Which UK schools fit my profile?

International Students
1

<p>Despite many hours of research, I have trouble finding information for American students looking to apply to schools in UK or Ireland. Many sites seem to have conflicting information. </p>

<p>Here is a bit about my profile: </p>

<p>-SAT score of 1930
-GPA of about 3.8
-multiple AP courses
-Strong EC's/essay (according to guidance counselor) </p>

<p>I am looking for schools in England, Scotland, or Ireland that are within my reach. I prefer cities (London, Dublin, etc.) but am willing to consider anything. </p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

2

<p>What are your AP scores/SAT II’s?</p>

3

<p>You haven’t said what you want to study or what subjects your SAT/APs are in. What’s the point of asking people which unis fit your profile if you don’t give a proper profile.</p>

4

<p>Every UK college or university is going to have different standards for foreign students, you will need to contact each one individually. (And this may be why you are finding conflicting information)</p>

<p>UK applicants take a set of exams called A-levels, and based on how well they do on these A-levels will determine which colleges or unis make them offers. So IN GENERAL what UK colleges and unis are looking for from foreign students is something they can compare to A levels. For Americans, this would be AP tests or possibly SAT subject tests. That’s what they will be most interested in, and why elvis is asking what your scores are (if you haven’t taken the tests yet, what are your predicted scores? And be specific in your predictions!) They will probably not be too interested (often not at all!) in your high school GPA or your EC’s.</p>

<p>In a UK college/uni you will be studying the same subject for three years (four years in Scotland), then getting your Bachelor’s degree. They are therefore looking for someone who is able to make a commitment to that subject. This should be reflected in your essay, and also you will need AP tests in relevant subjects.</p>

<p>I don’t know how much of this applies to Ireland, but this is a specifically UK forum.</p>

5

<p>You have given us the sort of profile that would be applicable to a USA college or uni. We need very different information for a UK college or uni–the system is very different.</p>

6

<p>We need to know

  • what subject you want to study (don’t forget joint honours are an option, if they’e in related subjects)
  • if you want a particular focus within that study (e.g. if you wanted to do politics, are you particularly interested in the middle east, or Europe, or something else, or are your interests more broad based?)
  • what AP subjects and grades are
  • what you want from a university - we know that you like a big city, but is there anything else e.g. sporty, collegiate? </p>

<p>And is there anything wrong with Wales, or did you just miss it off your list by accident?</p>

7

<p>Thank you for all the responses, they have been very informative. My AP classes are in Literature, Psychology, and History. I do not have the test scores yet, but I have high A’s in all three (not sure how to predict my score other than this.) I did not take the SAT II’s or subject tests, as I do not need them for any of the US schools I’m applying to. As for what subject I am going study, I am still undecided. Some options I am considering are film, international relations, anthropology, or linguistics. </p>

<p>@boomting Nothing wrong with Wales, just for personal reasons (family location and such), I would only consider schools in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, or Ireland. </p>

<p>Thank you again, particularly those who were able to be nice while helping me learn a little more about this process.</p>

8

<p>To me it seems quite ridiculous to discount universities in Wales, because they’re Wales. Cardiff is only half an hour from Bristol, both cities have very good universities - why would you consider one but not the other?</p>

<p>I don’t really understand what you’re asking; do you just want a list of universities that offer those subjects? Until you commit to one subject, perhaps two, nobody can really suggest anything. I’m sorry if I’m not being ‘nice’ but you should know this already if you really had done lots of research.</p>

9

<p>So, these pieces may help you understand the UK system a bit more.</p>

<p>First, the UK and Irish systems do not really trust “continuing assessment” - that is, your grades from school- because there is so much variability between teacher and schools. I’m sure you have seen that in your own school- the ‘easy A’ teacher and the teacher who only gives 2 As per class. Now factor that across the whole range of schools across the country. Most UK unis don’t care about GPA at all (St Andrews is a notable exception, largely because they have a strong US focus). Instead, they rely on standardized testing- SATs, SATIIs and APs. Most UK unis want an SAT mark and 3 APs / SAT IIs. </p>

<p>Second, in the UK you apply to study a specific course: so you could do international relations OR anthropology; you might be able to find a ‘dual honours’ course that has IR + a language, but not IR + Linguistics. It is rare to take a class outside your course (though in Scotland there is a tiny bit more wriggle room, as the courses are 4 years, whereas most (non-science) courses in England are 3 years). </p>

<p>You can find what every course at every uni in the UK is looking for with a little careful looking- programme descriptions will outline every course right down to the classes that you take each year. </p>

<p>For admissions requirements, you need to look at the information by subject and international students. So, if you put “international relations” into the “Degree Finder” search box on the Edinburgh website and follow the “Politics and IR” link to “Degrees in this Subject” then “International Relations”[note that it is the MA course you want- don’t get spooked by the MA bit] you will see that the typical offer for that course is AAA at A-levels, which for you means 3 APs or SATIIs with a grade of 5 / 720+; and you will see that the minimum requirement is BBB, or grades of 4 / 650-720 (approx). Note that they do NOT specify which exams they want for IR, which many courses do. Next, you go over to the Entry Requirements by Country for International Students, following the links through to North America and then USA, where you find lots of info and see that the minimum requirement for US students an SAT of 1800 plus either 2 APs with a score of 4 or 2 SATIIs with a score of 650, or 3 APs with a score of 4 or better. Note that these are minimums- as you can see the expectations for UK students is higher than for US students. </p>

<p>However, if you are applying for 2014 entry, you will be applying with no scores at all (unless you get some momentum and take some SATIIs in December- highly recommended). The UK kids won’t even take their A levels until June, but the system is set up for that. There are three possible outcomes to your application: Rejection, Conditional Offer and Unconditional Offer. The vast majority of UK students get conditional offers, and have to wait until their scores come out in August to confirm their places. As it stands you could only get a conditional offer.</p>

<p>One more thing. After your test scores (which should be in relevant subjects), your Personal Statement is the other way that you demonstrate your suitability for your course. You write one PS for all the UK course that you apply for, and in it you talk about why you want to study the course you are applying for, what things you have done outside of school that are relevant to the course, and so on. Because you apply course by course (up to 5), and you write one essay that all the unis see, it would be exceptionally difficult to write an essay that would sell your deep desire to study both IR and film!</p>

10

<p>Like I said, UK colleges and unis want to see someone committed to a subject, which you seem not to be. You have listed four subjects that aren’t too closely related, especially film! If you want to apply to UK schools, you will need to pick ONE subject and stick with it.</p>

<p>I agree with the person who points out that Wales is very close to England, the two border each other, and distances are not very great by American standards.</p>

<p>Three AP tests is probably enough to get you into most UK colleges and unis, if you are studying a subject related to the subjects your AP’s are in. You will need higher grades on those AP tests to get into the more competitive colleges and unis. Cambridge asks for five AP scores at “5”, Oxford for three AP scores at “5” (but you probably need more than three to get in). Some of the other competive programs ask for “5-5-5”, then some “5-5-4”, and so on down the line.</p>

<p>Maybe if you gave us more information about why you are considering the UK. Is it just to live closer to family?</p>

11

<p>Ditto what the others have said. </p>

<p>Given that you are not remotely settled on a particular subject area, I would suggest that in addition to the copious research you clearly need to do, you follow one or more of the following paths

<p>However, you would need to look at any individual course in great detail. Just because it has a familiar name (e.g. liberal arts), it doesn’t mean that it will resemble anything that you would find in the US, or even allow you to follow your own interests. To have a degree that isn’t in one or two specific subjects is quite a new concept in the UK. You need to do your own research on these matters, but these can start as pointers.</p>