It seems many universities allow US college courses and SAT scores in addition to AP. My daughter wants to apply in the fall, she has many college courses but no AP. I’m curious what her chances are. So far she has 6 As completed, 2 more As and either an A or B. She is retaking her SATs and hoping to get that in the A range because it’s currently a B.
Yes.
There seems to be more flexibility with Scottish universities vs English ones. And there will be zero flexibility with Oxbridge, who will expect AP scores even if the high school doesn’t offer
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My S24 got an offer from St Andrews (Biology course) with only one AP (Calc BC) and one more planned (CS). Now, St Andrews is actually pretty familiar with our HS, actually recruits here, and the recruiter said it was fine not to have APs from our HS as long as you have a high SAT or ACT.
But I think in general, based on my own research St Andrews is prepared to be very open-minded about US credentials. And I got the sense doing that research that Edinburgh and Glasgow were as well (even though my S24 ended up only applying to St Andrews).
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Cambridge’s attitude seems to be you should self-study if necessary to get their required five APs with scores of 5. Oxford is maybe a little more flexible but really still wants three (if you have a high ACT/SAT as well), including the ones most relevant to the course. So if S24 had decided to apply to Oxford he would have had to figure out how to self-study and take the AP Bio test in addition to his two planned, since that course requires “Biology and either Chemistry, Physics or Maths” (he had Maths covered with BC). And to maximize his chances, it probably would not have hurt to self-study for at least AP Chem as well.
But again, for St Andrews he did not need to do an AP Bio or Chem, he just took his high school’s advanced Chem and Bio classes, also took a college Bio class over the summer (which was probably not even necessary but it also helped with his personal statement), and that plus a high ACT was good enough for an unconditional offer in Biology.
I don’t know about other UK unis (that was the limits of my research), but my point is this appears to depend a lot on the university and how easy they want to make it for US applicants.
The frustrating part is self-studying isn’t the issue, many states don’t require schools to allow non-students to take the AP exams so if your child’s school doesn’t offer the exam it’s almost impossible in some states to take the exam. We found a private school to sign my daughter up for the PSAT and then a week before they canceled the entire test for their school so I cannot trust them with the few AP exams they offer.
Yes, Cambridge’s attitude is rather insensitive to the practicalities many families face.
Here by the way is what Cambridge says on the subject:
We require a minimum of five AP Test scores at Score 5. Usually, these need to have been taken within a two-year period and with your most recent test results achieved within two years of application.
You should take AP Tests in subjects that are particularly relevant to the course you are applying for. You don’t have to have completed a minimum of five AP Courses to meet this requirement, as an AP Test can be sat without completing the relevant AP Course. Advice on how to study for and take AP Tests is available on the College Board AP website.
Just linking you to the general College Board AP website and wishing you good luck is not exactly all that helpful, but I gather Cambridge just is not in a mood to be all that helpful to US applicants.
No wonder then that according to this study (which admittedly is dated 2021 so a little old), Oxford had over twice as many US students as Cambridge:
There are always some difficulties when moving between education systems. Oxbridge are explicit in their requirements for home students as well, with a little leeway for those with difficult circumstances. Similar comments could be made for others on your list. The advantage is that UK school students do not apply if their teachers think it is unlikely they will gain acceptance, but will apply to other, more suitable unis.
For sure each UK uni we looked at had some sort of explanation of what it wanted from US applicants, but some were explicitly more flexible than Cambridge.
As noted my S24 actually ended up applying to St Andrews and getting an unconditional offer with only one AP taken (one planned). And here is what they say:
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/subjects/entry/usa/
If you are studying the US high school curriculum or an accredited US high school diploma, you will need to meet the entry requirements below. Obtaining the following grades will not guarantee you a place as we consider all aspects of your application, including the personal statement and the context in which you achieved your qualifications. Preference will be given to candidates offering strong subject-specific qualifications.
We look for grades of A or B in honours level courses on your high school record, or three AP subjects with scores of 4+ within the context of the rigour offered at your high school.
Competitive applicants will have taken:
- a rigorous curriculum at high school, which should include a college preparatory curriculum
- grades of A or B in honours level courses on your high school record (or equivalent), or Advanced Placement (AP) classes (or equivalent), or HL/SL within the context of your high school diploma.
Many of our courses require you to have a particular background in the subject(s). This is known as ‘pre-requisite’ knowledge. Pre-requisite qualifications, if required, will be listed on our subject pages.
Examples of pre-requisite knowledge requirements are:
- Evidence of top grades across honours classes taken in the required subject, including the most challenging options in the school curriculum. For example, “Honors English IV – Literature” (or equivalent) for entry to study English
- AP scores of 5 on subject tests. For example, “AP Calculus BC” (or equivalent) for entry to study Mathematics, Physics or Computer Science programmes
- HL 6 in IB certificates. For example, “HL 6 in History” for entry to study Modern History
SAT and ACT test optional for the application cycles 2024-2025, and 2025-2026 (September 2025 and September 2026 entry)
We will not penalize students for the absence of a standardized test score. Most applicants are likely to have taken at least one type of standardized test (AP, SAT, or ACT), but we will consider applicants without testing.
If you do submit scores, we look for the following:
- ACT: score of 28+ (writing optional). Applicants are welcome to submit all of their ACT test scores. We will consider the highest scores submitted for each section across multiple testing dates.
- SAT: score of 1320+ (essay optional). We will assess the SAT total score out of 1600 and will focus on individual sub-scores in a holistic manner and within the context of the overall application.
- We will superscore both the ACT the SAT.
Long story short, you don’t necessarily need any standardized tests at all for St Andrews, and you definitely do not specifically need APs, you can instead submit high grades in your top level of courses at your HS, including for required subjects.
Which is precisely what my S24 did. Their A-Level requirements for that course are:
Standard entry grades:
AAB, including Biology and one other science from the following: Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics.
He did have the Calc BC 5 score when applying, so that was one of the required three. But otherwise, he just had A grades in Inorganic Chemistry electives he took as a junior. He wasn’t taking our second-level Bio class until he was a senior, but he did take a regular summer class at CMU, Modern Bio, in which he got an A. Finally, he also had a high ACT score. And apparently that all was enough for an unconditional offer from St Andrews.
But I am pretty sure it would not have been enough for Oxford. Our understanding is he likely would have had to self-studied for AP Chem and at least planned to self-study for AP Bio, combined with his existing Calc BC score and plan to take AP CS–and even then his offer would likely be conditional. And for Cambridge he would have needed to add a fifth AP in something (we never got as far as figuring out what it would have been).
Anyway, point being this is indeed all explained, but it is definitely not the same from uni to uni.