<p>I am currently studying in the US, but I am a EU member. </p>
<p>SAT: 2300
GPA: 3.95 UW/4.56 W
Rigor of classes: Hardest possible; 12 APs total
Top 5% of ~115 students
Private College Prep School (attend on a scholarship)</p>
<p>Despite being part of the bests schools in the world Oxford and Cambridge actually have a high undergraduate acceptance rate, it is altough mostly based on your career path. Their rates for each concentration of study are actually posted in their website (idk about Cambridge, but Oxford does). They clearly state that they don’t care about EC’s they just want to know your academics, what really matters to them alot are SAT and AP/IB scores, so that should be in my opinion what you should focus the most if you want to apply to those UK schools, unlike US schools they are mostly focus on purely academic and scholarly things.</p>
<p>You have a great chance of getting accepted to Oxford or Cambridge! Your GPA and SAT are great, and you have a rigorous course load. Just be sure to pay attention to your essays and recommendation letters. What are your extra circular activities?</p>
<p>Your SAT score is very solid- I think with your class rank and EC’s, we can get a better picture of your chances, however.</p>
<p>Take what I say with a grain of salt though, I am only 16 and a rising senior.</p>
<p>By the way, could you chance me back? I would really appreciate it! ^_^</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1523385-chances-hypsm-ivies-will-chance-back-d.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1523385-chances-hypsm-ivies-will-chance-back-d.html</a></p>
<p>^I didn’t list them because I though univeristies in England don’t really care about ECs. But I here’s my list, and I also included awards: </p>
<p>I am a European Union member by the way, although I’m not sure if that will aid me any. </p>
<p>Awards:
Questbridge
Intel ISEF Semifinalist
National Merit Scholar Semifinalist
AP Scholar with Distinction
Spanish National Exam Honorable Mention (3 times)
3 awards at major domestic Model UN Conferences
AIME Qualifier
Hoping to get USABO</p>
<p>ECs:
-President of Amnesty International
-Vice President of Model UN
- President of a community service club
-Soccer (4 years club/3 years school)
-Tutor little kids at a church
-Kumon tutor
-Created an app which spreads awarenesss about global issues. It went into the App Store
-Started a non for profit organization that helps reduce poverty and provides items to impoverished families (Poverty is a major issue in my state)
-Started an organization through which a group of students, including me as the leader, go around schools that have failing and academically lagging students and we use new teaching methods through the Internet. We teach in supplement to what the teacher will teach (Education is also a major issue in my state)
-Co-coach for a Church League Soccer Team
-Assisted the librarian in reading to toddlers at the public library
-Quiz Bowl
-Volunteer at a Univeristy on International Relations</p>
<p>Research/Passion:
-Volunteer at a breast cancer NGO
-Volunteer at annual breast cancer marathon
-Attended summer camp on medicine
-Research at a breast cancer research lab
-Trying to get as an author on a publication
-Founder and President of Breast Cancer Club</p>
<p>You definitely have a great chance. Your EC’s are great and show your passion. Good Luck!!! <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1524730-chance-me-duke-emory-northwestern-uchicago-i-shall-chance-you-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1524730-chance-me-duke-emory-northwestern-uchicago-i-shall-chance-you-back.html</a></p>
<p>I think you have a very good chance. They will want 5s on the APs, but the good news is with so many already if you’re accepted it would probably be unconditional. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Chance me back? Also applying to Oxford.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1524667-chance-me-georgetown-sfs-stanford-other-schools-please.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1524667-chance-me-georgetown-sfs-stanford-other-schools-please.html</a></p>
<p>Hi Achilles09, what do you want to study at Cam or Oxford? If you list your specific AP scores I can more accurately chance you for Oxbridge (I’m going into my second year at Cambridge now). Also you were right, Oxbridge doesn’t care about your EC’s–unless they relate to your major. So, again, what do you want to study?</p>
<p>I thought you were a sophomore.</p>
<p>@uscamstudent: I want to major in Biology. I have five 5’s and one 4 (I took this Freshman year). Next year I’ll take maybe 3 more AP exams. </p>
<p>@IWillKillForMIT: No, I am a currently a Junior going into Senior year. My friend discovered this site and since he didn’t have a computer or mobile phone, he wanted to use my phone to ask some questions, and he was a Sophomore. So I created this account for him so that he could use it. And then because of him, I got hooked onto this site and started to use it myself.</p>
<p>Okay great, which APs? They really only care about scores in RELATED subjects. For studying Bio, this means Biology (obviously), Chemistry, Physics, Calc, Stats…that kind of thing. Basically, they won’t care if you took every AP History and got 5’s on all…you may not even recieve and interview unless at least some 5’s are in related subjects. </p>
<p>As for your E.C.'s, they won’t care about any except the breast cancer stuff and the research. When you’re writing your UCAS personal statement, this sort of thing should really be emphasized. Maybe mention your other EC’s if you’ve got extra space but don’t spend too much time. </p>
<p>Oh and impressionistic was quite mistaken. I know all 6 of the Americans who were admitted to Cam my year (I’m an international officer) and NONE had unconditional offers (even though I had 6 5’s and the rest had between 4-5). </p>
