^^true- same as in the US, there are yield management calculations: even careful predictions can’t be 100% right. But schools - esp those who send students to the more selective programs- do worry about the accuracy of the predictions.
I’m wondering if they realise also that when they predict low it completely crushes the students confidence in their ability! I don’t know if we can sway them to change their minds - and allow my daughter to self predict, at least for her one independent study US Gov AP…which of course they cannot make a prediction for. I mean we are talking about just one AP prediction to get them to make her an offer…after that, believe me, my daughter will be pulling out all the stops to achieve that!
Update! My daughter had a meeting with one of her teachers and the college counselor and it looks like she will have the required exams to apply to her 5…with a late addition of York as a safety/insurance…now she has to concentrate on making her personal statement stand out, then it’s off to the races!!
Congrats, @Funniestgirl!
In an odd, Pollyanna-ish way, this period of possibly not being able to go for what she wants may have helped her articulate what she wants and why 
Well, no interview at Oxford, but S18 is OK with that. He’s excited about Edinburgh and ready to learn more about Durham and Exeter (who upped the ante with a global excellence scholarship!)
Sorry to hear that,@CuriousinCincy- but that offer from Exeter is huge, and he has some great choices. Good luck with the visits, & be sure let us know what chooses!.
Yes, he’s got some very good choices.
That’s fab @CuriousInCincy - my daughter would have also gone for Edinburgh had it been a 3 year degree, great city and university! You can’t go wrong with Durham…and Exeter with that scholarship!
Anyone heard from Durham?
@HRS1861: Yes, my daughter heard from Durham about 10 days ago. She applied for English Literature and has been accepted. It’s conditional on parental consent (Ha! if she doesn’t tidy her room…) and proof of SAT and AP marks already submitted, but not on any yet-to-be-taken exams. Since she was only expecting to hear from Durham early next year, this was a pleasant surprise.
She’s also been accepted by Birmingham and Edinburgh, with similar conditions. She was didn’t get an interview with Cambridge and is still waiting for a decision (or at least request for further information) from UCL.
@HRS1861 Same here. Son got an unconditional from Durham a couple of weeks ago.
Great thread! Newbie here (for UK at least). My S (currently a Jr in a US Public HS) is very interested in studying in UK. His guidance officers know little about OOS (much less overseas options), so we are really on our own here.
Not to hijack the thread, but many of the schools here were ones we know nothing about. Only ones we are aware of are in the Fiske Guide. Can someone point me to some threads that will help me learn more about other choices such as being mentioned above (Durham, Exeter, etc). How did you guys become so expert on all the other choices?
Also, I assumed that most 3 year programs would be off the table for Americans, but the posts here tell me that I might be wrong in that regard. Love the thoughts on that.
Also, @CuriousinCincy how did you learn about the global excellence scholarship? I was under the impression that there were few, if any, for Int’l students.
Finally, does anyone have a feeling for getting credits through dual enrollment rather than AP for senior year? In our state he can take several college classes at the local campus rather than HS classes and they count toward graduation, as long as they are in the subject area that fulfills his grad requirements.
Thanks so much for helping out!
@dadinga Welcome to the thread! For my son, Edinburgh was always on his radar. Durham, Exeter, and York came to light through conversations with some family friends in the UK whose kids are of university age. There are any number of lists online showing rankings for various subjects, and this online CC group has been truly helpful to us too. Regarding the scholarship offer at Exeter, we did not know anything about it, nor did he apply for it. We just got an email saying that his application had caught the attention of the international scholarship office and this is their offer. A pleasant surprise to be sure. He still considers Edinburgh his top choice, but we are going to visit campuses this spring so he can get a personal sense of the atmosphere at each uni.
@dadinga welcome, my daughter is a first year chemistry student at St. Andrews who also applied to Edinburgh, Durham, York and Bath last year. In my case I am also a chemist and have many friends in academia and in industry who had recommendations. Their recommendations lined up pretty well with the league subject tables as well.
welcome, @dadinga!
to answer some of your questions:
The main ones that pop up on CC (so there are likely to be posts about them) are Oxford, Cambridge (also check under ‘Oxbridge’), St Andrews, Edinburgh, UCL and LSE, followed by KCL, Imperial, Durham, Exeter and Glasgow, Look up the “Russell Group” unis for other strong options. The good news is that the info on each website is extremely detailed.
Humanities (except language courses) are typically 3 years in England; lab sciences, language courses and all Scottish unis are 4 years (for pretty much everybody). A strong US student (ie, with good APs) should be able to go straight into the first year of the course.
APs do not give credits towards graduation, they are only used for admission, and dual enrollment marks cannot be used toward admission. The actual AP content often actually matters in your ability to do the coursework from Day 1 (varies by subject, obviously).
