Hi guys,
I’m a current junior in the US looking to apply to Oxford in the fall to read PPE. I took Macroeconomics this past Thursday and I feel awful about the test - I was extremely sick that day and while I don’t think I failed, I’m pretty sure I didn’t get a 5 (4 most likely, a 3 worst-case scenario). Should I just cancel the score? I know Oxford requires you to send in all AP scores so that’s my concern. I didn’t take any class; I just self-studied so canceling it wouldn’t affect my American apps in any way. Thanks!
As I understand it, if you cancel the score before June 15 they never score the test, so there is no score to report. So it is fair to cancel it. Have you taken any other APs / SAT IIs? will you have enough to apply with?
I’ve taken:
AP European History - 5
AP Calculus AB - 5
Took this year:
AP Calculus BC
AP United States History
AP Biology
AP English Language
Expecting 5s on these but iffy about biology.
SAT IIs US History, Math II, Literature, 800s across the board
(imo) looks like a good set of scores to apply with. The BC calc will go down well- and will carry more weight than the macro. How does the TSA seem to you?
@collegemom3717 Ah, that’s good to hear! Thanks 
I took a TSA practice test yesterday (the 2012 one off their website) and I actually didn’t do too bad. The ones I missed were overwhelmingly math problems, but if I do decide to go forth with this application practice my SAT math tutor (who’s ridiculously good at math) could probably help me work out those problems.
Out of curiosity, is your D or S a student at Oxford? :o
Yup 
& she is vv happy there
Have you found “the student r o o m” site yet? There are at least a couple PPEist applicants already on the 2016 entry thread: http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2730251&page=28
(fill in the asterisks with all three words: “the student r o o m” all squished together)
I guess A-levels are coming up soon, because that site has extremely active A-level forums.
True! But over the summer the 2016 applicant forums will get very busy, esp for Oxbridge as the application deadline is so early.
Other threads that would be interesting to the OP include “I’m an American applying to Oxford” and “What do you want to know about Oxford”.
DO NOT apply for PPE you won’t get in no one does (sorry to be harsh but I just want to help) go for smoothing in a similar department at oxford and then change to PPE(i know lots of people who have done this successfully) this is the best way, people I know in the UK who applied for PPE with perfect test scores and did work with political parties for like years didn’t get in.
You know lots of people who have successfully changed from another subject into PPE?? Frankly, that is very hard to believe. The only possible subjects that they could transfer in from would be HisPol, an Econ, and possibly a mathy-Phil- and tutors from the other 2 subjects would have to approve it. I have seen people move from a joint subject to a single subject. I also know a couple people who added a joint (both His + joint in which they had a strong background)- but it was a serious push. And I don’t know of anybody who has moved from a single subject into PPE. Anything is possible, and if you say that you know somebody who has done it, more power to you- but LOTS?!
More to the point, your advice to the OP is not actually helpful: the OP’s odds of getting into PPE are higher than their odds of moving from HisPol (or whatever) to PPE. It is true that PPE is the course that most Americans apply to, and the odds are not in the OP’s favor, but Americans do get in. Also, perfect test scores and hacking are not enough to get into PPE (or any Oxford subject for that matter).
The most important factor in Oxford PPE admissions is the TSA. Oxford do not care about exam scores nearly as much as Cambridge do since they do not think they are a good indicator of success. Focus on the TSA. A very high score (80+) practically guarantees admission in a way that a perfect GPA does not. (Of course 80+ is very very rare and most successful applicants have lower scores.)
Are you sure that Oxford requires you to send all AP exam results? If so, when and where do you send it? On their admissions page it only requires you to have a combination of SAT and/or AP scores pertinent to the subject you wish to study. I’m currently filling out the UCAS application and I’m really worried because I don’t want them to see my Economics AP scores and i’m applying to PPE.
Yes, you have to send in all your AP exam results. You have to list all the standardized tests that you have taken (with scores) on the UCAS application. FWIW, Econ is not required for PPE, only counts as 1/2 an AP each (micro+macro=1), and the Oxford econ people are pretty sniffy about the Econ AP.
(and, as i said on your other post: better to start your own thread than hijacking otherwise dormant threads)