<p>I'm a rising junior living in the US right now, and I've been interested in studying biology or chemistry abroad in the UK. My dream school is Oxford, and I would also love to go to ICL (Imperial College London). </p>
<p>I've read statistics on the Student Room (UK CC) and on the respective websites of the universities, but I was wondering if any CC-ers actually knew anyone who was accepted as an international applicant to one of these schools. </p>
<p>If you're an international student there, please PM me with stats if you don't mind sharing!</p>
<p>A few questions:
1. From what I've read, the personal statement/references/interview are incredibly important. How does the interview work if you live in the states? Are you disadvantaged if you choose to do a skype/telephone interview?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Since the UCAS process doesn't ask for GPA/EC's, how can I set myself apart?
I have pretty stellar test scores so far:
ACT: 36 composite, SATII: 800 in Math II, 770 in US History, 750 in Latin
AP scores: 5 in APUSH, taking 5 more next year but expect to get all 5's. (My school system only allows you to take more AP's junior year -_________- )</p></li>
<li><p>What are your thoughts on either college? Both are quite prestigious- any main differences you know of?</p></li>
<li><p>US equivalents in terms of ranking to Imperial? I know Oxford levels with HYP.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you have any advice for me at all on how to get to Oxford/Imperial, please let me know!</p>
<p>Also, in case you’re wondering why I want to go to Oxford over Cambridge even though Cambridge is largely known as being better in the sciences:</p>
<p>I hear Oxford has better support for international students. Also, it seems like they accept more students from overseas than Cambridge does.</p>
<p>fyi, arts = Oxford, sciences = Cambridge is an very outdated meme, and you will get your hand slapped for it by arts people at Cambridge and science people at Oxford!</p>
<p>Also, there is an ‘American students applying to the UK thread’ on student room, where lots of people have shared their stats. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Skype interview is NOT a disadvantage. Also, Interview > Personal Statement > Recommendation. </p></li>
<li><p>If you are reading around Student Room (you can stalk the 2013 applicants page to get a lot of info, until there is a 2014 applicants page, sometime next spring) you will know that Oxford is only interested in scores and ECs relevant to your subject. For Chemistry you will need Calc BC, Chem and another science; for Bio, Calc BC, Bio and something else that fits. For both, your personal statement will demonstrate your passion and aptitude for (chem or bio), as evidenced by reading or activities etc that you have done outside of school requirements. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>3) Too biased to Oxford to give you a good view on Imperial, but will say that DD turned down LSE b/c she decided that the collegial experience of Oxford was important. You might consider Durham- also very highly respected, and has an unusually broad (for the UK) science option.</p>
<p>4) Hard to compare rankings with Imperial v Oxford in a US context, b/c Imperial does not have a high profile in the US. In the UK there are two schools of thought- overall, it is Oxbridge/everybody else, but by subject there many rankings systems- you can research the rankings by subject.</p>
<p>Hope that helps</p>
<p>Agree with all collegemom’s comments. It is very hard to draw comparisons between U.S. and English universities because the education systems of the two countries differ so much. This I can say. Based on reputation, Oxford would be ahead of Imperial. That said, Imperial has an excellent reputation for the sciences in the U.K. even if it is less well known in the U.S. I take a stab at some U.S. context. IMHO, if Oxford approximates HYPS, Imperial for science in the UK would approximate schools such UC Berkley, Michigan or Rice.</p>
<p>D applied to Oxford a couple of years ago. The rejection came right after she declined to travel to UK for an interview due to final exam conflicts. No offer of Skype.</p>
<p>ICL is popular for engineering and CS. They asked for a written test in UK and when refused, mailed it to be worked at home and return.</p>
<p>I know of a local kid who went to ICL for CS last year.</p>
<p>@collegemom3717,
I’m aware that they’re neck to neck- just wanted to address the stereotype. :)</p>
<p>I’ve been stalking the Student Room and asking questions there, but I thought I might also give CC a try. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>@texaspg, I hear that some schools decline skype interviews while others allow it. I think each college is a little bit different- what college did your daughter apply to?</p>
<p>Hi Catch221.
Just regarding your comment of Oxford providing better support to internationals…do you mean in regards to finance? I just went through the Oxford finance section and there were NO scholarships for US students. If this is relevant for you it’s important to think really hard about whether you can afford it. You need to be able to prove up front (i.e. before you start your first year) that you have the means to pay for ALL of your years of schooling. Oxford doesn’t seem to have any money available for US students.
Cambridge on the other hand has a trust that deals with all overseas students, providing need based scholarships ([Cambridge</a> Overseas Trust | About Us | Cambridge Trust](<a href=“Cambridge Trust”>Cambridge Overseas Trust)). </p>
<p>If you meant in terms of just friendliness, support for international with questions, help with visas, etc… I can’t speak for Oxford but Cam has been extremely helpful with questions and welcoming. There’s tons of international events, international communities within each college, and internationals even get their own freshers’ week. Just my experience, Oxford might offer similar things.</p>
<p>I think the difference here is that Oxford accepts more US students than Cambridge, and that the admissions process seems a bit more straightforward. The Oxford website is a little more international-friendly. Also, Oxford requires fewer APs to be complete before application (though the numbers of achieved APs for admitted students tends to be similar), and the subject specified aptitude tests are at an earlier stage of application. I know somebody who was offered a place at Cambridge for physics, conditional on her exams and aptitude test, which was given at the end of the year. She got her exams, but fell a couple of points short on the aptitude test, which was devastating. At Oxford she would have taken the test before interview offers were made. Just a difference in process, but it can make the system seem easier or more welcoming.</p>