I go to a small American school and I’m planning on applying to British schools, including Oxford. I’m the first person to ever apply to British universities from my school, and there may not be another for many years. I’m planning on getting a recommendation from a teacher at my school.
Should I talk to the headmaster and get him to register the school? Or should I just apply as an individual? Will one option take a long time or be significantly more complicated? Will one option hurt my admissions chances? Is the option to apply as an individual meant for people like me, or for people who are not currently in school?
My daughter was the first in many years to apply to UK schools and is now attending St. Andrews. She applied through UCAS and just had to provide her guidance counselor’s email so he could login and do the reccomender part.
Like @VickiSoCal’s daughter, mine was the first/only from her school to apply. There is no problem with that per se. Be aware that the person (GC or subject teacher) who writes your reference must upload the reference before you can finish submitting your application. This matters for Oxford, which as a firm 15 Oct deadline.
Also, if you have to take an admissions test for Oxford (iirc, you are looking at the MAT?), you will need to either take it at one of the approx. 15 places that it is offered in the US, or have your school register as a test site- and this late in the year your school may not have the time to get in done by the 15 Oct registration deadline.
You will find some tips on writing a reference on the UCAS site- it is important that the person who writes your recommendation understand that the key function is to give a view as to your suitability for the course you are applying to study. That applies to your own essay (Personal Statement) also.
My son was in the same boat, did it himself and took the MAT at a testing center in NYC. The one big benefit he had from his school was that his reference writer (his math teacher & advisor) is an Oxford grad, so she could speak with experience on the program and how he might fit.
@collegemom3717 advice on the reference is very important - make sure your reference writer understands this.