Chances for Oxford PPE?

I have scores 5 in AP Spanish, World, and American History, alongside a 720 and 800 for SAT Math II (took it twice), a 760 for Literature and 750 for US History.

I am also doing IB courses, which includes the recommended IB Math SL course for PPE, but I am not a Diploma candidate so I don’t know if they’ll count that as meeting their math recommendation.

SAT score wise I have a 1530 with 750 Verbal and 780 on Math.

Also, my GPA is around a 3.6, I’ve heard conflicting accounts on the bearing, or lack thereof, it has on my application.

GPA won’t matter for Oxford. Practice up for the TSA, which is your next big hurdle.

Oxford doesn’t check GPA???
Also, how do you prep for TSA?? Thanks

http://www.admissionstestingservice.org/for-test-takers/thinking-skills-assessment/tsa-oxford/preparing-for-tsa-oxford/

(fwiw, UK unis generally aren’t interested in your GPA b/c there is no frame of reference / no equivalency across schools. General standardized tests (SAT/ACT) give an overall sense of competence, and content based standardized tests (APs / subject tests / IB) speak to competency in the field you are preparing to study, and both are the same no matter what school you go to, where you live, etc. The UK unis that do ask for a GPA do so b/c they know that it is a metric that the US system values & applicants keep asking about it)

@collegemom3717

Thanks for the information. I only have three APs and if you count subject tests I have a total of five AP equivalents for Oxford. I’ve seen kids with a dozen APs getting into UK universities. Would I be at a disadvantage with my relatively few number of APs?

I do have IB courses but I’m not going for the required IB Diploma for UK admission (though I take a larger quantity of IB classes than normal Diploma kids). I still need to put them into UCAS. Do you know if they can help at all, or will Oxford just ignore them since I technically don’t fulfill their requirements.

You don’t get to double count USHx :slight_smile:

Anecdotal answer: I know a just graduated mathmo from Oxford who was accepted with 3 subject tests- NO APs. Knocked the MAT out of the park, and dazzled in the interview. Have a dozen irrelevant APs is completely uninteresting to Oxford: to quote a history tutor: “we want students who love our subject as much as we do”.

If you are finishing your IB subjects you will have predicted scores, so yes, those could be part of your offer (eg, “a 6 on Math SL”), though with the 800 on Math II I would be surprised to see it.

PPE is a tough admit: it is one of the most popular courses, so the success rate is comparatively low, even by Oxford standards. It is even tougher for US students, b/c so many Americans, so the tutors have a lot to choose from.

@collegemom3717 “It is even tougher for US students, b/c so many Americans, so the tutors have a lot to choose from.”

I’m not sure what you mean here, I don’t think there are any quotas or anything?

No formal quotas, though if you look over time the % is relatively consistent (in the same way that the % of international students is for the most part relatively stable over time both within and across US colleges & universities). Might have been more precise to say that Oxford admissions are harder for internationals in general, that PPE is one of the more over-subscribed courses at Oxford, and on top of that PPE is the course with the highest number of American applicants. So the overall level of competition is higher, and there is more for the tutors to choose from.