<p>My daughter is thinking about attending college in the UK. (Northern Ireland/England) We live in SoCal. Has anyone had any experience with this? Horror stories? Success stories? Things we must do? Things not to do? Any help/information would be great. TIA.</p>
<p>I have some second hand experience with this, but not too much. The one thing that you need to keep in mind for UK schools is that YOUR AP/IB TEST SCORES ACTUALLY MATTER. UK schools tend to give out conditional acceptances (eg you need to score a specific score or higher on your senior year AP/IB tests or you will be rescinded). A person I know was actually rescinded from his university of hoice for not doing well enough on his IB exams and ended up at Community College for two years. </p>
<p>This is standard (it’s called a conditional offer), and it is a major cause of Angst come July/August.</p>
<p>I applied to 5 schools in the UK via the UCAS, which is basically the UK Common App. Five was the max allowed, and there was the same fee for applying to any number greater than two, so five it was. Note, I was applying for entry in 2010, so things may have changed slightly in the intervening years.</p>
<p>The above posts mentioned conditional offers, and, yes, if your daughter gets one, AP/IB scores will probably be the deciding factor. However, at most UK schools, most American students are given unconditional offers. Americans get grades throughout their HS careers, unlike British students who don’t get their sixth form results until they’re done with school. Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) are the only two schools I know of that usually give Americans conditional offers. Any other school, even a very selective one, will probably give an American student an unconditional.</p>
<p>I would recommend getting your list of schools together early. If your daughter wants to apply to Oxbridge, applications are due Oct 15th. (NB: You can only apply to Oxford or Cambridge, not both.) While nearly all other unis use the UCAS, Oxbridge have supplements, as well as supplemental app fees. And of course, at Oxbridge, you’ll need to pick a college to apply to. When I was picking, I just spent a lot of time on the Cambridge website, looking at this college and that until I narrowed it down. </p>
<p>Your daughter may be invited to interview at Oxbridge if she is among the more successful applicants. When I was applying, interviews were basically always in person, not done via Skype. Of course, the flight was expensive, and I missed quite a few days of school, but I was able to visit three of the unis I was applying to, and being there in person gave me a much better sense of the schools. Other unis may have “open days” for prospective students to visit and learn about the school. If these fit into your schedule, I would encourage you and your daughter to go.</p>
<p>When writing the personal statement for the UCAS, your daughter would do well to have some guidance from a person familiar with the British application process. British PS are very different from American college app essays; they’re much less personal and much more academic. They’re structured to not just be about your abilities as a student in general but about your abilities to be good in your chosen course. Your daughter should have as good of an understanding of her subject as possible and be able to express in detail what about it interests her.</p>
<p>Outside of Oxbridge, you hear back very quickly from UK unis. I think I heard back from my first school about two weeks after I submitted the UCAS.</p>
<p>Can you address standardized tests? My son is interested in Oxbridge but due to his school’s curriculum only has three AP scores (he is a rising senior) Chemistry (5), Math BC (5) Stat (4). </p>
<p>Oxford</p>
<p>American education system </p>
<p>SAT Reasoning Test with at least 1,400 in Critical Reading and Mathematics and preferably also 700 or more in Writing, giving a combined score of at least 2,100
OR
ACT with a score of at least 32 out of 36.</p>
<p>AND</p>
<p>Grade 5 in three or more Advanced Placement Tests in appropriate subjects.
