Hi,
I am a high school sophmore who is considering schools to apply to. I want to get some information on applying internationally from America as most references that I am finding are geared toward people appluing internationally to American schools. Also I haven’t been able to find any article type thing about the A levels which might be helpful to know about considering that my top school is Oxford. Applying internationally will be easier because I am going to do the International Baccalaureate Program (I probably spelled baccalaureate wrong…) anyway, if anyone has any advice on the IB program, international schools (showing interest for example), the BMAT, or anything else you think would be helpful please let me know!!!
Thanks!!
<p>good luck</p>
<p>BMAT= excruciatingly difficult</p>
<p>Ok... can anyone elaborate? Thanks Whatever78</p>
<p>purplefroggy, </p>
<p>what's wrong with doing the international baccalaureate program in the USA? from what i've heard about oxford, they give out conditional acceptances that is based upon your IB exam scores. just a thought, but perhaps you could take the international baccalaureate program and exams in a school that offers it in the USA.</p>
<p>If you are doing IB make sure you do it in a school with good teachers, or else....</p>
<p>A Levels are the continuation after GCSE's in England. It's a bit similar to the IB. You can pick which subjects you want to study further in depth. They are usually not offered outside of England, except in British schools overseas. </p>
<p>If you are doing the full International Baccalaureate, the IB diploma. There are a lot of people in America who take a few IB classes and a few AP classes. I'm in my second year of IB and let me tell you it is hard. There is a lot of work. Extended Essay, TOK essay, course work in every subject.</p>
<p>In England when you apply, especially to schools such as Oxford, you send in the UCAS application, with personal statement and records.Top schools require interviews for what you want to study. You can't just go study liberal arts, you have to pick exactly what your concentration will be. A friend of mine wanted Economics and he had to interview, they ask you questions about what you know about the subject. It's a bit like an exam. If you make it past that stage, which most people don't. They can send you a conditional acceptance. It will say something like if you secure 39 points on your IB diploma you can matriculate. If you don't score that you can't go. I had a friend who missed his number by a few points and now has to go to America. It's tough. </p>
<p>International schools are really different for American students. The education system in Europe is quite different. And it seems people only know the obvious Oxford and Cambridge, its like non-Americans only knowing Harvard and Yale. There are a lot of other great English schools. Bottomline if you do the IB and think you have a chance at getting high 30s low 40s points you might have a shot. All the kids at my school who have gone to Oxford have gotten close to perfect IB scores, as in 42 or so points. If you are set on going internationally you should probably look at a few other schools besides Oxford.</p>
<p>ya id say if you want oxy you should have a lot of backups...its really close to impossible to get into...much harder then it is to get into HPYS..</p>
<p>kfc4u, I meant that I am thinking about doing my schools IB program of which my class would be the first to graduate.</p>
<p>elodi, the teachers at my school are great although I am thinking about going to a school that is really close to my current school where their IB program is more set up/ and I do have lots of backups oxford is just a dream you know...</p>
<p>Scarletleavy, Thanks for the info. about the A-Levels! I definately didn't underestimate the Program I have a pen pal who is doing the program.
