High school preparation for US student looking at Oxbridge/Imperial

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@Twoin18

Well the alternative in the US is to go somewhere with a big merit scholarship and save your money. For example my D chose Utah (which offers 30 full rides per year) over UCB and UCLA. Although admission is straightforward (and they have auto merit up to full tuition), the top scholarships are judged more holistically. The same would apply to top merit scholarships at other big universities.

Oh yeah, that’s certainly an option for him. Michigan State is on our radar, as is Florida (if he’s a NMF), and Utah sounds like a good option as well.

@Twoin18

So I would tend to keep the fourth year of social studies and Spanish in the schedule, especially as you’ll want to make UIUC admission more certain also.

We might split the difference and have him do 4 of SS and 3 of Spanish…if only because he hates Spanish class (his only B last semester). Replacing it with university-level math probably won’t hurt too much, especially since UIUC is the only college he’s likely to apply to that recommends four years of a foreign language. But we have a year to decide that.

@Tigerle

I’d put the same emphasis on AP physics 3 and linear algebra, if he can take the AP exam for that - it appears it is offered at your high school, but not as an AP class?

There isn’t an AP test for linear algebra, unfortunately, so a high school or college class in the subject is the best an American student can do.

@Tigerle

So in the years he is doing AP maths and physics and CS, I’d look carefully at whether taking another two classes at community college in those subjects will inspire and energise him, or rather exhaust and burn him.

I think (and he thinks) it’s the former, but you can’t really know 'til you do it. It could backfire.

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From what I’ve seen from lurking around here, most colleges are looking at the highest level completed rather than the years in HS.

@Tigerle

Now he may be the kind of kid who drops AP 5s left right and center without breaking a sweat while pursuing intense interests (and honestly, that’s the kind of student Oxford likes best) but he may need more focus.

The 5s I’m not too worried about; he’s a very strong test-taker. That’s why he’d probably be better suited for the British college admission system than the American one (other than going to an American high school).