UCAS education section question

Student Lounge International Students
1

Hello ill be applying to lse this year
Took alot of relevant aps (11 in total) have all 5s, but I dont have a good gpa. (About half As and half Bs, maybe a C)

I had high hopes since i heard they only look at aps, but while filling my ucas application, it seems like I have to include ALL my high school grades, even the ones i dont prefer including.

  1. Then why on earth do people say British universities DONT LOOK at gpa or high school grades? Cause it's all there in the application...
  2. It even specifically says on the lse site that the admission officers do take a close look into the education section. Is it bad if I have a bad gpa but awesome AP scores?
2

My son did not have to include his high school grades. I believe by “grades” they mean your AP scores which are substituting for A-level “grades.” He applied on Nov. 15 and was accepted at Edinburgh yesterday.

3

I don’t specifically know about Edinburgh, the only place I will be applying to in the UK is LSE. Do you know anything of the LSE admission process?

4

Apparently, LSE does look at GPA, and it doesn’t consider ACT or SAT scores, so it is quite a bit different than the UK universities my son has been considering. But you may still be okay, since you might make the cutoff for the GPA required, and the university also requires several 5 AP tests.

http://www.lse.ac.uk/study/informationForInternationalStudents/countryRegion/northAmerica/USA/entryRequirements.aspx

Scroll down for:

<<students applying=“” from=“” american=“” universities=“” should=“” have=“” a=“” minimum=“” gpa=“” above=“” 3.2=“” and=“” preferably=“” 3.5=“” (on=“” 4.0=“” scale),=“” or=“” 5.0=“” average=“” of=“” 80=“” per=“” cent=“” overall.=“”>>

5

@ FLtoPton, it is the same form for ALL UK universities, so yes Edinburgh and LSE are the same application. LSE is not particularly interested in GPAs, but they know that it is a big deal in the US and they want you to have an OK one. In answer to your other 3 threads for UCL, your stats are the most important thing, though you want to have a decent PS and rec to go with them.

@Junipero, congrats to your son! is he firming his place, or waiting to hear from others.

6

@Junipero So there is a cutoff gpa for lse undergrad?

7

@collegemom3717 So having 10 5s on all my APs and having Bs and Cs in my gpa…will these stats be detrimental?

8

@FLtoPton (Florida to Princeton?!),@Junipero already answered your question about GPA for LSE:

You keep making new posts, asking similar questions and getting similar answers. As far as I can tell, with

you should have a GPA over 3.2 (though really, you don’t know if you have a C?!). You have the APs. Therefore, you have met the stated minimum requirements. The last 2 pieces will be your PS and Rec.

Redirect all this stewing about numbers into making sure that your personal statement shows your thoughtful, mature understanding of the subject that you are applying to study and demonstrates your suitability for the course. Try to help the person writing your rec to know what makes you a strong candidate for this course.

9

Okay thanks alot!! But I’m pretty sure that the GPA over 3.2 is for students who apply for LSE grad

10

@FLtoPton, based on your inability to read the page that has been linked for you, which is headlined “Entry Requirments” followed immediately by “Undergraduate”, followed by the above info, and then a heading “Graduate” with separate requirements for Masters

and PhD

I am concluding that either a) you haven’t bothered to even look at the page, or b) you know how to take tests and not much else. UK unis expect you to be able to do rather a lot for yourself. I hope you are able for it by then.

11

Are you serious? It says “applying from an American university”, not “high school”. I mentioned “high school gpa” from the start.

12

Yes, applying from an American university to an UNDERgraduate program, NOT a graduate program. Your post said that you thought that was for “for students who apply for LSE grad”, and I pointed out that it was not. No need for name calling.

13

Thanks very much! He also applied (or will apply) to three other UK universities and one related program at Edinburgh, so will wait to hear, but he really does love Edinburgh-- and the degree program-- so it’s nice for him to already have this very desirable option.

14

suspected that might be the case, @junipero! Ox or Bridge?!

