<p>I am from the United States applying to various UK universities. I know I want to apply somewhere selective but below the Oxbridge belt. I am thinking St. Andrews, Imperial, King's College, UCL, etc.
My stats are:
36 ACT
800 SAT II World History
800 SAT II U.S. History
3.3 UW GPA and 4.05 W GPA
Are there any more colleges I should know about? And with my stats is there a chance I would be able to get into these colleges or some other good ones I have not mentioned? I will be applying around January 2015. Please let me know!</p>
<p>Good UK universities invariably want you to have taken some APs related as closely as possible to your proposed subject, scoring at least a 4 in them (often 5s will be needed). The SATIIs would be an acceptable substitute for a history AP, but you need a couple more at least - exact requirements will vary between universities, and between different subjects. What do you want to study?</p>
<p>Hey, thanks for your response. I have taken 5 AP’s and 1 IB exam so far.
European History - 5
English Language and Composition - 5
Environmental Science - 4
Psychology - 4
United States History - 4
IB Environmental Systems and Societies SL - 5
I am considering English Lit or European History. I love both so much it doesn’t make a difference which one I major in, to be honest.</p>
<p>Oh yes it does matter, OP…b/c in the UK you don’t “major” in something. You do that subject, and only that subject for your entire time at university (except for St A’s) . It is important for you to go read the subject pages at each university you are thinking of applying to. For example, if you do history at KCL, these are the required and optional modules: </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/structure/name/history/alpha/GHI/header_search/”>http://www.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/structure/name/history/alpha/GHI/header_search/</a></p>
<p>whereas if you do english, you will be doing these: </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/structure/name/english/alpha/E/header_search/”>http://www.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/structure/name/english/alpha/E/header_search/</a></p>
<p>As you can see, you would have a <em>very</em> different experience doing one than the other. You can find equivalent summaries for every subject offered by every university on their websites (search for ‘course finder’ on the uni website). </p>
<p>When applying to UK unis you apply via UCAS (unless you apply to St Andrews via Common App). You write one essay, describing why you are a great candidate for whatever subject you are applying to study. You can apply to a max of 5 courses, but all of them will see the same essay. It isn’t impossible to write a persuasive essay that both a history and an english tutor would be see as being all about them, but it is hard. In practice, you really need to pick one.</p>
<p>It is, however, generally possibly to do joint honours in English and History - it’s quite a common combination, actually. Definitely see if you can do EngLit AP if you want to apply for English.</p>
<p>Have a look at Durham, York, Warwick, maybe Exeter.</p>
<p>Good pointer on AP Lit, Conformist. OP, if you are a strong English student you should be able to self- study for the AP. </p>
<p>It is true that a number of unis offer a joint english-history course (though none of the ones on the OPs list do), but the key thing is that she needs to understand how prescriptive the english system is. </p>
<p>Also, Conformist, thanks for mentioning Durham. US students often overlook it. OP, Durham is just behind Oxbridge/LSE in the rankings, and like Oxbridge is also a collegiate university. They are also pretty helpful and more flexible than many UK unis. Durham is a pretty town and a nice alternative to the geographically isolated St Andrews and the madness of London. </p>
<p>Are you talking the full IBDP? What other courses are you going to have at HL? How many more APs? Have you looked at the schools reqs on their websites? </p>
<p>This year I am taking:
-French SL
-Calculus SL
-English HL
-History of Americas HL
-Biology HL
-AP Calc AB
-AP French
-AP Biology
-AP English Literature
These are all my current courses which I will take the AP and IB exams for May 2015. I also realized you have to declare ALL your scores. In this case, I have also received a 1920 on my SAT in USA’s 11th grade/Britain’s Year 12 and a 2 on my AP World History exam in USA 9th grade/Britain’s Year 10. Will these grades negatively reflect my application considering my high SAT II’s and ACT?
Additionally, my high school is highly ranked nationally and I have extracurriculars:
-President - Model United Nations
-Secretary - International Student Association
-Secretary - National Honor Society
-Vice-President - Debate Club
-President - French Club
-I have played the French Horn for 6-7 years.
