Hey, guys! I’m a junior in American high school hoping to apply to college in England or Scotland. My school, unfortunately, provides absolutely no information or guidance on the process of United Kingdom admissions. My current U.K choices are Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Cambridge, Oxford, London School of Economics, University College London, Imperial College London, and Kings College. I know these are all excellent schools who reserve spots for only the most qualified students, which I think I am, but I truly do not know the U.K standards. Looking for somebody who can provide insight on how to apply, when you apply, and what you need for a successful application. I also plan on playing to either Princeton or Harvard, which are single-choice EA, am I able to apply to foreign schools if I apply to these schools?
Look in the UK subforum under “International Students”. Lots of info there.
Google first then come back with your questions. Seriously. Not being mean, but if you’re going to survive the independent style English college system you’re going to need to be the type that does his/her own basic research. The answers to most of those questions above are easily found on the college websites.
I’ve Googled and tried to connect with people who have attended, but nobody has really provided me with information such as average GPA, how to choose a constituent college (at Oxbridge), SAT/ACT scores, requirements to study law undergrad, or how one would transfer from one faculty to another. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton reps that have visited my school at various times have told me conflicting things about whether or not you can apply to foreign schools under their EA policy. Trust me, I have tried
GPA isn’t a factor in UK admissions. you will need standardised scores, ideally APs, and for most of those you are looking at scores of 5 will be needed in at least three, and in some cases five, subjects. Gnerally the universities will say what they want. Sat 2s are accepted in lieu of APs by some universities, but not all. what are your current stats?
transferring between faculties is very difficult if not impossible; you really need to be sure what you want to study before applying. the SCottish universities are a bit more flexible.
Why would you ask Harvard, Yale and Princeton reps about applying to UK universities?
Google this “How an American can apply to UK universities”. You will find tons of information.
Or go to each UK university’s website then go to admission, then international, then American applicants.
I was asking them about whether or not I would be able to apply to state or foreign schools under their respective EA programs, as I know that some foreign and public institutions have application dates before or just after the EA deadline
My school doesn’t weight (our highest possible GPA is 4.0), so I just have a 3.96. I take all AP courses and have scored fives on four previous tests. I have a 35 on my ACT and 1580 on my SAT. I have also taken four SAT2 subject tests, two of which were 800’s, and two of which were 780’s. My ideal major is Art History and/or law. I don’t know whether are not these scores are good enough for my dream schools in the States, and I sure as heck don’t know about foreign ones!
How much have you looked at UK uni websites? They’re pretty explicit about what minimum requirements are for admission to various courses.
Have you discovered that you only study what you signed up for at English Unis yet?
Take a look at the UK subforum.
What would you do with a LLB law degree?
SCEA still allows you to apply to public and foreign universities. UK universities are both.
You can’t do both art and law. Choose one or the other and demonstrate that’s all you are focused on (i.e. relevant ECs, summer internships/courses etc). If law you’d better have a good answer for why studying law in the UK makes sense for your career plans (e.g. are you are dual national who wants to work in the UK?). Art history will be a very small number of students almost anywhere.
Your qualifications are in the ballpark. For Oxbridge there is usually a pre-test and always an interview, which is essentially a really tough oral exam on your subject.
You can apply to Oxford or Cambridge, but not both. Can your family afford to be full pay?
Note that at current exchange rates (which are currently moving in the wrong direction) full pay will be $40K-$50K per year depending on course and location. There is essentially no aid. Most arts courses in England are 3 years, many science courses in England and all courses in Scotland are 4 years.
So if you would be full pay in the US, you are looking at similar total costs to many state flagships for a 3 year course, and a lot less than full pay privates.
And what you need for a successful application is very different from the US (you should read up on personal statements). According to the director of admissions at Oxford:
“It really doesn’t matter if you haven’t got any friends or hobbies or if you don’t do any charitable work …[Acceptance] is a purely academic judgement.”
He said universities were only interested in “enthused, engaged and excellent” candidates, rather than “second-rate historians who happen to play the flute”.
@Twoin18 I wish American adcoms would be as honest! 
If your intended course is either Art History or Law, I don’t think Imperial fits within your list. UK is very rigid in terms of the grades they want you to have. All the universities you have mentioned should have relatively “nicer” grade requirements IF you choose to study Art History, maybe not so much with Cambridge and Oxford, but considering how high your grades need to be for the sciences, Art History is significantly better. Law, however, is a completely different story. So you seriously need to figure which course you want to study first, since that affects what you write your Personal Statement on and obviously your university choices.
In the UK system, you have to be able to find information on your own. Go to the website ‘ucas’ and start looking for answers.
Yes, you can apply REA/SCEA as well as to public and foreign universities