<p>Hi, I'm a US HS Junior hoping to study at a few UK Universities. I'm not really sure how competitive it is or how to decide, though. I'm interested in international studies/government and politics. I've taken one AP (Computer Science A--5). This year I am taking four more, but I won't be able to take the exams. In order to prepare for this, I have taken 4 SAT subject tests with one more I'm planning on taking later. Here are my stats:</p>
<p>US History: 760
World History: 720
German:560
Math Level II: 780
French: yet to take, but I'm fluent</p>
<p>HS UW GPA: 3.7
Uni GPA(3 courses): 4.0</p>
<p>Math: 780
CR: 720
Writing: 760</p>
<p>As far as US Universities, some that I'm thinking of applying to are Cornell, Emory, Bama, NYU, and Northeastern. What should I be looking for in UK Universities? How competitive are they for US students? Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>Your SATs put you in contention for any of the UK unis, BUT an AP course without the exam won’t count as an AP (no matter what grade you get in the class). Why aren’t you taking the exams?</p>
<p>For really good unis (Edinburgh or Durham, for example) your SATs are good, and you <strong>may</strong> be able to get in with 3 SATII subject tests that cluster around your subject area, but with no APs (your Comp Sci won’t count if you are applying for IR or similar), your chances go down (all of the unis say “APs or SAT IIs”, but it is rare that just SATIIs do it for the better unis, esp in the humanities, and even more esp when there is no aptitude test- the UK unis know that they are a lot less rigorous than an AP.</p>
<p>I am assuming that you know that in the UK you don’t declare a major, you study one (or occasionally 2 linked subjects) subject for your entire time at uni. Hence the importance of being sure that the subject is something in which you have a genuine interest. Some of the common joint subjects involve a language (eg, History + German); others are related (History + Politics); a few are just different (Philosophy + Physics). Extremely detailed course descriptions are available online for every course in every uni- down to what you study each year of the course. You can apply to 5 courses through UCAS, which can be the same course at 5 unis, or several courses at several unis, but all of them see exactly the same application, so your essay has to cover all of the courses you apply to.</p>
<p>The range of US unis that you are considering applying to is puzzling. Cornell and Bama? NYU and Northeastern? What is it that you want from your uni experience?</p>
<p>The reason I’m not taking AP exams is because Im studying abroad in France for second semester right now. Maybe there is a way for me to take exams here?
I’m not very interested in a small school, so many of the top schools turned me off. Emory and Cornell are larger, so I’m happy with those, especially with Emory’s weather. I love Cornell’s foreign language department, which would let me learn a new language on the side. I’m applying to bama as a safety because it has great merit aid and a decent honors program. I appreciate NYU’s international focus and its opportunities being in NYC. Northeastern’s coop program draws me to the school.</p>
<p>For context, I’m a current politics undergrad at a UK university (but you’re about to have a collection of random thoughts thrown at you because it’s stupid o’clock in the morning). </p>
<p>For starters, have a look at the universities in the Russell Group. They’re a group of large, research intensive universities that tend to be considered (not entirely accurately) as the best universities in the UK.</p>
<p>The absolute most important thing to consider is choosing a university is what modules are on offer, as the focus can be very, very different at different unis, and so you do need to think carefully about where you interests lie. For instance, Durham and Exeter are very focussed on the Middle East and Cardiff looks more at Europe (others are less focused on a particular area). </p>
<p>Lots of unis will allow you to do the odd language module alongside your main degree e.g. Manchester has the LEAP programme. Alternatively, you could do Politics (or IR) with a language. If you’re looking at degrees with names like Politics with / and French, pay close attention to the words ‘with’ and ‘and’. ‘With’ means that you will spend 66% or 75% of your time on the first subject listed, and the remainder of your time on the second subject. ‘And’ means that you will be spending half your time on each subject. </p>
<p>Remember that there is life outside London, and it’s both nicer (no long commutes and friends spread across an entire city) and a lot cheaper. Plus the UK is a small island, so a day trip to London is feasible from most cities. If you don’t like small unis, then avoid St Andrews and Aberystwyth (both are good for IR, and the former is ridiculously popular with Americans, but they are small and fairly isolated). </p>
<p>LSE, Warwick, UCL, Durham, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Bristol, King’s, apart from Oxbridge. But do take note that you can apply to 5 unis only in the UK.</p>
<p>What are typical qualifications for people admitted to top UK universities? Does my GPA matter? Would it hurt my chances at work/grad school by going abroad? Thanks everyone :)</p>