<p>Hey guys! I am from Pakistan, currently attending a school that offers A Levels(British System). My grades in O levels were 5A*s, 3As and 2Bs. My expected AS Level grades are:
Math A
History A
Economics A
Psychology A.
Could a British applicant familiar with the US system, explain how these correlate to the US system. Also, do internal exams matter for us? Since our final examinations are centralized. And if they do, how much?</p>
<p>I’m a US Resident, originally from Pakistan. I too did O and A levels.</p>
<p>Those are considered as high school equivalents but it varies from college to college. The best way to learn the equivalency is to visit the website of the college you plan to attend or send them an email.</p>
<p>Some colleges will offer admission even after O Levels, some after AS Level and some after complete A Levels.</p>
<p>For my college, Virginia Tech, they accept both O/A Level as high school transcripts as well as actual high school transcripts in the form of report cards that the Pakistani schools give to students.</p>
<p>I am going to complete my A-Levels. From what I have heard, A-Levels are equivalent to APs, I could be wrong though. What I really want to know is whether report cards carry significant weight. My school grades for the midterm are BBDF. Would they hurt my chances significantly? Assuming that I get all As in my AS Level. Btw, which school did you go to?</p>
<p>All those questions are very institution specific. No one answer applies to all institutions. I would suggest you to stick with your O and A level grades as transcripts. (Don’t loose your certificates, if you do, Cambridge does not issue replacements)</p>
<p>What college are you planning to apply to?</p>
<p>I went to Saint Mary’s Academy in Lalazar, Rawalpindi Pakistan. Graduated from there in '09.</p>
<p>Most American universities treat A-levels like APs in the sense that they give some college course credit for good marks. However, selective American universities do generally care about your high school grades: your high school grades show better than centralized exams how much effort you put into your classes on a daily basis. Private colleges in particular take pride in their small interactive classes, and how much effort you put in will directly affect the academic experience of your classmates. </p>
<p>That being said, there’s nothing you can do about your past grades now. Just be aware how you are presenting yourself on your applications.</p>
<p>MominHaq: I am going to be applying to UPenn ED.The rest I will decide in the summers.
B@r!um: Even though my school grades aren’ that good, I partcipate a lot in class, could that compensate for bad high school grades?</p>
<p>Positive letters of recommendations in combination with strong external exam results (A-levels, SATs, etc) can somewhat offset your school grades, though the D and F could really hurt you. </p>
<p>Are your extra-curricular activities on par with the colleges you are shooting for? American colleges evaluate applications much more holistically than British universities and do care quite a bit about how you spend your time outside of the classroom.</p>
<p>Yes, my extracurriculars are great and pretty much the reason why I couldn’t give much time to getting good school grades. Thanks though!</p>