<p>In terms of their selection of students, what are the differences?</p>
<p>Very, very different. Very. Ivy League looks at GPA, for example, while Oxford and Cambridge do not. The latter have a more test-based yet more personalized system: that is, you must have very good scores on your SATs and APs (which are exceedingly important to them, while not important at all to American schools) to be considered, but once you have passed that bar, you must pass a personal interview and a further test in your subject. It is your ability in your chosen subject that matters to them, all else is beside the point–they don’t care about your leadership, for example, or the level at which you play the trumpet. They produce world-class scholars, and they want more of them, not necessarily BMOC or class presidents.</p>
<p>Also the process occurs much earlier in the senior year: the deadline for next year is October 15.</p>
<p>So you mean Oxford or Cambridge looks at SAT scores more than Ivy league unis? </p>
<p>If I do both A levels and SAT and I’m an international student, then what would top US colleges look at more and what would the UK ones look at? Note that A levels take 2 years of full time study while SAT can be cracked and mastered in a month. </p>
<p>I’ve done A levels and SAT. My A levels results are brilliant but my SAT stands at 2000. I’ve applied to Cambridge (and yes, i’ve got to go for that interview and sit the pre-interview test) , but I’ve not yet determined whether I want to study in the UK or US. Do you think it’s worth for me to apply to top US colleges considering my weak SAT score?</p>
<p>@marysydney was assuming that you’re American. If you have A-levels, Oxbridge will care only about those. For the SAT, what is your M+CR score (almost no one care about the essay score)? If they’re below 1400 and you don’t have a strong hook, then Ivy/Ivy-equivalents are unrealistic. What country are you from?</p>
<p>All the advice above is excellent, but there is another part to your question: the academic environments are just as different as the application process. If you lovelovelove the subject you are applying to study, are very self directed and happy in a relatively hands-off setting, and do best with fewer, bigger assessments, the UK will suit you. On the other hand, if you have diverse interests, like to work at a (relatively) steady pace or deal well on continuous assessment, and want more involvement with your professors, etc., then you may prefer the US system. Also, it seems as if you going for a name brand - if so, take a little time to learn about the differences in the Ivy Leagues unis- they have very different personalities, and (for example) somebody who loves Cornell is unlikely to be as happy at Brown. Try <em>u</em>n<em>i</em>g*o for a different viewpoint than the usual CC.</p>
<p>Then, there is the international capitation on both sides. Expect that only about 10-12% of the student body in a US need-blind school will be international, thus the already highly selective process is that much more so. You will be competing against students from throughout the world for the 200 or so places in an entering class while Americans will compete with a smaller pool (in the ratio of ~300million:7Billion) of applicants for the 1800 remaining seats; and yield rates for US students are sub 10%. I do not know what actual yield is for international applicants- likely better than the .05% suggested here, but still sobering. Cost is vastly different if you are graduating from a UK school, where Oxbridge is a reasonable annual cost; and it takes an extra year in the US to handle all of the “breadth” classes, so that is an extra ~25-30,000 euro bump to the cost in addition to the annual cost difference. On the other hand, grad school in the US is always a good bet, and the selection process may be more favorable!</p>