Please chance me for UK Colleges!

Hello, I am currently at senior at a United States school. I am currently applying to British schools along with a couple of US schools. I am planning to apply for a Neuroscience BSc and then complete med school after. I would also be very interested in applying for a Psychology BSc if my test scores are suited for that. (I am also very interested in KCL’s Neuroscience and Psychology BSc). The schools that I have in mind right now are:
University College London
King’s College London
University of Manchester
University of Bristol
Newcastle University
This list is tentative for now and I would love any advice on other schools that are good for neuroscience in the UK.
Unfortunately, I did not know that I wanted to go into science until junior year when I ended up loving the AP Psychology course, and especially the Neuroscience unit. I am also taking Anatomy & Physiology right now and love it! Overall, I ended up taking mostly humanities AP courses that I got 5 5’s in including World History and U.S History. I think that my scores that can pertain to the UK applications are:

ACT: 36 (36 Reading, 35 Math, 36 English, 35 Science, 9 Writing)
Biology: 4
Biology Subject Test: 740
Calculus AB: 4
Chemistry: Pending, I am taking it as a senior (Will also take the subject test)
AP Environmental Science: 5
AP Psychology: 5
I am also wondering if you guys would recommend taking any other subject tests or AP tests. I talked with my counselor and she said she could sign me up for the AP Bio or AP Calculus test if I needed to retake them.

Thank you for your time!

If med school is your goal, the UK is really not the way to do it. Most US med schools require your core science classes (Bio/Chem/OChem/Phys) to be taken in the US or Canada, and lots of them don’t accept international undergrad degrees full stop. UK med schools have a strict limit on how many international students they can accept- and is most commonly a direct admit, not after undergrad.

Not all places take subject tests, and they don’t double count. Your 4 in Bio is borderline for this subject, even at the places that usually take a 4, b/c it is a competitive course and the subject is core to the course. The standard offer at KCL and Manchester, does allow 1-2 Bs at Alevel, and AP 4s usually equate to a B, so those look like decent best bets (I didn’t look up Newcastle or Bristol, but you can)

Remember that “predicted” scores are required for all of the tests you are scheduled to take this year, and any offer will be conditional based on those predictions. You won’t have a confirmed place until you have met the conditions (so, after AP results come out in July).

I can hear your enthusiasm, but be aware that if you do get in, you will be relatively underprepared compared to your classmates, and you will have to work hard to fill in the gaps- yourself. The UK system is very hands off, and there will be no extra support for areas where you background is not as strong as your peers. Be sure to read the year by year descriptions- typically you will have no choices in Year 1, and then start getting a few in Y2 & 3.

Hello and thank you for the sound advice. I completely understand what you are saying but medicine is my passion and I will make sure to work hard for it in the UK. I saw that you mentioned that colleges have international quotas for graduate, but I would not be a part of this if I held a bachelor’s degree from a British university right?

Wrong, on 2 counts:

  1. the UK system is not undergrad + grad: the norm is that you go straight into med school from HS. “Graduate entry” is a relatively new path, with only a small number places and

  2. restrictions on places are based on your citizenship, not where you have studied

The main problem is that American Med schools want you to take 2 years of classes at a US undergraduate institution.
If you want to study medicine in the US you must study in the US.
I dont think you can study medicine in the UK? Perhaps at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (not the UK) but I think they want an American undergraduate degree.

Neuroscience = look into Aberdeen. Excellent program.

RCSI will take US students, and for the 6 year option APs aren’t even required (marks in both Bio & Chem are, however). IME of RCSI, however, accepted US students tend to have strikingly higher results than the stated minimums. I have heard the Dean mention several times how strong the applications from US students tend to be, and how well prepared they are. Fees are €55K/pa (first year paid in advance), plus ~€10K for housing, and food/living expenses.

There is also the University of Buckingham, which is the only independent (private) medical school in the UK and just graduated it’s first class… It is not subject to the cap on places for international students, Entry requirements: a minimum of 3 ‘5s’ on APs, to include Chem, Bio, & Calc, plus their own entry test. Tuition is £37K/pa + room (ranges from ~£120- £190/week) and food / living expenses.

US students are eligible to apply for medicine in the UK- it’s just extra hard b/c the places for internationals are so limited and you are competing with students from all over the world (and the unis don’t always fill all their quota spaces, either).

Plus the Calc should really be BC rather than AB.