make the most sense. So it would be logical for you to apply to Reims (French/North American relations) as well as one of the above dual degree programs, UCL’s being the closest to your interest in the UK.