I suppose my final list for UK universities is: Durham, Warwick, Edinburgh, St. Andrews, and either Glasgow or KCL.</p>
<p>Additionally, while I like Durham (thanks Conformist), I have been reading up and it seems extremely competitive to apply for the history or english course since they are highly ranked on the subject tables for both. Because of my lower AP grades (Especially that World History grade), would I still have a good chance? </p>
<p>It is a bit ridiculous for a 36/800/800 with ECs and APs like yours to ask if you will have a chance. If not you, who? I would think the only hurdles will be any testing and interview that would be required on-site (and the cost of tuition for 3 years!) Actually, Oxbridge does not care about ECs- not sure about the schools you are looking at. Is there a reason you do not want to attend Oxford? Best of luck!</p>
<p><a href=“World University Rankings 2014-15 | Times Higher Education (THE)”>http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2014-15/world-ranking</a></p>
<p>You are financially set for full pay, for sure some of the full pay schools are going to be cheaper than top tier US schools? Have you contacted admissions for the schools you like? They can help you out. And for sure, UK schools really have no ■■■■■ to give about your free time activities, that might be very refreshing. What I did find out is that it is up to the Dean as to whether you can mix and match IB and AP (even at 4-5) for KCL. They may just ask for an overall IB grade with a number that you must achieve in the HLs. Also I think Imperial is in the Oxbridge belt for the sciences at least. </p>
<p>Another US student here looking at similar universities, plus LSE (reach)
Does anyone know if I have to take A levels in order to apply to UK schools, or do they take SAT or ACT scores?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Generally speaking, they like US applicants to have APs as the closest American equivalent to A levels. Specific requirements vary from university to university, and form course to course.</p>
<p>Can US students take the nursing course the UK schools? </p>
<p>If you want to be a nurse in the USA do nursing at a uni in the US. You can go an work in the UK once qualified. Compare degrees and professional requirements, cost, and also practical placements, being a nursing student in a UHC setting is not for the faint of heart. Being an RN in the UK is not the same as being a BSN RN in the USA. </p>
Your (OP’s) qualification are at the level that you should have a good chance at Oxbridge. You should be able to get into any other schools in the UK. The grades are low, but are probably from a private school, and don’t matter in Britain. You need to need what you want to study. If you don’t know the specific subject, then maybe Scotland would be better.
What about the SAT IIs? Do colleges in the UK accept high SAT II scores as replacement for AP scores? I took many ACP classes and therefore don’t have as many AP Exam scores, nor are they super high. (4 in APUSH and 2 in APWH)
The Subject tests?? Yes, some do. But I suspect they won’t regard all the history ones as separate subjects.
Short answer is yes, gigglebot3, though it can vary by university. In most cases 700+ will substitute for a 5 on an AP, but in a few cases mid-600s will. Note that you can’t double count (you can’t count APUSH + USHx SATII as 2 of your 3 scores, for example).
Also, the subject that you are applying to study matters. In most cases, the subject needs to be somewhat relevant to the course you are applying. If you are applying to study history, a 2 in WH would not be helpful (though getting a strong SATII would help offset the AP) ; if you are applying for (say) bio it wont’ matter a whit- but you will need some science SATIIs. I
However, if you are interested in doing history (or a similar/related course), do some clear-eyed self-analysis: why did you tank on the WH AP? The AP is a lot closer to what you will be doing in a UK uni than an SATII- indeed, I know US students in several subjects who found their AP work set them up well compared to their UK counterparts, particularly for certain modules in their course. If there was an extraordinary reason that you did so badly on it, and you do well on the SAT II, you could ask the person writing your recommendation to comment on it- but don’t do that unless you completely sure that it won’t make you look like somebody who makes excuses for themselves. Took it the day after you got out of hospital? check. lousy teacher? nope. Either way, better if your recommender cites it as evidence that you are a committed student.
I just went through the admissions process and I have one piece of advice: don’t seek advice from other students!!! Really, email the universities. They will respond. They will be able to address your SPECIFIC circumstances. The process is personal. People use their experience to generalize. Just send an email. Simple!