15

Oxford, but that’s a long shot. He was able to get his public high school to become a testing “centre”… and took the TSA on Wed. Finishing the application by Oct. 15 involved a huge scramble since he’d been planning to attend a CA community college, then transfer to a UC (hopefully Cal) or somewhere. His sister had gone through a very difficult experience with cancer when he was in 10th and 11th grades, and that was hard for us all to see past at the time, so he hadn’t taken the SAT or ACT (or looked into colleges at all) as a junior, since he thought he would want to stay close to home, and we have a community college within walking distance. Before his sister got sick, he had been very interested in the UK for college. By late August of this year, his sister was doing great (with a wonderful prognosis), and one of his best friends suddenly expressed a preference for college in the UK… so those dreams came to the forefront again… and he quickly signed up for the Sept. ACT and some Oct. SAT Subject tests (to add to previously taken and pending AP tests), went to a presentation by reps from Oxford and Edinburgh, got a teacher to write a recommendation, wrote the personal statement, etc… but it all came down to the wire, and while he met the requirements to apply, he didn’t put in the months (or even years) of planning that many applicants to Oxford seem to do… so again, it’s a long shot, but an interesting process, nonetheless. If nothing else, that October 15th deadline has provided him with an early offer from a college he loves, and that’s a very reassuring and gratifying development during a time when so many of his friends are very stressed out about their applications and prospects.

16

@junipero, except for the sad part about your daughter (and by coincidence we have just gone through a year of a similar experience with Hodgkins), our story isn’t that different. My D ‘discovered’ Oxford in August of senior year and managed to get her app in and test (HAT for her) done. She got an unconditional offer from Edinburgh, which she ‘insured’ and0 a ‘conditional’ offer from Oxford, which she firmed. The stars (and AP powers that be) aligned and she met her conditions, so she is at Oxford. One of her dearest friends is at Edinburgh and they are both loving their experiences. Congrats to your S for having such a wonderful ace up his sleeve, and good luck on the next step. FYI, my D’s interview invitation arrived on the day after Thanksgiving.

17

@collegemom3717 Excuse me but can u tell me what ap scores your daughter took, their scores, and her SAT grade? This would be very helpful. Thank you in advance

18

Dear FLtoPton,

It actually won’t be helpful to give you my daughter’s details- or any of the other Oxford, Cambridge or LSE students that I know/know of.

Here’s why: you keep stressing about the scores, but you have all the scores you need. You have well exceeded the requirements. The UK system is more hurdle-like than the US: once you have cleared a hurdle the attention turns to the next one. So if you applied to Oxford, it is completely done: application is in, TSA is taken. Now it’s just waiting to see about an interview. If you didn’t apply to Oxford, and haven’t submitted your application for LSE and UCL yet, the only thing you can control now is your PS (and possibly a bit your rec). And that is where your focus and energy need to be.

I can tell you that my D applied with 4 5s and a 4, a bunch of mostly duplicative subject tests (all high 700s/800) and got offers conditional on 3 further 5s (out of the 4 APs she was taking senior year) from both Oxford and LSE. She finished with 8 5s and a 4. I don’t remember her SAT exactly- 2250 maybe? pretty sure that it wasn’t as high as yours, but the point is it doesn’t matter. They honestly don’t say ‘oh, look, this one has a 2250 and that one has a 2350- let’s take that one’. They say ‘all those had SATs over 2100, so they are in for the next cut’ (and in truth I know of an Oxford student with a 2050, so even that is not an absolute line in the sand). I can also tell you that I know an Oxford student who got in with exactly 3 subject tests - no APs at all (but apparently hammered the aptitude test!). Most of the students that I know about at Oxford/Cambridge/LSE are somewhere in between.

And I can also also tell you about the applicant with 9+ APs of 5 and a 2400 SAT who was rejected (post-interview) who went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude from Yale. Most of the US applicants who apply to Oxbridge/LSE have the numbers, and most get rejected. Clearly: it is not just the numbers for these tippy-top schools. Same as in the US.

I don’t understand why you are still so fixated on the stats- especially as it is done now!

Good luck,

CM

19

Hi Junipero- does Edinburgh require 2 or 3 AP/SAT subject tests? On the website they say 2, but in there brochure they say 3. Also, any tips on getting in? tIA

20

From the website:

So, SAT + 2 APs/ SATIIs OR 3 APs/SATIIs