A few Canadian universities (or some departments within these universities) do incorporate some holistic elements, but none to the extent of their US counterparts. UK probably has the best balanced system, IMO. There’s currently another active thread on CC on the UK system:
Oxford and Cambridge both provide amazing breakdowns of their admissions numbers. However, there’s one thing that sticks out - Americans get accepted at a considerably lower rate than the global average. While the numbers are still quite good (around 12% for Oxford, 15% for Cambridge), something is amiss; those are about two-thirds of global numbers. After all, Australians get accepted above the rates of 17.5% for Oxford and 22% for Cambridge, so I knew there was hope.
I’ve been in international admissions for more than a decade, so I decided to make some calls. My friends and colleagues on the other side of the pond were more than happy to spill the T. Here’s what you need to know in order to make sure that your Oxbridge (or any other UK application) gets a fair shake. In fact, with a few changes, chances are that any American who is competitive at a T20 could get into Oxbridge.
First, Americans tend not to apply with the UK mindset. Their personal statements focus on things …