<p>Regarding being an EU member-no help, don’t even mention it. Tuition stuff is all based on where your family lived for the past 3 years and where taxes are paid (one my friends has dual citizenship and did years of school in the UK but doesn’t get any tuition breaks bc her dad pays taxes abroad). </p>
<p>One more thing-take a rigorous course load senior year. They really expect to see that. If your course load is too light, they get cranky (UK students have their hardest year right before Uni, that’s how they feel it should be). It also gives you more leeway when they give you a conditional offer (which you’ll probably get). I had to get two 5’s but was taking 5 AP’s so I had room for error. If you’re only taking 3 APs, it’s entirely possible they’ll ask for 5’s on all 3, making it a pretty hard task. Even if you have to work a bit harder senior year, I’d definitely recommend taking at least 4 AP’s (remember Econ counts for 2 if you haven’t taken that one yet!). </p>
<p>Ah sorry okay-actually last thing. Do you know what college you want to study at? I know the website says all sorts of things about the colleges all being quite similar, the pool system, yada yada yada. The truth of the matter is college choice can have a significant effect. Obviously colleges like Trintiy and Kings are more well known and, therefore, harder to get into (well this actually depends on what you’re studying but still). Check out the student room (UK version of college confidential kinda) or feel free to message me about what colleges are known for what. Also remeber you can only apply to one, Oxford OR Cambridge (for biology, definitely Cambridge is better, Oxford is arguably not even number 2 or 3).</p>
<p>What really matters is your interview and aptitude test. Trust me.</p>
<p>Your scores and grades will qualify you for the written test phase so work on it. The interview will be focused on academics and they might ask you things on your personal statement.</p>
<p>Also, the personal statement should be academic too, unlike college essays in US.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help. Is my SAT fine or should I improve? Also, I will be able to increase my UW GPA by the end of next year.</p>
<p>Hi Achilles09. Okay I tried to respond to your PM but apparently you can only PM if you have 15 or more posts or something? Anyway it deleted my very long answer so here is the shorter version. </p>
<p>Your AP’s are great, your course load for next year should be just fine. Econ counts for 2 because it’s 2 seperate AP tests (Macro and Micro). So for one course you can get two 5’s. </p>
<p>SAT: Yup, totally fine. What was your math score specifically (the higher the better if you want to do Science at Cam). </p>
<p>ACT: I’m not sure if they even ask for it. It’s really not a big deal to them. 33 is good, maybe retake if it’s not too much trouble? (I was 35). </p>
<p>ECs: Definitely include your breast cancer charity stuff, shows a deeper interest in your subject (always a good thing). </p>
<p>About Finances: this is tricky for the UK. A lot of people will tell you that the UK has no financial aid for internationals-this is NOT true. I’m not sure whether you would be charged as an EU or overseas student. If you can get EU status, definitely try to (way cheaper, 9000 pounds/year vs 27000/year). If you’re classed as an overseas student, there’s a few sources of funding available.
- Cambridge Overseas Trust-created just for this situation. It’s privately funded (the largest doner is HRH Prince Charles) and provides partial and some full scholarships for overseas students. I have a 9000 pound/year scholarship from them. Applying is very easy. Once you get an offer, you simply write a page or so on why you need the funding, explain the circumstance, and they come back with an offer. Unfortunately their funding is not unlimited (9000/year is quite a big one although they DO offer some full scholarships), which brings us to…
- US Student Loans-I know, they suck. But I decided that it was worth it to me to go live, study, and experience an amazing school abroad. So yes, I’ll graduate in debt but I think it’s worth it. This is just me though, obviously different for everyone.
- The college-Some colleges are richer than others. The richest is Trinity followed by Saint John’s. Go on their sites (and those of other colleges) and look at their Finance sections. They definitely offer some scholarships. Also look for ones specifically targeting Americans/Overseas students/Whatever you’re going to study (see below). If you’re not sure or need more help, feel free to email the admissions person at the college. Tell them your circumstance, that you want to apply but are afraid you won’t be able to afford it. Say you know you can apply to the Trust but just in case they can’t cover you enough, are there other scholarships/help available to students in your circumstance. Despite what some other people on CC seem to think, Cambridge genuinely wants everyone qualified to be able to come, even if you can’t afford it. This could have a significant affect on what college you apply to (Downing, for instance, is quite well known for NatSci but has like, no money, so maybe not the best choice). </p>
<p>Your Major: Okay this is another hard one. Premed doesn’t exist in the UK. UK students apply to be doctors at this stage (right after their equivalent of High School). They go into a Medicine program which is 3 years (maybe 4, not 100% sure) and then reapply/apply to a different school to continue their course for another 3/4 years. Afterwards, they’re basically ready to be doctors (okay well they have residencies and stuff but basically). They don’t have the MCAT. What you need to do is find out what courses you need to take to be ready for the MCAT. Ask a doctor or friend in Med school what they needed. Then you have to compare that to what Cam offers. It may be the the first part of becoming a doctor (that 3/4 year course) will get to prepared. It may not.
