<p>So I'm working through UCAS but I can't seem to make sense of some of it. I'm a homeschooled American, so that definitely complicates things. :) Can anyone help me?</p>
<p>Is there any place to put my transcript? I only have 1 AP and 2 SAT IIs so those don't really show the work I've done in high school.</p>
<p>Should I include any stuff I did in middle school? If so, since age 11?</p>
<p>I've been doing dual-enrollment senior year. Should I have transcripts sent directly to the colleges, or is there a place to put the classes and grades in UCAS?</p>
<p>Any other help/advice is much appreciated!! Thank you!!!</p>
<p>Itās been a long time since I filled in a UCAS form, and even then I was applying with more standard qualifications! </p>
<p>For your college courses, is there an option to put in āotherā qualifications? If so, put them there. Failing that, include them (briefly) in your personal statement / reference. </p>
<p>With regards to your personal statement, make sure that you take advice on it from The Student Room, which is the UK version of CC. A PS is very different to a US college admissions essay. One major difference is that you need to tell them why you want to study the subject - they donāt care if youāre well rounded, they donāt care that youāre the second violin in the orchestra, or whatever. The only ECs they really care about are directly related to your subject. </p>
<p>Finally, donāt forget that the deadline is Jan 15th (this Tuesday!) if you want to go to uni in 2013, by which point you must have finished your form and sent it off.</p>
<p>UK colleges and unis donāt care one bit about your transcript. Thatās something only American colleges and unis are interested in. They are much more interested in your grades on your exams like the AP and the SAT IIs. Are yours in three different subjects? You probably need at least three different subjects at that level (either AP or SAT II) to get into college or uni in the UK.</p>
<p>We get questions here from people who have (what I think are) ridiculous numbers of APās. But three should be enough to get you into most UK colleges or unis.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks everyone! This is really helpful.</p>
<p>I already got a teacher to write my referenceā¦ so maybe Iāll send each of the colleges something explaining my homeschooling experience and such. Iāll check to make sure that they want it first though.</p>
<p>Iām only applying to Scottish unis for Celtic Studies, which a lot of my extracurriculars relate to. Should I include my ECs in my statement?</p>
<p>I am hoping that they will consider āAP Language and Compositionā different from SAT II Literature. Where do I put these on the UCAS form?</p>
<p>We tell people that if their ECs actually do relate to the subject they are planning to study, then, yes, you should include that in your statement. Your statement should portray you as someone who is extremely interested in Celtic Studies, and who is willing to devote himself to Celtic Studies for the time it takes to earn a degree. So donāt include ECs that have no connection with the field you are hoping to go into.</p>
<p>With only two different subjects that are SAT II or AP, you probably want to look into taking others. Fortunately, they donāt require you (or even expect you) to have taken all the exams you will before you apply. Youāre likely to get a conditional offer, which requires a certain grade in an exam to get in. Dual enrollment is probably going to be recognised (I know a lot of Scottish unis will accept a year in an American college in place of exam scores), but it might be more convenient to take an extra AP or SAT II (based on what youāre learning this year). You should try and make them as relevant as possible to the subject youāre studying (so, AP language is a good one, as would history results and even foreign languages). Do you mind if I ask what unis youāre applying for? I might be more help then.</p>
<p>Thanks, KEVP for the help on that! I will be sure to include my Celtic ECs then.</p>
<p>Almostanonymous: In addition to the AP Lang and SAT II Lit, I also have SAT II US History. I have an AP back-up (Art History) that I might self-study for too. Iām glad to hear that dual-enrollment will be recognized! Iām applying to Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen because they have Celtic/Gaelic studies.</p>
<p>Good group of universities there (though I might be somewhat biasedā¦). You should be set for Aberdeen, though Glasgow and Edinburgh would probably prefer an additional test (though itās not completely necessary). It really depends on your scores. 4 or 5 is wanted for AP exams, and generally you need over 600 in a SAT subject test for it to count (though Edinburgh wants 650 I believe).</p>
<p>Regarding tests in the same subject, this is from the Edinburgh website:
āA combination of AP and SAT subject tests are acceptable provided they are in different subjects, i.e. AP French and SATS Physics is acceptable as two qualifications but AP French and SATS French is only considered once.ā</p>
