Hey so my parents talked to me about the University of Londan, specifically LSE, as a really good international school. The tough thing is idk how to apply, and more so if I have any chance at all of getting in. I was able to calculate my unweighted gpa with my guidance councilor as a 3.325 and I have a 2020 SAT. My ECs are all amazing (president of many clubs, editor in chief of newspaper, captain of varsity tennis, I do varsity alpine as well). Please let me know if I should even both applying because it seems like a great school. Thanks guys 
By the way I wann major in economics and finance if that helps…
Ok so the London school of economics and political science and the university of london are separate. The london school of economics (LSE) is the most selective university in the uk. They currently do not offer a bachelors degree for economics and finance but they do have a masters degree for it (http://search.lse.ac.uk/search/click.cgi?rank=1&collection=lse_external&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lse.ac.uk%2Ffinance%2FprospectiveStudents%2FmscFinanceEconomics%2FHome.aspx&index_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lse.ac.uk%2Ffinance%2FprospectiveStudents%2FmscFinanceEconomics%2FHome.aspx&auth=JX2ag%2FcEaqhS6ILA1nLDVw&query=economics+and+finance&profile=_default)
They are the third best college for economics and the second best for finance in the world. They do have separate economics and accounting and finance undergraduate degrees (http://www.lse.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/DegreeProgrammes2016/degreeProgrammes2016.aspx)
However, be aware that this is an extremely academically oriented school. They do not conduct interviews and the only way they get to know you personally is from a 4,000 character personal statement. This means you academic qualifications are key. They do not look at SAT scores or any other standardized test. Your extra-cirriculars, while great, will mean little to LSE if they do not relate to your intended degree. For example, I also want to attend LSE and obtain a degree in government and economics and have been working to that since freshman year. So one of the clubs I joined was the Model UN team and have done only economic based committees. This shows my interest and experience in both world government and world economic matters. I have also done peer leadership at my school, but that will mean little to LSE other than my leadership skills because it has nothing to do with government or economics.
Like I said before academics are key. Your unweighted GPA seems a little low, but they don’t have a minimum GPA requirement and depending if you took challenging courses, that might make up for your GPA. LSE’s main entry requirement for US students to even be considered for lower level degree programs must have taken 4 ap courses and have gotten a 5 on all the tests. For a finance or economics degree (which is a higher level program) you need to have taken at least 5 ap courses and have gotten a 5 on all the tests. In addition because both degrees you are considering are math based they expect a 5 on the AP calculus BC test. If you do not meet these requirements, DO NOT EVEN BOTHER APPLYING. If you do meet these requirements be aware that most applicants who are accepted have taken more than 5 ap courses and still got fives on most or all of their tests. To see which ap courses they look for and other usa entry requirements view this link http://www.lse.ac.uk/study/informationForInternationalStudents/countryRegion/northAmerica/USA/entryRequirements.aspx
I took ab calc… So even though I got all fives so far I don’t really think it’s worth it to apply. Can you give me any background on the other colleges and the degrees?
By the way I am super good/into history in general, so if there’s another major id be interested in that’s it!
In the UK you apply to study one subject (sometimes a pair), and the classes you take are very specific: you will have only a few electives, and they will all be in the subject area. For example, at UCL for history (which requires at least 4 APs with a score of 5 and one with a score of 4; the expectation would be that they would be mostly history) you would take:
Year 1
Compulsory courses: Writing History; Making History; Concepts, Categories and the Practice of History
Optional courses: 2 of:The Near East 1200-336 BC: Empires and Pastoralists; Europe in the Early Middle Ages; Enlightenment and Revolution: Europe 1715-1805; Building the American Nation: the United States 1789-1920; History and Politics in Latin America c. 1930 to present
Year 2
Compulsory courses: Evolving History; Research Seminar (5,000-word research project)
Optional courses: 3 of: Law’s Empire: Legal Cultures in the British Colonial World; Penal Era or Golden Age? Ireland 1689-1801; The Human and its Others: Enlightenment Ideas of Ethnicity and Race; The United States and International Human Rights since 1941; Women in Antiquity
Year 3
Compulsory course: Dissertation
Optional courses: 3 of: Abraham Lincoln and the Crisis of the Union, 1854-65; Antipodean Encounters: Aborigines, Convicts and Settlers in New South Wales c. 1770-1850; Great Britain and the American Colonies; Mechanisms of Power: Running the Roman Empire
(optional courses change regularly- these are current examples).
Economics would require a 5 on Calc BC at most good UK universities.
The great thing is that the UK universities spell everything out: you will find detailed info on entry requirements and course structure (what you take & how you are assessed). A handy rule of thumb is that an A or A* for A-level usually means a 5 on an AP or a strong 700 on the subject test, but there are some variations- check the international requirements for each uni you are interested in.
Note that as @Cardinals2000 points out, ECs are only interesting to the extent that they relate to the subject you are applying to study and most unis will not be interested in your GPA- they will be interested in your standardized test scores.
@Cardinals2000 is also right about how hard LSE and UCL are to get into: UCL is specific that an American HS degree is not sufficient! My D1’s conditions* for LSE were actually higher than the ones she got from Oxford.
*it is typical in the UK to get an offer conditional on the exams you are taking at the end of secondary school- for UK students, A levels; for US students, APs. Your GC ‘predicts’ your scores for the exams, the university then makes an ‘offer’ that is ‘conditional’ on your achieving specific scores (never higher than you are predicted to get).
Thank you for the thoughtful comment. If I could trouble the Internet with another question… if applying to the King’s History Major, I would need only one 5 in a history class (or 650+ in a subject test)? This website appears to be implying that but I may be wrong: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/entryrequirements/name/history/alpha/GHI/header_search/
Although it may not matter, I have the requirements in U.S. history, but I only received a 4 in the Euro History test. Also my SATs seem to meet the requirements. Am I right about only neededing one history requirement, and not some crazy amount of 5s on ap tests?
You don’t need a ‘crazy’ amount but you need at least 3 exams. When looking at UK unis, always cross check the international requirements ([here](http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/ug/admissions/language/InternationalEntry.aspx#USA)). For Kings you need the equivalent of AAA, which is 3 5s or 3 650s.
You are correct in those requirements but in addition you also need a certain ACT score or a certain SAT-R score. See more information with this link http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/international/yourcountry/usa/Students/Undergraduate/UG-entry-requirements.aspx