Only 27?, that would make you in the top 13% who take the test, and comfortably in the 10% of US school leavers. One can sometimes lose track of reality reading blogs like this, 27 on the ACT puts you in the top 10% academically, it is in no way ‘average’…
If you meet the minimum requirements and have the grades, you get an unconditional offer.
That is how it works. They only give out conditional offers if you haven’t completed the qualifications yet.
You won’t see anyone who already achieved their IB or A Levels get a conditional offer as they would have already met the requirements. It would either be an unconditional offer or rejection for applicants who already have their grades.
I think quite a lot of US kids do IB, but most do AP also, the reality is not many kids with an IBD only background in the US would apply to the UK based on an IBD projected score.
I would have to assume that these kids who talk about unconditional offers already have well above and beyond the unconditional offer AP/subject test/SAT reqs on their applications.
But, as with my daughter, even if she was in AP Chem rather than IB, they would be waiting on her AP score. Unless the student took all the required AP’s for their major Junior year or earlier, many will have conditional offers.
@Sybylla Most AP kids who apply to top-tier universities in the US would easily fulfill any requirements for the UK unconditional offers by grade 12. Typically it’s 3-5 AP tests with 5 or 4 or SAT Subject Tests with scores higher than 650.
Agreeing with @Sybylla, and adding that
is not quite how it works if the student applies with predicted exam results (incl subject test/AP/IB) still to take. The uni can (and often does) specify marks on specific exams- notably, when they relate to the course in question.
For example, I know a St As student who applied for IR with enough test scores to more than met the requirements, but they applied with several APs to be taken senior year. Their offer was conditional on meeting their predicted 5 on one of the APs (which was either Comp Gov or Euro- I’m forgetting which now, but was relevant to the course). I have seen Edinburgh, Durham, LSE, UCL, Oxford and Cambridge make offers conditional on achieving predicted marks on final year exams even where the student had technically already met the minimum requirement. The more relevant the exam and the more competitive the uni and the course, the more likely it is to happen.
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“@Sybylla Most AP kids who apply to top-tier universities in the US would easily fulfill any requirements for the UK unconditional offers by grade 12. Typically it’s 3-5 AP tests with 5 or 4 or SAT Subject Tests with scores higher than 650.”
Unless they are applying to technical/engineering/science programs with heavy math/science requirements. Even top US students may not get through Calculus and chem/physics AP’s until senior year.
True, but most still already have AP Calc AB at least + AP Physics and/or Chem or Bio. Typically that should be enough @VickiSoCal
That is exactly the reason why the UK schools are sort of considered as "safeties’ (except Oxbridge/UCL/Imperial)
why the UK schools are sort of considered as "safeties’ <<<<<<<
Right, outside of the obvious few, UK schools are not US top tier equivalents. And full pay can’t hurt a school like Edinburgh when Scottish kids are “free”.
The other thing to remember with UK schools is that they are not independent, the government will regulate how many spaces are offered to overseas students. There will be finite spaces available, and reading between the lines this year it seems StA’s have received far more applications than usual for a limited number of spaces, so I expect if you have met the minimum it will not automatically equate to any kind of offer.
@Sybylla That has to be the most ignorant post I have seen to date in so many ways.
“nless they are applying to technical/engineering/science programs with heavy math/science requirements. Even top US students may not get through Calculus and chem/physics AP’s until senior year.”
How many any of these threads even refer to math or science kids who don't have their APs locked away by soph or junior year though? So many of these threads are lib arts kids. When I vaguely looked at the UK schools it became obvious that the IB HL scores were onerous and that the alternative would just be a full pay compromise. Where my kids are the IBD score is just not the end point.
Okay so I may have the only chemistry kid applying to UK schools but the fact is she is. University of E. worldwide ranking is about equivalent to the US schools she’s applying to such as UCSB. If it comes May and she has an acceptance to UCSB which we are expecting and a conditional from Edinborogh and St. Andrews she may just throw in the towel and go with UCSB or lie to them and wait for July. We’ll see.
If she was a social studies kid she already has two 5’s in social studies and a 4 in a foreign language and things would be a lot easier.
I didn’t mean safeties in a negative sense of this word. The UK schools have clear academic requirements that are much easier to fulfill for a smart kid than to just rely on a shady holistic admissions process the Ivies and Co use. That’s what attracts smart kids to the UK schools - the world rankings are awesome and the requirements are clear
But the ivies don't = Edinburgh.
Oxbridge, Imp, these are not straightforward minimum stats entry schools for Americans either. If Vicki Socal says Edinburgh = UCSB (for her instate kid, I assume OOS kids might need different stats) then Edinburgh is a safety in any sense of the word for a full pay US kid who would have Ivy bound stats.
I’ve always taken the position that you should love your safeties- so if you other choices don’t work out, you are perfectly happy going to your safety. Why start college thinking your school was a consolation prize?
Many, many kids are very happy attending schools that are a match rather than a reach. Many don’t apply to any “reachy” schools for all sorts of reasons. ie UC’s my kid would be a bit of a reach at Berkeley and LA but loved San Diego and Santa Barbara which are matches.
I agree. And sometimes a match school (not a reach school) is a dream school.
@collegemom3717 Hence why I said “AND have the grades”. I am aware that conditional offers are dependent on subject grades.
@montefiore I’d disagree with UCL. Only Oxbridge/LSE and perhaps Imperial are seen this way.
@elguapo1 I’m not sure this regulation is very stringent when LSE has 70% of its students from outside of the UK. I think the regulation mainly applies to Medicine/Dentistry only.
@Sybylla Imperial clearly state their academic requirements as 3 APs at 5.