I have definately looked at Colleges in Europe other than Oxford and Cambridge. The concentration that I am interested in is xpirimental Psychology, and I have already talked to my HS counselor about taking a Psych. class at a local community college next summer.</p>
<p>Do you think that they would consider you with a half AP half IB?</p>
<p>Thanks everybody and keep the advice coming you guys ROCK!!!</p>
<p>"I meant that I am thinking about doing my schools IB program of which my class would be the first to graduate."</p>
<p>in that case, i would advise you on taking another path if oxford is your goal. while many high schools in the USA are starting to offer IB, many of them don't do a really good job with it... that is, they do good enough for you to pass and obtain the diploma, but not necessarily prepare their kids to score 6's and 7's on all the exams. i don't think a new program will have teachers ready for that, especially since they don't know what to really expect from the international grading scale. like elodie said, make sure you do IB with good teachers. </p>
<p>"Do you think that they would consider you with a half AP half IB?"</p>
<p>this is essentially saying you're just AP. there's really no such thing as half IB, unless you're referring to the IB Certificate program, but that is generally considered LESS rigorous than a course schedule that is stacked with AP classes. either create a rigorous courseload through the AP program or (more preferably) do the IB diploma program. </p>
<p>and no offense to anyone but i'm american so i dont spell program like "programme" ;)</p>
<p>thanks you seem to know alot about this, so would you suggest transfering to the school that I mentioned (close by and has had the IB longer)?</p>
<p>ya i think you def. should</p>
<p>but anyways I would suggest you do ib, even though its quite hard and we complain about it alll the time, in the end its SOOO beneficial and i suppose respected wherever you go, specially if you are thinking about oxy. I know for a fact that in Oxbridge they really care about your diploma because of the extended and tok essay that you will end up doing. When you go in for an interview ,they talk about that allloott. I guess its because its one of the bigger individual projects you undertake, showing if you can do that type of individual research well and if you have the breadth of thinking (for tok)
my two cents: choose your classes wisely, pick what you LIKE most to be you HL's and you are all set, and believe me at first it seems impossible to get high 30s or 40 something points, but by end of year 1 you will realize that it isn't that big of a deal
GOOD LUCK</p>
<p>You should really do the full IB. English and European universities are all about the numbers, not like the American system about the full package. It is possible if you did some IB classes and AP classes to be accepted, but it would nearly impossible for them to come up with some kind of standard for your grades. They need some way of comparing you, and just for reference, they care less about EC's and service and more about grades. </p>
<p>Like what other people said you need to have good teachers and a good IB supervisor, otherwise you have almost no chance of getting the grades you need. If you do well on the IB's you might have a chance at Oxford, more likely at some other schools. I know at a lot of the second tier schools in England the offer was for 38 or 39 points, so I would assume to get into Oxford you'd probably need low 40's. </p>
<p>Here is the UCAS website. If you're familiar with the English program, you fill out one application for up to 5 schools, somewhat similar to the common application. If you're going for this year you're going to have to get them done pretty soon, I think they are due 15 September. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ucas.ac.uk/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ucas.ac.uk/</a></p>
<p>These are the bare minimum requirements for international candidates. They will accept some AP grades, school grades and SAT's provided you have certain grades and that your classes match up to GCSE and A Levels: which are the basic 3 sciences, maths, english, foreign language, geography and history.</p>
<p>wow thanks your guys I will definately check in to those links after work today! When school starts up I will take a day off to go look at the other schools IB program and see if I want to try to transfer. I can't seem to find a straight answer on this so I give the auestion to your guys because you seem to have the answers to everything else, are there set topics to choose from for your extended essay or can it be anything? I hope it can be anything because I have come up with a great topic! Thanks SOOOOO much guys you are really helpful. If your don't mind me asking if you do IB can you post that you do and where you take it especially if your schools website has good info about the classes! Thanks!!!</p>
<p>you can choose whatever topic but it has to be in one of the ib subjects and a supervisor has to agree to monitor it. don't worry its almost like anything goes..
go to: <a href="http://www.tasis.ch%5B/url%5D">www.tasis.ch</a> and click the Switzerland school link
or go to my old school site: <a href="http://www.amersol.edu.pe%5B/url%5D">www.amersol.edu.pe</a></p>
<p>Very cool, what did you write about? This is what I was thinking about writing on; How Criminals minds and thought processes differ from that of a non criminal.</p>
<p>oxford/cambridge are not as difficult to get into as many US schools are, unless you're applying for medicine (from your mention of the BMAT, sounds like you are : /?). Law is quite selective too, but the quotas for int'l applicants to med are miniscule in comparison.</p>
<p>Advice for the BMAT - offically, there's nothing you can do. They don't sanction study guides or anything. Unfortunately, it is certainly harder than the SAT or any of the SAT IIs. It's a relatively new test, but by the time you take it there should be some past papers circulating (tho probably illicitly ;)). As far as what you need to know, you'll find your prep overlapping with your interview preparations (med interviews for oxbridge are rough).</p>
<p>About the IB - If you're really into the best UK schools, the IB is practically necessary. US schools love it too, since it is v. good prep for the rigors of writing, time management, EE-type papers, and study skills of college. The IB can be rewarding with good teachers, but at least in my case, having one teacher who just...wasn't in class....?.....made the subsequent self-studying so, so painful, hehe.
