I’m an American student and my family is moving to London. I just finished high school and have been looking at colleges in London but they all seem to require at least a 3.0 gpa. I have a 2.5 weighted gpa and a 29 ACT score. Are there any colleges that would let me in? I’ve been looking but can’t find any. Some of them also require AP class test scores. I’ve taken multiple AP classes but haven’t taken any of the tests for them because they each cost about a hundred dollars. I know my gpa is terrible from being lazy in high school but I need to go to college regardless.
The GPA is less of a problem than the lack of test scores. UK unis typically admit you to study one specific subject, and they want AP and/or SAT subject test scores to show that you have the necessary academic background.
However, if you look at the websites you will see that many universities offer a ‘foundation year’ which will prepare you for university in the UK. Most humanities subjects are 3 years in the UK, not 4, so if you add a foundation year on, it is still just 4 years of college (if you are a science student, though, it will be 4/5 years).
Be careful though: some ‘foundation’ courses are for-profit and of variable quality. Ones like [url=<a href=“https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/international/before-you-apply/foundation-courses%5Dthis%5B/url”>https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/international/before-you-apply/foundation-courses]this[/url], offered through a university, directly are a better bet.
You have two choices:
You can attend a 6th form college or city/regional “Further Education” college and get 3 A-Levels (this will be free if you’re not 19 yet; it’ll take 2 years -it’s like a mini major, you have 6-8 hours per subject and those 3 subjects only).
Or, you can do a Foundation year, which takes a year but costs money. Always choose a foundation year that’s related to a university or a college. Your selection to university will depend on how well you do on those three A-Levels or on your Foundation course.
This is a mostly vocational college in central London that nevertheless offers A-Level courses:
http://www.cwc.ac.uk/Courses/Pages/Section-ALM.aspx
This is a top FE college in London:
http://www.candi.ac.uk/study-with-us/our-centres/sixth-form-college
This college offers “A-Level intensive”, with the curriculum covered in one year - probably not the best choice for a self-admitted “lazy” student in high school, but perhaps possible if you can find 3 A-Levels that match AP classes you did well in, so that you’d already know a bit of the syllabus and you wouldn’t have as much trouble with the acceleration:
http://westking.ac.uk/coursetype/a-levels/
Is cost an issue? If you wait three years you will likely be considered a home student (because your parents and possibly also you will be paying UK taxes) which will drastically reduce fees.
@cupcake It’s probably worth mentioning that that only applies if the student has the right to live in the UK permanently, i.e. if they have UK / EU citizenship (the latter barring Brexit) or Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK and the purpose of their three years in the UK was not wholly or mainly education (i.e. going to boarding school doesn’t count). This explains it well, and it will apply to all English, Welsh and NI unis. http://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/student-finance/status/
Since I am full aware of this, it’s absolutely not worth mentioning to me in any way.
I was googling something the other day and stumbled upon the University of London website. I have not dug into this, but am somewhat fascinated by the number of colleges which fall under their umbrella. Perhaps there is a person at U London who would be able to answer many of your questions.
http://www.london.ac.uk/colleges_institutes.html
Good luck with your selection process and enjoy the ride!