<p>Hi, I'm wondering what my chances are for St. A's. I'm thinking history/international relations, or something along that line. But before I submit I am wondering what my chances might be and if it is worth it. </p>
<p>SAT - 2170 superscored (2120 highest single sitting), I took it again in October 2014 so I'm waiting on those results
SAT II - 770 World History, 740 US History, English Lit (taking in November 2014)</p>
<p>GPA - 3.17 UW (I have gotten all A's in all my history courses & language courses, but got some B's in English classes in previous years, and some pretty bad math and science grades... but I had extenuating circumstances... had a parent pass away and it definitely affected me, HOWEVER, I have an upward trend in grades and had a pretty solid junior year :) and hopefully senior year is good as well). </p>
<p>But since St.A's wants students with an "A-/B+" average I'm afraid this is where its going to hurt me.</p>
<p>AP - 5 Comparative Gov, 5 US History, 5 English Language, 4 US Government
Predicted AP scores - French 4, Macro 5, Micro 5, English Lit 5, Human Demography 5</p>
<p>How am I looking for the school? </p>
<p>St Andrew’s is the most US-centric UK university, so they pay more attention to GPA than is typical in the UK. Typically, UK unis look only at your standardized test scores in the subject area that you are applying to study. Your existing scores would be enough to get you an unconditional offer for a history/IR course at most UK unis. It is certainly worth trying St As, as your poor marks are not in your subject area.</p>
<p>However, could I suggest that you also look beyond St Andrews? I know that it is the one that most Americans know about, but there a couple of others that are worth a look-see. Notably, in Scotland, Edinburgh has a great IR program- and is substantially higher ranked internationally (see below). If you don’t prefer a city-based university, in England Durham is a top-tier university that, like St As, is in a lovely town, but it is not as remote as St Andrews. It also has a collegiate structure, like Oxford and Cambridge, which means that you belong to a college within the university. It also tops the list of UK universities for student quality of life: </p>
<p><a href=“Out of 91 UK universities, Durham students have the best quality of life | The Independent | The Independent”>Out of 91 UK universities, Durham students have the best quality of life | The Independent | The Independent;
<p>World rankings: St As v Edinburgh v Durham</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013-14/world-ranking:”>http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013-14/world-ranking:</a> </p>
<p>St Andrews 117, Durham 80, Edinburgh 39</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2014.html”>http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2014.html</a> (international ranking / national ranking): </p>
<p>St Andrews 200-300 / 21-29, Durham 200-300 / 21-29, Edinburgh 45 / 6 </p>
<p><a href=“QS World University Rankings 2015: Top Global Universities | Top Universities”>QS World University Rankings 2015: Top Global Universities | Top Universities;
<p>Durham 92, St Andrews 88, Edinburgh 17 </p>
<p>Note that courses in Scotland tend to be 4 years, and in England 3 years (bar most language and science courses). </p>
<p>@collegemom3717 Thank you very much! I’m applying for St Andrews through the Common App because I sent in my UCAS already. I am applying to Durham as well. Unfortunately I don’t believe Edinburgh is on the Common App so I won’t be able to apply there… I actually don’t mind the remoteness of St A’s at all, however. </p>
<p>I’m wondering if you may know where I submit my SAT II and AP scores on Common App? UCAS had a section for it but on St A’s Common App questions there’s nothing and there’s nothing asking for AP scores in the general application section of the Common App. Should I just send St. A’s the College Board score report? I’m not really for that right now since I believe it costs money and I would definitely send it if I get an offer… But I don’t want to spend the money without knowing if I have an offer or not.</p>
<p>You can add unis to your UCAS app if you haven’t used all 5 spaces already:
<a href=“http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/undergraduate/tracking-your-application/making-changes”>http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/undergraduate/tracking-your-application/making-changes</a></p>
<p>Not remembering the Common App format well enough, but the last time I looked you could put them in as a a course, and put your result in as the ‘grade’, but if that is wrong/out of date, at the least you can put your APs and SAT IIs in Activities. </p>
<p>@collegemom3717 unfortunately I’ve used all 5 spaces already 
</p>
<p>I don’t see anything like that. There’s the college questions section which asks about which faculty you’re applying to and a question asking why you want to apply for that course… I’m figuring to input my scores in that statement? I emailed St. A’s admissions but haven’t heard back yet unfortunately… Don’t know if anybody has any expertise in that area or not</p>
<p>My d is at St A in IR. Your scores are great and hopefully a strong explanation re. your GPA on your statement and on your recommendations should suffice. St A does care a lot about your AP scores because they most closely relate to “A” levels. You can always communicate with their International Admissions office. St A is an awesome experience. One thing you should be aware of: different concentrations have different standards and IR is the most difficult. However, if you apply for history and get in you probably cannot switch to IR as it is pretty full.</p>
<p>@wcrcmom thank you for your input! I’m really more interested in history than the IR part so I’ve decided to put my first choice as Middle Eastern Studies & history joint honors… Hopefully it’s not oversubscribed as well…</p>