However, at some point if you decide you're only after US schools, taking several APs would be more worth your time. The same amt of material is taught without what some would call the 'busywork' of IB.</p>
<p>international schools - int'l schools do fine : ). Is there a specific question you have? The most obvious disadvantage would not be having 'home status' (is that what it's called in the UK?) or residency which helps a lot in colleges such as the UCs. But otherwise, from what I've seen, int'l schools by virtue of being ridiculously expensive (I know - I went to one) generally have good opportunities, facilites, teachers, and networking.</p>
<p>I'm doing IB at Munich International School in obviously Munich Germany.
<a href="http://www.mis-munich.de%5B/url%5D">www.mis-munich.de</a></p>
<p>I'm writing my extended essay in maths: modulor proportion systems derived from the fibonacci and padovan sequences. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>"so would you suggest transfering to the school that I mentioned (close by and has had the IB longer)?"</p>
<p>perhaps. my recommendation is to go to that school's IB counselor NOW and ask for their previous results. i'm not sure if all IB counselors have this, but at my high school, the counselor had a printout of the school's passing rates for each exam taken and the distribution of scores attained by the students. in any case though, it makes a world of a difference to attend a school that has already have had IB for a few years and has had their expectations and standards calibrated (very important!) than to attend a school who's doing IB for the first time. </p>
<p>"so I would assume to get into Oxford you'd probably need low 40's. "</p>
<p>i've heard it was around there also. </p>
<p>and since everyone is posting their school and EE topic...
I completed the IB Diploma from Rowland High School in California, USA.
my EE topic was about the legality of the US-led invasion into iraq during the gulf war based on the UN charter. received an "excellent" on it (7/7).</p>
<p>Wow guys thanks for all the responses! I don't even know where that Int'l Schools bit came from I don't think I ever mentioned it. I think that I will have to go to Monarch's IB counselor and ask him (her) if (s)he has a list like you mentioned kfc4u. The hard part for me is that transferring schools might mean for a better program but it will be a little harder to get there plus none of the teachers there know me like the teachers here do. Have you ever had that, where the teachers are better just because they know you and your strenghts, weaknesses and issues? If I applied to Oxford I would apply for the Expirimental Psychology concentration, I'm not sure if that is entered under their foreign medical students quota or not. Scarletleavy I was wondering what you thought of the IB math, I will probably end up taking the easier math IB courses because I know that my math test scores will be the ones that would hurt my points, I just don't have that ability I like to question things and math isn't a subject where I can really question things to the point where I can try to change it and that is what I have the most problems with any way not really sure why I just said all of that but whatever, because you know a lot about this (you are writing your paper on math) how much harder do you think is the SL math than an advanced math course keeping in mind that I am a grade level above the recommended for my grade. Does anyone have any thoughts about the potential topic I said earlier, it really does interest me because one of the things that I am most interested in is the mind and how it differs from person to person and the affects on personality. Sorry for the consistantly long posts it's just that you guys have so much good advice on this decision. BTW another school VERY high up on my list is an american school Brown I know that it is an Ivy and very selective but I was wondering if knowing that would make an impact on your advice because I am lokking mostly at American and British Universities. Also random fact I can speak a little french I am currently studying it and I am practically fluent in spanish so I am also considering universities in french or Spanish speaking countries but not as much.</p>