<p>If youāve studied a reasonable amount of a language other than English, I would highly recommend doing a SAT subject test in that, as Celtic studies is likely going to involve some amount of language learning. If not, then I wouldnāt worry so long as you have reasonable scores in your other tests.</p>
<p>I have the scores, itās just I donāt have a 600 on SAT math (Iām in the 500s, and 750s in critical reading and writing) so Iām trying to qualify under the ā3 APs or SAT IIs.ā If they count Lang and Comp as the same as Lit, then I will take the AP Art History.</p>
<p>Iāve studied Scottish Gaelic for five years and will graduate high school with a Cert HE from University of the Highlands and Islands ā equivalent to an A-Level/AP. So weāll see how they look at that. The only other language Iāve studied is German, but I donāt think I know enough to take the SAT II. </p>
<p>Iāve qualified in terms of scores for all of my tests, so Iām hoping it works out! Thank you for your help! I really appreciate it! :)</p>
<p>My understanding is that a CertHE is equivalent to first year of university - it is a certificate of higher (i.e. uni) education, after all. Make sure itās on your UCAS form, as itās the strongest thing youāve mentioned so far!</p>
<p>The CertHE is definitely a huge advantage! Actually, in some circumstances it might have allowed you direct entry to 2nd year, but as you wonāt have any AHs to add to it, it will probably work primarily as something in your favour in admissions. Either way, you should definitely mention it, and as boomting said, itās actually slightly higher than A-level (though not by a full year)!</p>
<p>Incidentally, if you have any questions about the Scottish education system, feel free to ask as itās the one Iāve grown up with.</p>
<p>First off, thank you both for the vote of confidence regarding the Cert. HE! Even though I have a crazy mix of American and UK qualifications, itās really nice to know that I have something recognizable besides the SATs! I thought about applying for 2nd year entry, but since Iād like to do joint Honours (and because I donāt have the testing, like you said) I didnāt think itād be wise. I know, though, that I should be able to get in 2nd year at Aberdeen because they mention my specific Cert HE as granting direct entry to 2nd year. </p>
<p>I have some questions ā more just curiosity than anything else. So Iāve been told that you typically study three subjects in your first two years, and then just your single (or joint) subject in the second two years. How does this work in terms of courses? Like, do you get to choose which courses you want to take within each subject? Also, how are the classes set up? Iāve heard that itās a mix between tutorials and lectures. What do these titles mean over there? I guess Iām just curious as to how it all works over there. :)</p>
<p>Lectures are large-group sessions where the lecturer essentially presents a topic to students. Thereās not much discussion involved, although there is usually time for questions at the end. There can be several hundred students in a lecture. </p>
<p>Tutorials are small-group discussion sessions led by the lecturer, with the topic often deriving from the lecture. The size can vary but I think the maximum is usually about 12 students.</p>
<p>So basically both lectures and tutorials are tied together, and you would have both in each course. How many courses would a typical subject be in the first two years? I must say, I like this set-up better than many US systems. :)</p>
<p>Cupcake ā Haha yes, Iām glad of that. :)</p>
<p>I submitted my UCAS last night!!! Thank you all so much for all of your help!!!</p>
<p>The amount of choice generally depends on the university. Generally youāll have 120 credits a year, and courses range from 20 to 40 credits (though this is not set in stone). Sometimes youāll have a single 40 credit course that you /have/ to take that year, or later itās more likely to be 3 20 credit courses chosen from a list.</p>
<p>You might be able to find a list of courses on the websites.</p>
<p>You will have 120 credits to take per year, split over two semesters, and each module (course) will be 10 or 20 credits (occasionally 40). Some will be compulsory, others optional, and some will be optional, but required if you want to take a particular module in subsequent years.</p>
<p>I looked up some stuff on Celtic at Edinburgh (Glasgow doesnāt seem to have that info, or Iām just looking in the wrong place) and it looks like thereās two (year-long) courses per year for first and second year. Is that normal? Thank you, boomting for explaining āmoduleā ā I never realized that just meant course! For Honours years are the same number of credits required (just all in your subject)? Thank you all so much!</p>
<p>Modules are certainly not a universal thing in the UK. I went to Cambridge and we didnāt have them. So this may not apply to your school or your course.</p>
Where do I put these on the UCAS form?</p>