<p>Oxford and Cambridge are far, far harder to get into than most other UK schools, with the exception of some courses such as Law at LSE, Medicine at Imperial, etc. Generally, the London University schools (LSE, UCL, Imperial, King's in particular) are also harder to get into than the rest. HOWEVER, there is some evidence to show that if you apply for an obscure major at Oxford and Cambridge you will have a much higher chance of getting in simply because you won't be competing with a huge applicant pool (check Oxbridge websites for stats on admissions). For Oxbridge (you don't apply to "Oxford University" or "Cambridge University" - you apply to "King's College, Cambridge University" or "Balliol College, Oxford University", or if you can't make up your mind, you write "Open" and they decide on a college for you), particularly Cambridge, CHOOSE YOUR COLLEGE CAREFULLY. For instance, unless you are EXTREMELY good or have connections etc. do NOT apply for Medicine at King's (Cam), PPE at Balliol (Ox) and suchlike (although obviously there are exceptions every year in terms of people who are admitted). And yes, extracurriculars matter less for UK than US. Your grades, personal statement and relevant work experience are far more important and teacher recommendations are also taken into account. For those of you considering Oxbridge, the interview is very important. For certain subjects such as Medicine, preference will be given to "Home Students" because of the quotas - i.e. UK people. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>Most smart ppl have an easier time getting into Oxbridge than Ivies. This is especially true for Europeans, since we just don't have a huge list of ECs and awards. Luckily, Oxbridge bascially doesn't care about the fact that you're EIC or captain of the football team, so we tend to have better chances in the UK. Also, if you have good grades, you'll most likely get into one of the top unis. LSE is a biiiiiiiig stats-whoooore. 10A* and 4 As at A-Levels and you're pretty much in. The same person without sufficient ECs would NOT get into an Ivy.</p>
<p>So far only one person from my school has got an offer from LSE and we usually send 80% the students from my school goes to top 10 unis. Rejectees include people who have 300/300 in AS Economics, 4A's/12A*s, students who have offers from oxbridge. So I wouldn't call LSE a stats whore.</p>
<p>Oxbridge is generally "easier" to get into for top students. That's simply because they can actually prove in the interview that they are top students. If you are a top student, then you are much more likely offered admission at Oxbridge than at an Ivy. Ivies are harder to get into because there are so many people applying and it's <em>way</em> harder to distinguish them. Grades are difficult to compare and the SAT doesn't help that much either. That's why they're trying to take in recommendations, ECs, essays, etc. What happens is that top students are rejected while other students who are academically "weaker" get in. </p>
<p>Personally, I think the Oxbridge admission is much more transparent. You know what you're up to.</p>
<p>I agree. I think the interview is really important, to check that the people they admit actually do know their **** about their subject, and didn't just put in a bunch of hours at some hospital or charity for the sake of looking virtuous and rounded, and then suck up and nag their teachers into giving them high grades (as happens commonly in Canada, and from what I've heard in the US as well).</p>
<p>I found it quite easy to get into some top universities in Uk like Imperial and LSE if you have the grades, but oxfridge is the exceptional of course. However getting into the US universities is not only about grades. I have friends who was accepted by Cambridge was waitlisted by Harvard and rejected by Princeton even though they have SAT score of over 2300 and with grades far better than anybody else. It's so unprectiable.</p>
<p>Sorry, but it is often very hard to get credit for Ib in the US. Especially on the West Coast alot of schools have little or no knowledge of the IB program. They only know AP.</p>
<p>Are there other good universities other than Oxbridge and Oxford because I know I'm not getting into those because they're really hard to get into and my grades are average.</p>
<p>Oxford is part of Oxbridge. Together with Cambridge. There are many other good universities such as the LSE, Imperial College London, University College London, King's College London, SOAS, Durham, Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Bristol, Birmingham and a good few more.</p>
<p>That's why I told you to do the Ucas.com search for psychology and look at the requirements at the different schools. Some schools you might want to look into are University of Hull (good student enviroment), Anglia Ruskin, Leicester, University of Liverpool. I'm just mentioning a few, there are plenty more universities with average-ish requirements!</p>
<p>PS, in Britain one does not study psychology to become a psychiatrist. You go to an undergraduate medical school, graduating as a general doctor in six years. Then you specialise in psychiatry. No UK medical school will accept anything but exceptional grades, sorry to say.</p>
<p>"So far only one person from my school has got an offer from LSE and we usually send 80% the students from my school goes to top 10 unis. Rejectees include people who have 300/300 in AS Economics, 4A's/12A*s, students who have offers from oxbridge. So I wouldn't call LSE a stats whore."</p>
<p>I doubt that your school serves as a good representation tbh.</p>
<p>What is the difference between IB and A levels?
At the same time i think that getting to a univercity in the uk is very dificul not only for the us,schools but also to the british</p>
<p>IB is an international qualification taught by rich schools worldwide. A-levels are Britain's national system of examinations. The IB is less specialised.</p>
<p>"IB is an international qualification taught by rich schools worldwide."</p>
<p>Uhm... That's not entirely true. While IB is mostly taught at private and international schools, my IB school is a public one, and we only pay around $1200 a year, which are for the examination fees. Most IB schools in Norway are actually public ones.</p>
<p>It's not difficult to get into unis in the UK, but it can be hard to get into good unis. :)</p>
<p>Your public school is probably no more in the slums than plenty of private schools. Don't take that tone with me or I'll remove your head with a cheesegrater when you get to the UK.</p>