<p>Hey everyone,
I've been playing with the idea of applying for a university in the UK/US in the future; I'm a sixteen year old student from the Czech republic; it's the tenth year of my studies, so I assume I'd be in grade 10 in UK schools and a sophomore in the US.
Of course my dreams are high, but I'm trying to stay realistic. I've been thinking about preparing myself for any of the previously mentioned qualifications at home. Czech schools do have an equivalent, but I'm not sure whether do universities count in anything that isn't internationally recognized? Are students who take A-Levels/IB/AP/SATs favoured?
Is it possible at all to get ready for any of those exams at home? Are there any long-distance courses, textbooks that are actually helpful, etc.? Is it maneagable while studying at my home school (which is somewhat challenging)?
Which one of those (A-Levels/IB/AP/SATs) would you consider most worth preparing for (which one do most colleges accept and value) and which are most challenging? I am interested in studying mainly chem and bio and physics and math, but I'm fairy interested in everything else too (languages, history, geo... - and I'm better at those), so the IB's universality doesn't bother me as much with not being interesting as it does with whether it'd be worth the effort.
My last question is whether both schools in the UK and in the US recognize all of the above (A-Levels/IB/AP/SATs)?</p>
<p>Thank you very very much for your answers, my research has left me mostly just confused.</p>
<p>Could anybody please reply to the topic? It’s a lot of questions but I’m really desperate for an answer and I should decide very very soon whether to get myself into something like that.</p>
<p>hi! i am in the equivalent of 10th grade and i am an international student too, and my plans really looks like yours
Does your country do a rank of the schools? if so, how is your school?
Well, you can change school and go to an international one and take IB, but it is really expensive and not really useful. You can either take AP exams at home, afeter self studying the subjects and you can even take APID (Advanced Placement International Diploma). But again it costs really a lot (90$ i think for every test, but i am not sure, go on collegeboard for prices).</p>
<p>The best option for you is just keep an high gpa at your school and do a lot of ecs.
Colleges&Universities look for SAT and TOELF/IELTS for international students because they are standardized tests. It is mandatory to take them (at least if you want to apply to ivies, but also almost all the other universities require them).</p>
<p>There are a lot of SAT Prep Books, insead for IB&AP&A-levels idk, sorry.</p>
<p>The SATis really well explained here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/955109-silverturtles-guide-sat-admissions-success.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/955109-silverturtles-guide-sat-admissions-success.html</a>
and here
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/763933-everyone-read-before-posting-best-sat-prep-forum-faqs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/763933-everyone-read-before-posting-best-sat-prep-forum-faqs.html</a></p>
<p>Then there are SAT II also called SAT Subject Test. If you are well prepared on chem and bio take that tests, but there are also other topics. Just pick the two you are sure to take an high grade.</p>
<p>I suggest you to go fot the SAT since they are required almost always, so even if you take IB then you will have to take the SAT test too. Just one little note, if you take AP tests you (only in certain colleges) can have some extracredits.</p>
<p>Here some helpful links:
AP: [AP</a> Central - Advanced Placement Scores, Courses & Exam Center | AP Central - APC Members Home](<a href=“Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board”>Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board)
SAT: [SAT</a> - College Board - The Most Widely Used College Admission Exam](<a href=“The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board”>The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board)
IB: [IB</a> Students’ Starter Pack - IB FAQ - Syllabus links - General IB Discussion - IB Survival](<a href=“IB Students' Starter Pack - IB FAQ - Syllabus links - General IB Discussion - IB Survival”>IB Students' Starter Pack - IB FAQ - Syllabus links - General IB Discussion - IB Survival)
[College</a> Board | International](<a href=“http://international.collegeboard.org/]College”>http://international.collegeboard.org/)
[GPA</a> Calculator](<a href=“http://www.foreigncredits.com/Resources/GPA-Calculator/Czech%20Republic]GPA”>http://www.foreigncredits.com/Resources/GPA-Calculator/Czech%20Republic)</p>
<p>If you have any other question, just ask!</p>
<p>Thank you!
My country doesn’t really do ratings, there was one two years ago and our school was first, but it was only according to the success of the students in the Czech alternative of SATs so while our school’s cool this was really due to the intelligence of that class.
Thanks for all the links as well, I’m wading through them right now and getting all the information.
My great dilemma is whether to go for the SATs or A-Levels or for nothing. I’m a bit on the British train, I love the country, it’s closer to home etc., and British unis take our alternative to SATs as a suitable one; American universities however do not, and I’m just thinking whether preparation for SATs would be really worth the effort and time I could put into my ECs and social life because while getting into HYPS would be mindblowingly awesome I’m afraid I’m not the best or the brightest student, and while I might be if I’d put in some effort, I kinda think it’s too late to match up to standarts of schools as prestigeous, and I’d rather attend an average college in the UK.
Are you aiming for the Ivy League? When did you decide to?</p>
<p>Well, i do not know a lot about A-levels, but actually I am really interested! I’d love to attend Ivies like Harvard or Columbia, but my biggest problem in that I am going to apply for financial aid… However, besides ivies+some safeties in the us, i am planning to apply even in the uk. But I do not know which one… Anyway, I still have quite a lot of time to decide, I will apply in october/november 2015, i think.
How and which ones have you decided to? And how will you take the A-levels exams? And when? And where? Are they offered in yout school?</p>
<p>I think this is really useful for understanding uk admissions
<a href="http://www..co.uk/wiki/UCAS%5B/url%5D">http://www..co.uk/wiki/UCAS</a></p>
<p>I probably won’t be taking A-Levels, since both Oxford and Cambridge (and from that I assume that other UK universities, too) accept our alternative to A-Levels; they have requirements on their websites quite in detail, and for Italy, they accept esame di Stato with overall score of at least 98% and 95% for Cambridge and Oxford consecutively.
And I’ll see what am I going to be applying according to how my GPA/test results/ECs are going to look like, I have some time to decide (and work, most importantly), I’m going to be taking my final high school exams in three years and I will probably want to try out SATs around that time, too.
What field are you planning on studying? I’m kinda torn, because frankly, I love studying and I want to learn everything (not that I have the diligence), and I’m thinking of a med school and sciences (preferably something revolving around bio and chem, with which math and physics kinda come hand in hand). I was also briefly thinking of journalism, but I’m not nearly talented enough.</p>
<p>Oh well, my problem is that my final exam, the esame di stato or maturit</p>
<p>I have no idea about the med thing. I think it can be the same-similar… You can go to either pre-med school and then to med or you can study a related subject first and then go to med school, I believe. Not sure though.</p>
<p>Hi! I’m from Hungary and I’ve prepared both for my A-Levels and SATs completely alone. The UK definitely favours A-Levels more, but remember, you need to take three of those. Look at the CIE website, as it’s the only exam board that offers A-Levels abroad (that is, not in the UK). I’m sure there’s an international school there, that offers A-Levels, so you could contact them. A-Levels are, I stress, REALLY difficult, especially on your own. Also, if any of your subjects require a coursework, it may not be available to you if you’re a private student.
US universities favour the IB, and sometimes don’t give credit for A-Levels. They accept it as a final exam, but that’s it. Of course that varies with universities.
SATs have been discussed above.
So if you change your mind and decide on A-Levels, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>PS. don’t forget the IELTS/TOEFL!</p>