My son is very interested in looking at Trinity College in Dublin and a few universities in the UK. I have looked everywhere online for stats on admission and it’s very hard to figure out. I find a lot of MINIMUM qualification information for Americans applying but nothing equivalent to the common data set or other info that would provide more insight into actual test scores and grades needed for admission. I don’t want him to waste his time applying if it’s far out of his league. Does anyone have any insight into what stats are really needed to be competitive?
So because admission is by course, you would need admissions statistics for each course. I have never seen those for US applicants specifically (although I would be very interested if someone had them).
Like, the Guardian publishes average UCAS entry tariffs for many different UK courses:
So you could look up, say, Biology, and learn Bath had an average entry tariff of 173 for its Biology course.
And that means something to UK applicants, because there is a formula they can use to count up their UCAS tariff. But it doesn’t really meaning anything for a US applicant. Like, you could use those tables at the Guardian to get an idea which courses are harder or easier for UK applicants, but even then that might not be the same order for US applicants.
And then the Guardian doesn’t cover Trinity College Dublin anyway.
I don’t mean to be dismal, but I am not sure what you are hoping for actually exists.
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My son is at TCD now- loves it! This is the best guide we found to decoding the admissions expectations. Admission is by course, and this course shows you the expectations for each course. My son was above the minimums for his course and had some 4&5 AP scores and received an unconditional offer within about three weeks of applying. Dublin is amazing!
thank you! My son has taken 3 AP tests and gotten 4s on them (no 5s). I had heard they really want 5s…
Our understanding from our son’s admission was that they consider AP tests, but they don’t have the requirements like UK schools (we also researched some in England and Scotland, but TCD was the clear winner for my son). For reference, my son submitted six AP scores with 4-4s and 2-5s.
When we talked to their representatives, the reps explained that they care more about courses related to their course. So while there are minimum standards in mathematics, if you have are a humanities course applicant, the humanities courses are more compelling.
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ah good to know. Also, do they allow minors? My son is interested in both history and business/economics. His transcript is definitely stronger on the history/humanities side than on math.
I don’t know how they handle students under the age of 18. We found their North American representatives to be very helpful and I recommend you ask them directly.
oops - sorry I didn’t mean minor kids I mean a minor degree (as opposed to a major). 
They don’t do majors/minors the way they do it in US colleges. I recommend this video from the TCD website. Again, the North America reps could not have been more helpful and patient. I think these are exactly the questions they expect from US students and families
https://www.tcd.ie/courses/undergraduate/your-trinity-pathways/
ok thanks i’ll watch and get in touch with them!
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