Offer from UCL! I’ve met most of the conditions already, just need 2 more exams >.<
WAIT EDIT: I’ve already met ALL of the conditions!
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One of the main things US kids can struggle with at UK unis is the complete lack of hand holding, and being treated as a complete adult. No one will track attendance at lectures, although they will for tutorials and labs, so its up to you to go. There are only a couple of assignments and a LOT of emphasis on the final exams. There is no set textbook, but each week various books are suggested for you to read. No one will check if you read them. There is a lot of independence and self study expected. You will need to advocate for yourself. Someone once described it as more post grad-like than undergrad in comparison to the US. It is not ‘school’ but university.
There is also alcohol everywhere, as the legal drinking age is 18. Three legged pub crawl in freshers week. Cheese and wine with faculty. etc.
It is also more restrictive than US colleges in other ways - e.g. if you have catered accommodation at St As, you will only be able to eat your meals at your hall, not anywhere else using your meal plan.
And if you are going to a major city esp London - prepare to take the bus or tube from your accommodation to lectures, almost as if you have a job.
Most students ‘live out’ after first year as well - with house mates, cooking, cleaning, etc - no meal plan.
In others words - its GREAT for some kids, and not great for others!
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offer from cambridge!!
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just got my offer conditions and they want 5s in any five ap exams this year-
Congratulations! That is a great achievement.
My daughter is at Cambridge if you have questions, though I may not know the answers. I will tell you that if you opt to accept, get your visa paperwork in as soon as you get your firm offer (once they have AP scores) and pay for expedited service.
can i ask what her conditions were for entry? getting five 5s in the spring on top of my achieved five 5s feels like a lot but idk what the standard american offer is. i know they don’t really know our system very well
Cambridge says requires a minimum of 5 APs with 5s and a fairly high SAT or ACT score. My Daughter had the APS done before she applied so her offer was unconditional. I’ve not heard of them deviating from 5 5s. I agree it’s stiff. This is (or was last I checked) more than Oxford asks for so it prob scares away some candidates, which makes US applicants a little more exotic than they are at Oxford. This may be the silver lining, particularly if you have the APs in hand, but Cambridge (more than Oxford) seems to not like to be a back up for Ivies so they may try to suss out if you have any real intention of coming.
Anyway it’s a real achievement to get an offer from US, so congratulations.
Now it is entirely possible that they may sometimes make a different offer to some math genius (like 5s in AP Calc BC, Physics 2 & Chem), but then you’d have to pass their math exam in the spring so it would still be conditional and I have no first hand knowledge of anyone getting a better offer than 5 5s.
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How many APs are you taking? I assume it’s more than 5? This doesn’t sound excessive to me, in that Cambridge expects to lose a few at the conditional offer stage, unlike Oxford which gives more achievable offers (often unconditional for Americans). It’s also a way for them to help ensure you are coming, since the timing of results makes it harder for you to fully commit to a US backup school. And answer the question of do you really want this and are you prepared to put the effort in when your friends have senioritis this spring.
One piece of advice, ensure that results are sent direct to Cambridge from the College Board. That’s the best way to expedite the visa, as they need the official score report to make your offer unconditional.
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Sorry I msread your post.
Are you sure they are asking for another 5 5s and not just referring to the ones you have in hand. You need to write to clarify. Unless your current 5s are in very soft APs it may just be the wording of the offer that is confusing.
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my offer says “Grades 5,5,5,5,5 from any five AP subjects being taken this academic year”
i’m also confused since i do have five 5s already, including in AP Physics 1 and AP Calc BC, and it’s education which i’d consider a “soft” subject
I meant are the APs soft for your degree. Like Physics 1 would be a soft AP for Math. I think you need to clarify, because my DD had maybe 6 APs total but submitted the 5 she had taken (Calc BC, English, APUSH, AP Euor and AP Art History) with her application and that was all that was needed.
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i applied for education and have 5s in physics 1, calc bc, english lang, us gov, and spanish lang. i have one 4 in psychology but am retaking it in the spring (taking 7 exams total this spring)
It is worth writing to your college to clarify. But I don’t think there’s any respect for Physics 1, only Physics C.
If you are taking 7, then getting 5s in 5 of them will seem like a relatively generous offer for what in UK terms are easy exams. If you were taking 3 or 4 they would have probably asked for all 5s.
Look at this as Cambridge making offers of more places than they actually have available and wanting to winnow the pack (and test your commitment). That’s their approach with U.K. applicants.
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That seems excessive. Back in the day, my offer was unconditional since I already had 5 5’s in relevant subjects.
A couple of things to point out about Cambridge for future applicants - not only do they want 5 5’s ( and I have never heard of an exception being made), they have to be related to the course. The other thing is that they still require all scores, so if you have 5 5’s and a bunch of 3’s, it will be a problem
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i’m taking 7 exams (both physics cs, bio, english lit, stats, latin, retaking psych). for what it’s worth, i also have a 1580 SAT and was pooled
I would ask the college if any of your prior ones count, but I would guess they are impressed by your ambition, and want to ensure you don’t slack off. It doesn’t sound like an unachievable goal, it looks to me like their aim is to ensure that you get 5s in all the math/science APs and then you have a bit of flexibility with the last one.
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thanks, that makes sense. i’ll wait for the official offer email (UCAS is updated but i don’t have the formal letter) and ask about that
I agree it could be an oversight, so it might be worth asking. But I also agree that since this is Cambridge, it could be entirely intentional. And yes, that is a lot, but I think it is a fair point that Cambridge is not exactly the ideal place for people daunted by taking a lot of high-pressure exams, so . . . .
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Ok. I have some vague memory of there being a difference in the language in UCAS and the letter, so wait for the official letter. If it still is conditional, then inquire.
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