<p>Hey, I'm an African American from New Jersey currently living in Ghana. I'm a senior right now set to take the GCE A-Levels next spring. I wanted to know, in MIT's eyes, how the A-levels compare to other curricula like the IB's and AP's. </p>
<p>Right now, I'm taking A-Level Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Applied Information and Communication Technology. Five subjects at A-level is quite rare and I'm really the only other kid at my school doing it. </p>
<p>Any clarification is appreciated. Thanks (:</p>
<p>Hey, I’m doing GCE A-Levels as well. I took all the same subjects as you (expect I took Further Math instead of Bio). I asked the same question to one of the admissions officer during one of MIT’s webcast and they said IB, AP and A-Levels are given similar credit. </p>
<p>And regarding the five A-level subjects, I think that they will take into account how rigorous your courses were. I am really relying on my counselor to mention that in the secondary school report.</p>
<p>This is one of the most frequently asked questions by international students: I’m taking the [pick one of GCE A-levels, HK A-levels, German Abitur, Finnish Abitur, IB] etc. How would MIT understand my qualifications and how will they view this? The short answer is that at most competitive schools that receive a lot of international applicants they cope just fine. MIT understands A-levels very well. You put predicted A-levels into the spot on the form labelled A-levels. The important principle here is that MIT, along with most of the top schools are interested in the decisions that students have taken regarding their education. What the top qualification that a given secondary school offers is rarely a decision that the students have, they get no choice in the matter. I know of no school that gives students a choice between A-levels, Cambridge Pre-U, and the IB, for example. Rather, it’s much like Henry Ford’s choice of colors, you can have any color you want, as long as it’s black. A much more interesting decision is that you chose to take 5 A-levels at a school where 4 was the norm. That is something of note.</p>
<p>So don’t fret about that stuff. Do be slightly concerned that if accepted at MIT, you will have to complete 8 subjects in the Humanities, Arts, and/or Social Sciences (usually one per term). So for a student doing pure STEM A-levels, that can be a concern. \but that is not an admissions concern, more of a “what do I do now that I have gotten in” concern."</p>