Im interested in potentially applying to some European Universities, because of lower sticker price, international experience, but unsure where to start, which ones to apply to, which ones I could get into.
MY STATS:
Grades: GPA weighted: 97.4,
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honors courseload with AP Physics and US history.
ik its not great but I’m trying my best rn.
I earned a 4 on AP euro in 2017, as a sophomore
SAT: 1270, I know I am capable of getting this higher, and plan to in the future.
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ECs/ Awards:
Various academic/writing awards from my school
Speech and Debate:
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number of smaller awards from various tournaments in my state,
will be (ik for sure) debate captain at my school next year,
won top prize at my schools oratory contest, out of hundreds of competitors
Model UN:
smaller awards from regional conferences, have chaired committees,
will probably be secretary general next year
Boy scouts:
I Have occupied various leadership roles, will be eagle scout by time i apply to college
Jazz Ensemble: member all years of high school
Art: I am a painter/artist, would be able to submit a portfolio with app, would they want this?
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Im aware the university undergrad structure is different in Europe,
would i have a chance at,to get into
-UCL
-Kings College London
-Oxford/Cambridge
-St Andrews Scotland
-Sorbonne
^^ Im aware these are prestigious and selective univs.
Any other suggestions?
Is it even worth it for me to apply?
How good is your French? If you do not have near-native command of the language, you need to plan on at least a year of intensive language instruction before starting university-level studies at the Sorbonne.
What will your major be, and what are your plans for after college?
The qualifications you need depend on the subject you want to study. This is googleable.
Oxford expects at least a 1470 SAT combined, Cambridge at least 730 each.
Oxford expects at least 3 AP exams, Cambridge 5, all with grade 5, in relevant subjects.
Those are cutoffs. No holistic admission.
St. Andrews and the London colleges’ requirements may be a bit lower, depending on subject.
You should check the requirements for internationals. I believe your SAT should be around 1460 or higher and you have to have a certain amount of APs for Oxford and Cambridge (and you can only apply to one of the two).
The English schools won’t care about your ECs and barely care about GPAs. They will care that you have a certain # of APs and have certain scores on them. ICL wasn’t on your list but I believe they told my son he needed 3 APs in certain subject that related directly to his major and that the scores needed to be 5s. UCL and KCL are slightly less rigorous than ICL, so maybe they’d have fewer required APs. Take a look at their website.
Oxford and Cambridge (you can only apply to 1) will have similar requirements to US Ivy League and top 20 most selective schools, so unless you increase the SAT by at more than 200 points and have top scores on APs that are directly related to your field of study, it’s doubtful you’d be considered. Frankly those would be such a high reach it might be more effective for you to work on targeting the schools that are more of a match.
St Andrews’ program will be most similar to American colleges - lasting 4 years. UCL and KCL’s programs will be more traditional English programs that last 3 years. You’d need to know exactly what degree you want because you apply into that course of study and it’s difficult to change without starting over.
The most important thing about any of the English schools is that they don’t give any scholarship $$$. The cost per year is lower than the cost for most comparable US colleges plus at UCL, KCL you’d only have to attend for 3 years to get your bachelor’s degree, so the total costs are usually less than the total costs of 4 years at an American private or OOS public school, but you need to be able to pay 100% of it or you won’t even be able to get a Visa to attend.
@Tigerle
I looked at the website too, you’re right.
Would meeting those requirements guarantee admission, or just put me “in the running.”
My school is not great on AP offerings, limiting most of them to seniors. Does this mean I would need to have those AP scores by the end of my junior year (this year, 2018) to apply for fall 2019 admission?
Thanks for the info.
For me, I would qualify for no aid at USA univs, because family income is 300k+.
European univs will in most cases be cheaper than USA.
Check out the University Colleges in the Netherlands. They are affiliated with the larger universities, which are large and have a professional orientation. For example, University College Utrecht. They are designed after US LACs. They have an international focus, and all classes are in English, at least at most of them. You can google them, but here are a few:
“Would meeting those requirements guarantee admission, or just put me “in the running.””
The latter.
“My school is not great on AP offerings, limiting most of them to seniors. Does this mean I would need to have those AP scores by the end of my junior year (this year, 2018) to apply for fall 2019 admission?”
No, although though it would certainly help. Theyare accustomed to domestic applicants awaiting exam results in the summer before admission, so what is most likely to happen is that if you get an offer it will be conditional on your achieving the required scores by the end of senior year.
Your art portfolio would only be relevant if you were applying to study fine art. Do you have a subject in mind?
St Andrew’s will be the easiest to get into of the UK universities you’re interested in.
You will want to get your SAT up some, but this should be achievable. Your grades are very likely good.
There are of course quite a few other very good universities in Canada. Some cost a bit less than McGill for international students, but McGill is still a very good deal compared to US schools (and a great deal if you are a Canadian or French citizen).
@Conformist1688: “St Andrew’s will be the easiest to get into of the UK universities you’re interested in.”
Actually, probably KCL for most subjects. St. A’s ranks poorly in the (research-heavy) international rankings but they are relatively small and fairly prestigious so with fewer seats to fill, they aren’t extremely easy to get in to.
Honestly, outside if Oxbridge and LSE (and Imperial to a degree), if you meet the minimum requirements, as a full-pay American, you’re likely in at a UK uni. But check the minimum requirements for the course (major) you are interested in. They won’t be easy to meet for most Americans.
BTW, if your school doesn’t offer AP’s and you can’t study for or take A-Levels/AICE, the other option is 1-2 years at a CC (or some other college) and then applying. The UK Unis would then look at your CC GPA.
OP, I honestly do not mean to be snarky. But you are telling me you looked at the admissions websites for Oxford and Cambridge, and are still asking the Internet whether SAT 2s can be considered in lieu of APs? It says so right on those pages - Oxford will and Cambridge won’t, IIRC correctly.
Read the admissions information for international applicants, for both Oxford and Cambridge. Read them right through. They are very transparent. You will find out that you will need general entrance qualifications to even be considered at all, and special qualifications to be considered for a specific subject. History APs will be considered for subjects like history or PPE. Find the course that most closely aligns with your interest and read up on the specific requirements (I don’t think there is a course called international affairs at Oxford, don’t know about Cambridge). Again, those are cutoffs, not elements of holistic consideration.
You will then find out that of the candidates who apply having cleared those cutoffs, a number will be shortlisted for an interview. Around 30 to 50%, depending on the subject. And of those interviewing, a number will be admitted. Total admission rates fluctuate wildly depending on subject, may be anywhere from 10 to 30%.
If you are unwilling or unable to find all these things out by yourself, you are not a fit for Oxford or Cambridge and not a good fit for other UK unis, either, because your style of learning won’t work.
They offer free tuition to anyone who gets in, but OP would need to be even more independent in his learning and working style than he has shown himself to be.
Honestly, with the family making a 300K+ income, the hassle of Germany for someone who isnt really really convinced it’s the place to be isn’t worth it.
OP should look carefully at the entrance requirements for St. Andrews, since those aren’t quite as straightforward and a good GPA and subject related ECs might help him there. There are a number of St. Andrews threads where people share their admission information.
St Andrews is probably the best bet for this student, along with the Canadian universities (UT, UBC, McGill, UWaterloo if STEM, Mount Alison is anything beside STEM.)