<p>Hello everyone! I'm brand new here, but I felt it was necessary to join up because I have a whole bunch of questions that haven't been answered anywhere else on the internet.
So! I am planning on applying to five schools in the UK for Fall 2011 undergraduate English degree: Warwick, Exeter, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, and Oxford.
I was just wondering- any Americans who have tried this before, how have you applied through UCAS? Obviously my high school isn't listed in the UCAS database for an accepted College/Secondary School, so I was wondering how to do that. Also, how am I supposed to add my Predicted Results for my AP tests, ACTs and such?
Also, anyone know how the admissions difficulty is at Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford? Obviously it's difficult, but does anyone know if it's extra fiendishly difficult to get in there for an English course?
And with the ELAT test- does ANYONE know how I'm supposed to register as an international?
Also, will it kill me to be applying to Exeter and Warwick as Drama majors, and the other three as English majors?
If you can help me, I will love you forever.</p>
<p>I’m an American student as well applying to UK schools. Finished my application about a month ago. I’ve applied to London School of Economics, Edinburgh, Durham, and Queen Mary. </p>
<p>There is a british equivalent of college discussion called The Student Room. There is thread for Americans applying, and I encourage you to join on the discussion. I’ll post the link later. </p>
<p>" planning on applying to five schools in the UK for Fall 2011 undergraduate English degree: Warwick, Exeter, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, and Oxford."
**Good choice of schools. I’d swap out St. Andrews if I were you though. It’s overrated by Americans and there are better schools. Replace it with University College London. Unless you like playing golf! Warwick is in the middle of nowhere and cold as hell, but excellent school. Edinburgh is an amazing city and an amazing school. I mean Adam Smith taught there, that’s just bada*s. Exeter is pretty much a vacation spot for some brits, and a solid backup school if you are shooting for schools like Edinburgh and Oxford. **</p>
<p>"any Americans who have tried this before, how have you applied through UCAS? Obviously my high school isn’t listed in the UCAS database for an accepted College/Secondary School, so I was wondering how to do that. Also, how am I supposed to add my Predicted Results for my AP tests, ACTs and such? "
Just type your high school in. Once it shows up not found, it will allow you to type it in. You add AP tests/ACT under qualifications. You type in the test date. You won’t be able to put predicted results in. This must be done by your teacher doing the reference. An email will be sent to this teacher and the teacher enters your predicted results and fills out the reference.</p>
<p>"Also, anyone know how the admissions difficulty is at Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford? "
Anything is going to be difficult. To be competitive for admissions though, at a minimum you will need five AP exams with a score of 5. SAT/ACT are insignificant as these aren’t academic tests, they’re scholastic tests. However, if you won’t have 5 AP exams at a 5, you’ll need to get a 2200 plus on the SAT to makeup for it. Go on the Oxford site and there are admissions statistics for each subject in each college. I’m not versed with english courses, since I’m applying for law. I’m guessing one spot per 10-15 applicants. The site will give you exact though. Remember though everyone applying to Oxford is competitive. You can’t really apply to oxford without having AAA at a level as a UK student (british equivalent to AP exams but it’s much harder, which is a 555). So imagine if X college in the US had 20k applications, but every one of them had 2300+ SAT and 4.0 GPA. See the difference?</p>
<p>You really need to get on it if you want Oxford. The deadline is Oct 15th. You’ll need your reference, PS, and form filled out by then. Plus the overseas applicant form mailed and recieved by the 15th. Not sure if you’ll have time to have it done by then. Atleast at a quality level. Remember british personal statements aren’t like American personal statements. So you can’t use what you used for X college. British statements aren’t essays or stories. There matter of fact… Why are you interested in this subject? What have you done to give you the skills necessary for this subject? etc.</p>
<p>“And with the ELAT test- does ANYONE know how I’m supposed to register as an international?”
They offer the test through testing centers, mainly in New York. I’m not sure whether Oxford offers them anywhere else in the states. And if they did, I’m pretty sure you would have had to sent the overseas app by now, so they could plan it for you. But I’m not versed in Oxford admissions, so everything I just said could be a complete lie.</p>
<p>“Also, will it kill me to be applying to Exeter and Warwick as Drama majors, and the other three as English majors?”
