HELP — I’m planning on applying to schools through UCAS, including the University of Edinburgh and Kings College. I’m an American student, so I don’t know much about the process.
I know it’s pretty reliant on test scores for admissions, but do I have to have an SAT Score to apply or will just AP Scores be enough?
AP Scores:
5 - World History
5- US History
5- English Lang.
4- Art History
Pending: AP European History and AP English Lit. (I’m taking these exams in May)
Is it required to submit an SAT score as well, or is it just either/or?
Also, any advice on writing a personal statement for history/english would be appreciated!
Welcome to UK admissions, which is so many ways much more straightforward than US admissions!
First things first: UK unis expect you to be very independent. They will make all the info you need available, but you are expected to be able to find it / figure it out. This is not a small thing: although there are a certain number of things that are done for international students & first years (aka freshers), it is very little compared to a US uni.
So, your first step is research, and here the UK unis make it really easy- the amount of info on UK uni websites is dazzling (though sometimes you have to dig a bit / a lot, and unfortunately I find KCL’s website one of the least useful). The answer to your first question (re: SAT) is different for different universities, and it is available on each university’s website.
Your second question (PS for your subject(s)) starts with the UCAS site, which has tips on PSs, but you also need to go back to the uni websites, because you have some big decisions to make: are you applying to study History? or English? or History + English? (pro tip 1- not all unis offer History + English). Your PS is an academic exercise, demonstrating why you are a good fit for the course you are applying to. Writing a PS for all three (why you are really, truly a Hx person / an Eng person / a Hx + Eng person) is not impossible, but it will take some finesse. So, go read the course descriptions really, really carefully, b/c the courses do not have much flexibility (pro tip 2: Scottish unis have a tiny bit more flexibility than English ones, b/c most courses are 4 years, vs 3 as in England), and you will want to pick ones that you are really interested in.
C’mon back after you’ve done some more homework- there are a bunch of us here who have navigated these waters & we really are happy to help
You may already have thought this through and decided UCAS is the way to go, but, just in case, I believe both of these schools will let you use Common App as an alternative.
May not be relevant, but be aware that you can only apply to UK unis via Common App OR UCAS (no mixing & matching).