Oxford chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>After looking through lots of great schools, I'd thought I'd take a chance and apply to Oxford for their biological sciences program (27% acceptance, 111 seats, although chances are likely lower because I'm international coming from America)</p>

<p>SAT- 2320 in a single setting (750 Reading, 790 Math, 780 Writing)
SAT II- 760-Biology E, 770- Math 2, 750- U.S History
ACT- 35 Composite (36 English, 35 Math, 34 Reading, 36 Science)
AP- 5's- US History, Language and Composition, World History
4's- Biology, Calc AB
3's- Calc BC
PSAT- 221</p>

<p>It doesn't seem like the take GPA, and the UCAS has no real way for me to report it anyway.</p>

<p>I have also taken several courses through Cornell University Summer College obtaining a College transcript GPA of 4.3</p>

<p>I take a very competitive schedule, especially compared to my local peers, with my current year line up including:</p>

<p>AP Stat
AP Chemistry
AP Psychology
AP Government and Politics
AP Literature
Honors Physics
Calculus 3</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars</p>

<p>Supervising Coordinator for Volunteer Program at Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (Methodist Hospital) (~1000 hours)
Job Shadowing at University of Nebraska Medical Center
Various Bio labs at my local college
Organic Chemistry through MIT Courseware
Team Captain for Varsity Debate Team (placed 6th in state at Public Forum)
Policy Debate Team (Cornell)
British Parliamentary Debate Team (Cornell)
National Honor Society
State Track (Discus, No medal)
Nebraska Boys State (2014 Speaker of House)
Various Internships (Loyd's of London local branch here)
National Merit Semi Finalist
Student Ambassador Republican Party of Nebraska</p>

<p>I come from a relatively small town in Nebraska, and I'm just trying to make myself stand out. It may be worth mentioning I can pay for my college in full, no need for scholarships (although they are nice).</p>

2

<p>Your SAT II scores are good, but you have a problem with your biology & math AP scores- 5s would be pretty much expected, and the difference between the two sets of scores would raise red flags. Are your summer courses accredited university courses or summer programs for high schoolers? If accredited, are any of them biology or math? If so, they could offset the low APs.</p>

<p>Your bio ECs are good; the others won’t be relevant.</p>

<p>Acceptance rates are too different to be helpful- nobody can apply to both Oxford & Cambridge, and UK kids can only apply to a total of 5 unis, so they choose more carefully…27% makes it look as if it is much easier to get into Oxford than an Ivy League, and that is definitely not true!</p>

3

<p>You seem to be approaching this as though you are applying to a US university. British universities are entirely different. Extracurricular activities do not matter at all, as the above poster said, only the ones directly relating to your major matter slightly. Debate, NHS, Track, etc. won’t matter one bit. Second, British universities don’t care about standardized tests like the ACT and SAT, just SAT IIs and AP tests, so unfortunately your 35 and 2320 won’t mean anything. Most British high school only allow students to take 4 classes, requiring students to become specialized in high school (for example, if you want to specialize in medicine, your four courses would be physics, chemistry, biology, and math), so students from the US are expected to be at that level of specialization, as British university is only 3 years. Cambridge recommends 5 AP tests directly correlating with your subject (which for you would probably be Chemistry, Biology, Calc AB or BC, Enviro Sci, and Stat or other science/math AP tests) with 5s on each, as well as a 750+ on 3 SAT IIs that directly correlate to your intended field of study, so I’m sure Oxford has similar expectations. That being said, you have no 5s on AP tests directly correlating to your major, but you do have solid SAT II scores. Unfortunately, admission to British universities is entirely different than to US universities, as numbers are virtually all that matter, with a little influence from related ECs. I hate to be the one to say this, I would not get my heart set on Oxford if I were you. Honestly, if you go to HS in the US, you must be planning on applying to a British university from Day 1 in order to get all those expectations fulfilled by the time you apply. Also, Oxford’s deadline to apply is October 15, so start working on your personal statement ASAP if you haven’t already.</p>

4

<p>Lots of UK students post their experience on the Student Room. Take a look there for advice on how to best present yourself as an American applying to British Unis.</p>

<p>I agree with @430ktk, you need to have the requirements listed on the Oxford website (lots of 5’s on AP classes). If you don’t have the minimum requirements, I would not suggest applying.</p>

<p>I have also heard due to economic conditions the UK unis sometimes like to get full pay internationals to help balance their budget</p>

5

<p>I totally understand that the requirements are hard to meet. This is why I decided to apply to Biological Sciences . I was originally planning on applying to Medicine or Biochemistry, but I ran into the same scenario you’ve pointed out. I felt I matched up decently for Biological Sciences (It only requires an A level in Biology and Math, of which an SAT II of 700 or above is equivalent according to Oxford, and an SAT of 2100). I know Oxford is extremely competitive, and it is far from my first choice, but do you think it’s at least worth applying? Thanks for the help, and I’ll definitely check out the Student Room.</p>

6

<p>If it is far from your first choice, why apply? </p>

<p>The standardized test scores are basically a hurdle- a minimum. At other UK unis getting those scores will pretty much get you in, but not at the top unis. You can be very sure that every single UK applicant who applies to BioSciences has been predicted to meet the required A*AA in Bio, Math and another science- and will lose their place if they don’t meet it. </p>

<p>You have an A,A, B, B/C, and whatever you have been predicted for Chem. If you got an offer, it would be almost certainly conditional on a 5 in AP Chem. From this vantage point, given your record on science & math APs, that would seem rather a risky bet.</p>

<p>To get to the interview stage you will need to write a personal statement (you can find lots of help for that over at the student room). This is not something that you will be able to whip off: it is a thoughtful essay that demonstrates why you are a great BioSciences student (not why you are a great person / a high achiever / well rounded / deserving, etc). The interview itself is like a mini-tutorial, where the tutors (professors) who will be teaching you ask you questions and set you problems to see how you think, how you learn, and how suited you are to both the subject - as it is taught at Oxford!- and the tutorial format. They want students who are passionate about their subject and show great ability and motivation. </p>

<p>Which brings us back to: given that you don’t particularly want to go there, why would you go through all of this?</p>