Yes, because you should use all 4,000 charachters in your PS talking about english.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, Adam! I’ve already done basically everything on my UCAS application, so that’s exciting. Is UCL ridiculously hard to get into? I mean, I know I have Oxford and Edinburgh on my list, but those are my two reaches, I think. (1330 combined SATs for Math and Verbal, retaking them in November, 4 on US History AP, taking AP Psychology, AP English Literature, and AP Euro expecting 5s on those at this point, barring crazy things happening).</p>
<p>I’ve pm’d you the link since this site doesn’t let you post links btw.</p>
<p>Okay, good. I thought you were just starting! You should be fine then. All of the schools you’ve listed aren’t a reach if you can secure another 4 and then one 5 (in english). You’d likely be into UCL with a 1900 SAT and a 544, with the 5 in english. The only exception would be Oxford. Warwick, Edinburgh, and UCL are all about the same caliber. Exeter is a tad below, but still a great school–maybe the equivalent of a lower ivy or something like UVA. </p>
<p>You seem like you’ve got a strong shot! I honestly think you can get into every school above with the exception of Oxford. It’s good to have a super reach on the list though. Mine is London School of Economics. I really don’t expect to get an offer. But if there is a .1 percent chance, it was worth it to me. Edinburgh/UCL might be a bit harder than Warwick and Exeter only because more Americans apply for English to those schools but I wouldn’t sweat it.</p>
<p>Since you are applying to schools in the UK, I encourage you to look into some other countries as well. If you are feeling a bit adventurous, then look into the Netherlands (Rotterdam, Maastricht, and Amsterdam). Australia has the best uni outside of the US and the UK (Australian National University, ranked number 17 in the world). University of Melbourne and University of Sydeny are also top notch schools. </p>
<p>Outside of the UK, I’ve applied to Erasmus in Rotterdam (for management), Maastricht (for law) and Amsterdam (general Bachelors). And then I recieved a conditional offer to Australian National University a few weeks ago (Australian schools respond super quick btw).</p>
<p>If I was just starting, that would be a serious issue…
Thank you SO MUCH for your help! And I’m currently looking at UCL… I’m liking that quite a bit. Good luck in all your applications!</p>
<p>I’d just like to point out English is one of the most competitive courses at UCL and nobody is assured admittance. It’s quite normal for English applicants to be accepted at Oxbridge and rejected by UCL.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>It’s a bit different for American students since Americans are classified as international students. Not only will UCL get 10x more money, but Americans don’t count against their quota. There is only a limited number of UK students they can take, no limit on int’l students. The only case where I’ve ever seen Americans rejected who met or exceeded entry requirements was at Oxbridge and LSE.</p>
<p>You seem to be suggesting that a university can take as many international students as they like, that is false. As for fees, in realty international students aren’t charged any more money than home/EU students; just the British government subsidies the latter. It is incorrect to infer that because a student pays international fees they are somehow more likely to gain admittance, or will have to satisfy less strict entry requirements than their UK/EU counterparts.</p>
<p>Does Oxford require a paper supplement like Cambridge’s COAF? If it does, make sure you get it TO Oxford in time. I’ll be hastening to the FEDEX folks later this week. </p>
<p>Does anyone know how quickly you get a confirmation number for payment? The COAF requires it - and we can’t get it until the UCAS is filed.</p>
<p>You may be able to get the admissions test proctored at your high school. There is one company that does some of the UK tests as well, but I think the date to apply there has passed. (They don’t do the Cambridge TSA so we don’t care…)</p>
<p>You don’t need 5 5’s on APs. 3 700+ on SAT IIs is sufficient.</p>
<p>“As for fees, in realty international students aren’t charged any more money than home/EU students”</p>
<p>A home student at LSE pays £3,355. An international student pays £14,592.</p>
<p>You’ve misunderstood me. I said that the fees are the same but the government subsidises most of the cost for the home student, so the fees they actually pay are smaller.</p>
<p>"You don’t need 5 5’s on APs. 3 700+ on SAT IIs is sufficient. "</p>
<p>OP didn’t indicate taking SAT IIs. Maybe I missed that.</p>
<p>So, the school gets the same amount of money for home and international students, but it comes from different sources, whereas here in the states, the students applying to state schools are charged less with the state supporting the school generally.</p>
<p>^ I don’t follow, aren’t they the same thing?</p>
<p>I’m taking two SAT IIs in November, and the ACTs October 23rd. Just saying.</p>
<p>Just thought it would mention the alternative. 3 SAT IIs are a lot easier, especially since they only have to be 700</p>
<p>Hey guys. How would applying after (well, technically during) a gap year be looked at? So I will grad high school in the US in 2011, then apply the fall of 2011 to UK schools while on my gap year (I’m not 100%sure which schools yet, first I must see how feasible it is!). I will then have final AP results, and I am not wasting the gap year…it is a very competitive program.
In all honesty, I am overwhelmed with the UK App process. I am a Polish/American dual citizen, so I think that helps at least a little bit…(not fully American?! EU citizen?! IDK!).
Any tips or guidance would be helpful. What did you look at first when applying to these schools? What would you have done differently in the app process? I know this is an early start for next fall but while the app is fresh on your minds, I would love to hear from you! Thank you so much.</p>
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<p>It is MUCH more common to take gap years in the UK than in the US and will very rarely be frowned upon. In fact, sometimes UK schools give “deferred offers” to students (especially to those who will be very young when entering, and especially Oxbridge do this) which means we will only accept you IF you take a gap year. So they effectively force the student to take one. </p>
<p>You don’t say what “competitive program” you mean to do in your gap year. But rest assured that what you do isn’t really important in the UK. I know several people who worked minimum wage jobs during this time (and then blew the money backpacking round Europe for a couple of months usually!). In the UK they really value work experience of any kind so if you can get a job in your field of study, or at least say on your UCAS form you are looking for one, that looks good.</p>
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<p>Doesn’t help at all. You only get reduced tuition if your parents have been paying tax in an EU country for at least the last 3 years. If not, you page foreign student fees, That applies to British citizens as well. It’s nothing to do with nationality. Admitting students for reasons of diversity would be illegal in the UK.</p>