Biology- At Cam biology is part of Natural Sciences (NatSci). As a NatSci, your first year starts out fairly general (Chemistry, Biology or Physics, Math, and other course). As you progress, it gets more and mroe specific. NatSci is usually a 4 year course, at the end of which you graduate with a Masters (most UK courses are three years, at the end of which you have a normal undergrad degree). You can take if for 3 years if you like and graduate without a masters. I do not know if doing BioNatSci would prepare you for the MCAT. Again, you’d have to check the courses. Once you know what you need to take to be prepared for the MCAT, maybe email department secretaries to see if that course structure is possible. Also hunt around the course’s site to see if you can find a course plan and check for yourself. </p>
<p>As for me, I’m going into my second year at Downing studying an arts subject (hence my limited knowledge on the science side of things-although I do have a lot of NatSci/Medic friends so I’m not totally blagging it). I had a 2300 SAT, 35 ACT, and six 5’s when I applied (finished HS having taken 13 APs). I had to fly to Cam to interview. </p>
<p>Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!</p>
<p>Oh sorry, another thing! The application deadline for Cam is MUCH earlier than most US universities (it’s mid Sept sometime, maybe the 15th-ish?). So get going on this stuff!</p>
<p>And as for which colleges, almost all ( if not all) colleges offer all courses! The only ones you should NOT look into are the mature student ones and the all female (if you’re a male!). </p>
<p>Most students pick a college based on a combination of what they like/how well known it is for that subject/how easy or hard it is to get into that college for that subject. For instance, Trinity is the best for Maths and thus much harder to get into for maths than any other college. For NatSci, Downing is good as is Churchill I believe. Neither is a very rich college. I’ll ask around and see which other ones and who’s well known for Medicine and get back to you ASAP.</p>
<p>Okay and survey says: </p>
<p>NatSci: Downing and Churchill
Medicine: Emma, Cauis (aka Gonville & Cauis for official stuff), Pembroke</p>
<p>this is obviously not comprehensive (and its biased, the sample size being people I know). One good sources is [Application</a> statistics](<a href=“Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge”>Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge). This is an interactive graph that lets you see applicants vs spots awarded. Obviously, the best colleges for a subject are the highest applicants/lowest acceptances ones. </p>
<p>Here’s something to keep in mind from one of my Cam friends: “You’d have to be out of your f***ing mind to apply to the best college for a subject. It’s hard enough to get in as is!”</p>
<p>So that’s a strategy a lot of people take. They balance how much they like the college vs how well known it is vs how hard it is to get in. Also keep in mind you could get pooled, in which case where you applied ceases to matter. Welcome to Cam: everything is freakin confusing.</p>
<p>@UsCamStudent: Thank you so much! That’s was EXTREMELY helpful! Couldn’t have asked for more!</p>
<p>No problem! Best of luck and let me know if you have any other questions (apparently my PM is now working so you can ask on that if you’d like).</p>
<p>You won’t be able to prepare for the MCAT or for med school requirements at a UK uni. The new requirements for the MCAT suppose that about 1/4th of your classes will be in social sciences and Humanities (psychology, sociology, a variety of perspectives, English, even foreign languages*) and part of the MCAT will test that along with neuroscience. Half the test will be biology, biochemistry, chemistry, etc, and half the test will be social sciences and behavior + critical reading/thinking/perspectives.</p>
<p>The single-subject focus in British universities will not fit with that.</p>
<p>In addition, some med schools require you to do one year in the US post international college (even if you are a US citizen). So you could do your 3-year degree in biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, or chemistry at Cambridge, then spend a year in the US taking 2 semesters of English, 2 semesters of sociology, 2 semesters of psychology, and the rest in social science/humanities.</p>
<ul>
<li>Top med schools like Harvard “recommend” you to show near fluency in one language</li>
</ul>
<p>MYOS1634 are the new MCAT requirements for any specific subjects or just critical thinking/writing/reading in general? Because Achilles09, trust me, you do pleeeenty of reading/writing/critical thinking a cam course, even if you don’t do classes with that in the name</p>