Hi, I m working on trying to reach the requirements for Oxbridge and I had a few questions…
I m in my Junior year and I ll be taking my SAT in May and 3 subject SAT in June & 2/3 in October.
I ll be taking some AP classes in the field I want to study in and will also be taking some AP exams by the end of Senior year. (I m planning on 4/5).
For my grades, I m planning on having a 4.0 cumulative GPA. (And hopefully get a higher one with my AP classes senior year.
I have a tutor for my SAT s and am working on the practice subject SAT s. I also want to get involved in some summer programs in what I want to study if I can afford it. My school doesn t have too many AP classes or activities involving what I want to study which is a bummer.
I know Oxbridge is a difficult school to get into to so I m a bit worried (intimidated/nervous) and I have other colleges that I m looking at if I don t get accepted obviously lmao.
So my question is what would my chances be at getting accepted as an international student and for any tips/advice.
I also know who I want to write my reference lol.
Thank you!
Just to check - you do know that Oxbridge isn’t ‘a … school’ but an abbreviation for the two separate universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and that you can only apply to one of them, don’t you?
What is your intended subject?
Yup, I know. Don’t worry lol
Oh and I want to study Natural Science at Cambridge or Chemistry at Oxford. :3
If you decide on Cambridge, I recommend taking APs in Calculus, Bio and Physics as well as Chem - it will give you more options once there if you get in. Cambridge asks for 5 APs, and Oxford for three, all with scores of 5.
Hard to tell what your chances are until you have some hard evidence in the form of standardised scores.
If your school does not offer all 5 relevant APs, take the ones that are not offered online. Your sat 2s will not matter that much.
Your reference will have to be written by your counsellor with input from the teachers.
I am. I’m planning on buying AP exam practice books for the ones I’ll be taking senior year. Also, they Stated on their website that you can take five subject SAT’s to meet minimum requirements (along with a SAT score that adds up to at least 2100) so I thought they did matter, at least a little? (At least you could take 3 for Oxford)
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/international-students/international-qualifications?wssl=1
Yeah, I know it’s hard to tell as I still have to take my tests. I’m just being hypothetical ( if I was to get the required scores)
I also plan on taking those exams so yay.
Also, I heard you could take subject SATs to meet the minimum requirement. At least i t was Stated on the websites last time I checked (though I know they in no way are equivalent to the AP exams) so I wanted to know how true that was??
And if I was to take the 5 subject SATs and get at least a 700 on them and at least a 2100 on my SAT, would it be enough to consider me for a conditional acceptance?? I know it’s a silly question to ask but I wanted to ask, sorry! :3
Cambridge will not be satisfied with sat2s without APs. Your goal is to surpass minimum requirements of 3 or 5 APa. Admissions are really competitive. Be realistic.
Yeah, that was what I was assuming! Wasn’t at all thinking about taking subject SATs and no AP exams, I CLEARLY wouldn’t be getting in lmao. (Anyways it says on the website it self that subject SATs aren’t in the same league as AP exam which is obvious). I just wanted to make sure that taking my subject SATs by October and AP exams by the end of Senior year would be good. My plan is to take 5 of each. Thank you for the help btw! :3
Ucas and individual apps will be due by October 15. Ideally, I would take all sats2 by the end of junior year and just have AP exams senior year. You can take sats at a latter date, but I would aim at having as many qualifications on record as possible.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Take SATS2 to meet as many qualifications as possible by October and then focus on getting 5’s & studying for my AP exams by the end of Senior year to meet the full requirements. Thank you so much for the clarification!
College board was late releasing scores this past October for many students, so keep that in mind.
Gotcha! I know that can happen with the college board. The last two dates for SATs/sats2 are May 6 & June 2 for this school year if I remember correctly. I’ll be taking the first test date for the other 2/3 sats2 which is currently anticipated to be October 1.
Grades and test scores are only the first and most basic hurdle. You also need to develop clear proof of passionate interest in some kind of unique way that will get you noticed and about which you can speak and interact at interviews. THere are books about how to get into oxbridge, I suggest you get one and formulate a strategy.
My d is an American who applied from France, just about to graduate from Cam. I have described how she got her offer in detail, you need to look at my stats from a while back.
^^what @alcibiade said.
For Cambridge, you must have 5 APs- they will not consider your SAT subject tests (Oxford will, Cambridge won’t). For Natural Sciences at Cambridge you MUST have Calc and at least 2 of the sciences (Chem, Bio, Physics)- and some colleges require 3 (depends which college you apply to). Note that there is also an admissions test that you have to register for by October and take in November.
IF you do well on the admissions test, the rest of your app (PS, rec) is strong, and Cambridge believes your school’s prediction that you will get 5s in all 5 APs then you will get an interview (which is more like an oral exam crossed with a tutorial). IF you do well you will get an offer- and that offer will be conditional getting those 5s.
So- if all the other parts go right, you will be waiting until July (when AP scores come out) to see if you meet your conditions. If you don’t- if you get even 1 4- you will lose your offer and you will go wherever you put a deposit as a safety.
I know that sounds harsh, and I have no way of knowing how smart, motivated, high achiever you are.There are people who think that APs are a doddle and would see no trouble trying to sit 2 or 3 lab sciences plus calc + 2-3 more at a go. If you are one of those people- great! Go for it. To me, that looks like a very high risk strategy - especially as they will be your first go at taking APs.
You can still register for APs through tomorrow (and I think, for a fee, you can even later than that). Is there any way that you could take at least one of your sciences- whichever you are doing now- and another subject (English?) this year? You have a month to study.
One more thing: check out the finances. There are some scholarship funds available at Cambridge, but they are limited and you absolutely cannot count on getting them. Your family (unless they are tax-resident in the EU) needs to be ready to spend $45K+/year.
Nope, I don’t think you’re being harsh at all. Want the absolute truth so I do everything correctly. I talked to my parents about finance for college already so yay! I can also definitely take the Bio,Chem, and and English AP exam in May and then take the physics exams along with Cal next year. I also sort of want to take the statistics exam next year but don’t know how much it’ll help.
So with the subject SATs. would it be a good idea to focus on the ap exams rather than the subject SATs?? (Since the AP exams are clearly going to be more difficult and actually matter for applying)
My reply didn’t post so I’ll go and write it again lol.
I don’t at all think you’re being harsh. I did a lot of research but I wanted to be sure and clarified so I do everything correctly.
I can for sure take the bio,chem, and English exams. (or most likely bio and environmental science)
I also discussed money with my parents so my question would be should I not worry about the subject SATs and focus on the AP exams insteaf since it’s really what matters??
Definitely focus on the APs- doing well on the SAT subject tests shows consistency & validates strong predictions, but at the end of the day it’s the APs that count.
Great that you can take some this year 
APES is only a B group AP (list [here](https://www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/getting-started/entry-requirements/tariff/tariff-tables/966)), so may not ‘count’ as much as you hope (unless you have another B AP, so that it adds up) but if it is consistent with your PS it could be worthwhile.
Yeah, that’s why I was unsure on if I should take it. I might focus on calculous instead since it’s required. I think I’ll take the 3 AP exams in May and then some subject SATS in October for consistency.
And about the interviews, what exactly do you talk about during them and how are they like? (I know that they have a lot of websites/recourses discussing the topic but I thought that I might as well ask).
And how are they done if you’re an international student and are they required? (That part always confused me when I went to research on the two schools).