The reason the humanities courses are 3 years v 4 is that you are effectively starting as a sophomore, going straight into your ‘major’. Languages and lab sciences are longer b/c of the extra requirements, and Scottish unis are longer in part b/c that’s how the developed (the US university model grew out of the Scottish model), and reflect the greater flexibility in course options (compared to England- by US standards they are not very flexible!).
Some other points of general info (plagerized from my post here: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20976069#Comment_20976069)
*Pretty much all the info you need about each university is on their website.
*In general, UK unis are less interested in ECs, GPAs and classes not related to your intended subject. Notable exception is St Andrews.
*In general, a US student who meets the stated requirements (typically 3 APs with specific marks in relevant subjects) and does a decent Personal Statement (essay about why you want to study the specific course you are applying to) and a decent LoR is likely to get an offer. Notable exceptions are Oxbridge, LSE and Imperial. Some, but not all, unis will accept SAT subject tests.
*Every uni has detailed requirements for US students on their website; be sure to cross-check them with the course page, to see about subject-specific requirements. In general, if a course requires “AAB” at A level you can interpret that as 5,5,4 on APs . If Maths and/or further maths are specified it usually means Calc BC. Unless they specify ‘no particular subjects’, you can assume that they are expecting that your exams will be in areas close to the subject area. So, if you are applying for Chemistry, they will likely require Chem, BC, and ‘prefer’ Bio, Physics, etc; for History they like to see at least some of Euro, US, World, etc.
*The courses are much more focused, much more structured and much less flexible than in the US. In most courses you have few, if any, options in your first year; when you do have options they will be almost entirely in your subject (so, if you enroll in a Math course, you are unlikely to take any non-math classes at all- ever). Note that the Scottish universities have some electives and (especially in the first year) are more flexible than the English ones. Also, a number of universities have a broad course in natural sciences, where you start wide and narrow. It is always important to read the detail of the course at each uni to see what is required/ where the focus is: a “BA English” can be surprisingly different from one university to the next.
"Can someone point me to some threads that will help me learn more about other choices such as being mentioned above (Durham, Exeter, etc). How did you guys become so expert on all the other choices?
Also, I assumed that most 3 year programs would be off the table for Americans, but the posts here tell me that I might be wrong in that regard. Love the thoughts on that."
I am based in London so I will let US based posters answer your questions on how to apply from the USA with APs and Dual Enrolment. In response to some of your other questions:
Duration - Most English programmes are 3 year with some exceptions (such as Classics at Oxford and Engineering at Cambridge, etc) while Scottish programmes tend to be 4 years. The extra year in Scotland often contains classes in courses beyond the major making it somewhat akin to US liberal arts requirements.
The other exception to the above is that for some students, the UK university will accept them but recognises that the student is not quite ready for the UK programme. The student will then need to come to the UK for a 1 year foundation course, for example, if someone is accepted for Economics but their Math is week, they might be required to do a Math foundation year.
Location - The important aspect here is that in the UK, one applies to the course rather than than just to a University, so the students try and figure out what are the best course options for their predicted grades. Therefore a good place to start is the website for the Good University Guide which has league tables based on subjects.
In addition to my point above about courses, location does matter in the same way it does in the US, due to transport logistics, cost of living, city vs. rural etc. My two children have left British secondary schools in the past two years and their friends have generally gravitated to the same Unis, with a clear preference for urban schools. They typically choose Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Durham or St. Andrews (although the latter two are not really urban).
One good thing is that there are only 109 Universities in the UK, so much fewer per capita than the USA. The top 24 research unis have formed the Russell Group, so that would be a good place to start your search.
Information - In addition to the Good University Guide and information published by the Times and Telegraph papers, many of use The Student Room as the UK version of College Confidential. Please note that TSR is very British and can often be confusing due to English slang and snarky comments.
If you have a chance, you should come over and visit the UK during a school break to get a feel for the various options. Good luck
@collegemom3717 Great info thanks! I think the biggest challenge will be him zeroing in on the course of study that he wants (something he struggles with right now). As such he may end up at a US uni for it’s greater flexibility. We have some time and we shall see.
Love all the info and helpful contributors on this site!
English slang and snarky comments - Love that!!!..yes, us Brits can be straightforward and often use sarcasm towards each other, but it’s all meant in good humour! I go to ‘The Student Room’ as there are forums for each university and also for individual subjects. It’;s interesting to see all the offers being made and what their offers are, so gives a good idea of what to maybe expect. Welcome @dadinga
@HedgePig @CuriousInCincy I suppose I’ll have to keep waiting then – its politics department does seem quite competitive so that could be the reason.
@dadinga Here are some British league tables to help you start off with!
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2017/may/16/university-league-tables-2018 (really undergrad focused, with research not included in any metrics)
Complete University Guide: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings (includes research as a metric)