Oxford University (AP vs SAT Subject Tests)

Student Lounge International Students
1

Hello Everyone,
I’m currently a junior in high school in the US. I’m applying to Oxford University this coming fall and I was wondering if anyone could answer my questions. If you have received an offer from Oxford (conditional or otherwise) could you please specify?

I did well on my ACT (above the required 32).
I was wondering if Oxford looks at SAT Subject Tests more favorably than APs or vice versa? Would it be acceptable for me to apply with three Subject Tests (History, History, and Lit) as I’m applying for a humanities (most probably English) course of study and no APs? Would it be within reason to hope for an interview? I only ask because though I’m registered for APs I don’t know if I’ll get a 5 for sure.

Could I could get an offer with my Subject Tests + ACT that was conditional on me taking the APs next spring?
Thanks,
Alice

2

Assuming you make it through all the steps, Oxford will only make conditional offers.

3

The short answer is yes, you could get a conditional offer with those.

To quibble with the above post, Oxford actually does make unconditional offers- I know a math student who got in with 3 SAT subject tests and no APs. But- that is pretty rare, and there is a whole set of reasons why that happened.

If you are applying for English, the ELAT score will be critical to getting to interview- and organizing to take the ELAT can take time, so start now.

4

I think they prefer AP’s, but generally accept subject tests anyway

5

I don’t think they would accept the two histories as separate subjects, so another AP or SAT2 would be advisable. But yes, it’s fine to apply before you get the results.