OR
SAT Subject Tests in three appropriate subjects at 700 or better.</p>
<p><a href=“International qualifications | University of Oxford”>http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/international-students/international-qualifications</a></p>
<p>Cambridge</p>
<p>SATs and Advanced Placement Tests</p>
<p>Prospective applicants from Canada and the USA taking SATs and Advanced Placement Tests should note that offers are usually made on an individual basis. In addition to high passes in the High School Diploma and the SAT, successful applicants have normally achieved 5s in at least five Advanced Placement Tests in appropriate subjects.</p>
<p>International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB)</p>
<p>Offers usually require scores between 40 and 41 points out of 45, with 776 in Higher Level subjects. Applicants may be required to achieve 7 in a particular subject(s), depending on individual circumstances.</p>
<p>For advice about suitable subject choices see course requirements.</p>
<p>Please note that for these purposes, Standard Level subjects will satisfy AS Level subject requirements, and Higher Level subjects will satisfy A Level subject requirements.</p>
<p><a href=“Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge”>Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge;
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<p>I don’t think this is true. English students will have GCSE results, as well as their AS levels typically.</p>
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<p>This is just a guess, but anything less than a 5 on an AP score is going to look bad for Oxbridge. Might still be worth applying, but don’t get your hopes up. The number itself isn’t a problem I don’t think – if three is the max available number of APs offered at his school, then they won’t blame him for not having taken more than that.</p>
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Your A Level results come at the end of sixth form. They form the basis of unconditional offers. Of course, GCSE results and AS levels matter for a student to get an unconditional offer, but if they’re fortunate enough to receive one, they then have to perform well on their A Levels. By what I said, I only meant to briefly explain why American students so often receive unconditional offers while it’s much rarer for UK students to get them.</p>
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I would definitely encourage him to take more APs his senior year and to prepare well for the exams. I don’t think a 4 on one AP will keep him out. I applied with two 5s and three 4s from my sophomore and junior APs and received an offer from Cambridge conditional on my getting two 5s and one 4 on certain APs I was taking my senior year. Given that Cambridge makes offers that allow for students to get 4s, I think keepittoyourself might be a bit off in saying that “anything less than a 5 on an AP score is going to look bad for Oxbridge.”</p>
<p>Full disclosure: I was pooled at the Cambridge college I applied to and fished out by a different college. This is basically like being waitlisted and then accepted later on. I do know that only one student in my subject was admitted to the college I chose. I ran into my interviewer about two years later at the US university I actually ended up going to, and he told me that I was choice #2, though he may have just been being polite. I was admitted unconditionally at the other four schools I applied to, which were Manchester, SOAS, Edinburgh, and York.</p>
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<p>You’re right. I meant “look bad” in the sense of ‘will count against’, not ‘will disqualify’. It’s like getting a B on an AS Level. Compared to many other Oxbridge applicants, it’s a slip.</p>
<p>His SAT composite is 2350 and his subject tests are 800 and 780 respectively. Does this make a difference? It sounds like it might help for oxford but isn’t considered for Cambridge?</p>
<p>All that really matters is whether he gets an interview (and the vast majority of applicants do). Once the interview happens, all bets are off, so he might as well give it a shot. But be warned that the English educational system treats students like independent adults, so you posting here is not a good sign. He should be looking into it himself.</p>
<p>agreeing with everything above (esp keepittoyourself!). The key is to get to interview. The reason so many US students get unconditional offers (bar Oxford, Cambridge & LSE) is that they have enough APs at the end of Grade 11, whereas UK students won’t have A level results until end of Grade 12. </p>
<p>Key differences to bear in mind: </p>
<p>1) as keepittoyourself says, there is a LOT less handholding in the UK. The students watch out for each other, but you are expected to manage your own uni experience.</p>
<p>2) drink is a very very very big part of uni for the vast majority of students (legal drinking age is 18). no matter what you think you know about your daughter, she needs to understand that most UK kids are experienced drinkers when they get to uni, and she needs to know her limits - and especially, as a girl, not be stupid about drinking with out girl friends around her. This is not to scare you unduly- there are not many horror stories, and probably no more in the US. BUT - if she doesn’t know her tolerance for alcohol before she gets there, Freshers week is NOT the way to learn it. And btw, depending on what part of SoCal she is in, she will find a lot of very non-PC language!</p>
<p>3) it is really important that she is sure that she knows what she wants to study- even in Scotland, where the courses are 4 years and you have many more electives, you really only study in the general field that you apply to study. In the UK, where most courses are 3 years, you study one thing intensively. That is fantastic if you know what you want to study (as my older D did), but not great if your interests are broad or simply less defined).</p>
<p>4) Standardized tests: going back to the point about studying a specific subject: lower marks in an area unrelated to your subject of study don’t typically matter. For Oxbridge you need 3-5 APs / Subject tests with 5s / solid 700s in subjects that are relevant to the subject that you are applying to study. So zzzmmm, if your son wants to study math or chemistry at Oxford or Cambridge, he is going to need at least one more <em>relevant</em> exam (b/c the Stats exam only counts as 1/2 an AP, see here: <a href=“http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/explore-your-options/entry-requirements/tariff-tables/app)”>http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/explore-your-options/entry-requirements/tariff-tables/app)</a>). </p>
<p>If you aren’t sure what would count as relevant, look at the subject page on the website: every single course at every single university lists what they want, or suggestions as to what would be seen as useful (they also list the courses you take each year- good to check out). You can also use common sense. If you are applying to do English, there are only 2 English APs (and no double counting subject tests!) - but another writing-based AP (such as a history) will do the job.</p>
<p>5) For Oxbridge, don’t forget that many subjects require submission of graded school work and/or aptitude tests- be sure to check this out early. If an aptitude test is required, there are many test centers in the US, but if there isn’t one near you your school can register- which, as you can imagine, is not a quick process. The tests are given on one day, all over the world, so you need to be registered in time and available to take it. </p>
<p>6) As keepittoyourself points out, for Oxbridge the standardized test, aptitude tests, personal statements and recs are used to short-list for interviews. Once you are over that hurdle you start the interview with a relatively clean slate (though it may come back as a tie-breaker). It is a little overstating it to say that the vast majority of applicants get interviews- it varies considerably by subject (from 30% -98%), and anecdotally international applicants are interviewed at a lower rate than home students, but the good thing is that they typically interview 3x the number of students as places. However, the interview itself is a different sort of beast: it is designed to see how the applicant learns (not particularly what they know), more about their interest in, and aptitude for, the subject that they are applying to study, and how suited the applicant is to the tutorial format. </p>
<p>Finally, there is an excellent UK site called the student r o o m (sorry, but CC stars it out), which has threads on American students applying to UK unis, applicants to Ox or Cambridge, etc. They build up quite a community. For example, the Oxford and Cambridge threads for applicants for 2015 entry are up and running (note: UK uses year of entry not year of completion for the class ‘year’). These students will help each other out, chat, fret, angst, etc together as the thread moves from ‘applicants’ to ‘interview’ to ‘offer holder’ to ‘fresher’. It is a great resource- but it is a <em>student</em> room, so really your son/daughter should be there, not you. </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for the replies. Oxbridge is not the goal. She is considering other schools and just started researching. (schools like Queens University, Belfast… and some other smaller schools in England…) I will pass along to her the possible need to complete the application process early for some of the schools… All comments were very helpful…</p>
<p>Drinking (beer) is a big part of UK life in general.</p>
<p>What are the objectives of going to college out of the US? what does she want to study? Why does she think studying in the UK will offer better opportunities than something in the US? Does she plan to stay in the UK after graduation for work or study, or will she be trying to find a job back home afterwards?</p>
<p>I’m not being argumentative- but I know a lot of kids who have either returned home after a year, or ultimately decided not to attend university in the UK, and for many of them, their motivations were somewhat immature and unfounded.</p>
<p>I’m not suggesting your D’s are. But having her articulate what the goal is will help you figure out if being at a foreign university is the right course of action for her.</p>
<p>I think it’s also important to consider cost. I don’t know what financial constraints the OP’s family may have, but tuition for non-EU students is very high in the UK and aid is hard to come by. </p>
<p>In my experience, the bursar’s office required my parents to submit a great deal of information showing their ability to afford all three years. I didn’t look at the financial stuff myself and doubt I would have understood much of it if I had, but my mother said that unless you had all the years’ worth of tuition sitting in an account, it seemed unlikely you would check out. Some of that may have been specific to Cambridge. Nonetheless, I would look into the financial situation for all of the schools OP’s daughter is considering.</p>
<p>OP, I have a client in the UK who may be able to offer some assistance. She’s a southern Californian working for a UK university, and I know they’d like to start recruiting more American students.</p>
<p>OP, what does your daughter want to study? She needs to decide that before going any further. UK universities (although Scotland to a lesser extent) require you to choose your degree subject when you apply and stick to it. It may be possible to change later, but is not always permitted and may require her to reapply.</p>
<p>Also agree with blossom, why does she want to do this? I went to Oxford; one of my best friends there was from the US. She chose to apply to UK universities because she was absolutely committed to studying only her degree subject and had no interest in taking courses in other areas. The UK set up was perfect for her, but I also met plenty of JYA students who would have found it too restrictive.</p>
<p>Agree on the drinking issue too. She doesn’t need to drink herself, but she needs to be ok with others around her drinking and with socialising going on in pubs etc. </p>
<p>Extremely helpful, one of the best threads I’ve come accross</p>