Hi,
Anyone has experience applying to Imperial or LSE from the United States.
Looking at their website the requirements seem to be 3.7 GPA with 5 AP classes. All 5s or 3 5s and 2 4s.
Question is this a minimum requirement, or this profile is just a minimum — you might or might not get in. What are the odds of being accepted with the minimum.
Saleem
You might get in with the minimum. Or you might not
You won’t get in without the minimum. And exceeding the minimum won’t, on its own, improve chances. There is so much more that they consider
What are the odds if he matches the minimum. He will have a very good extra curricular profile.
If this is your real name, you should change it for this site 
You should be able to search to see how to do it.
Good point. Done!
Extra curriculars don’t really matter unless they are academic/related to the subject (international olympiad, internship related to subject applied to etc.) and can be discussed in the personal statement, which must be focused on the subject of interest and the student’s qualifications for it.
The APs need to be in key subjects. Calc BC at 5 is absolutely necessary (it’s much lower than what A Level Maths/Further Maths covers).
Odds are perhaps 1:3 to 1:5 depending on the “course” (degree program).
UK u universities, at least in England and Wales, don’t care about ECs, particularly if unrelated to course if study. The do care about the personal statement, recommendation, and test scores. Be aware that the rec is much more involved than it is for US universities.
Acceptance rate varies by course of study and historical data is generally available.
The APs we are shooting for are —
I will try to add in AP Stats, AP PreCalc and AP Calc 2 but it might be a stretch — if it’s done it will be done in his own time not thru school.
Extracurriculars will be
Either Varsity Captain or AAA Hockey
Volunteers coaching neurologically disadvantaged kids how to play hockey
Started anti bullying club at school
Oxford Summer Courses
German Immersion Program
Wharton Entrepreneurship Program
Imperial Summer Program
Passion project is AI related website / company.
Wonder if some of the ECs will count towards leadership and teamwork
AP Calc BC (perhaps what you call calc 2)is a pre req - the application won’t be considered without it and any acceptance will be rescinded without a 5.
AP Micro/Macro count as one
AP Stats and Precalc don’t count (equivalent to GCSEs)
AP CS Principles and CS A count as one
AP German is okay
You would probably need AP English Language. I would add AP Physics 1,2, or C.
This is very helpful. But what is the source of the information? I know about the AP Calc BC.
So the way I see it as —
I would need one more. Sciences and English are not his strength. What else could it be?
What’s the subject you are applying for? These are both very reachy and admission for a US applicant is probably no more likely than Oxbridge. And at Oxbridge you at least have their own tests plus an interview to impress in, which is not typical at LSE or Imperial.
I think you will need an 5 in English and preferably a science as well. The core that a UK student takes (at 16, GCSE level) is math, English, foreign language, science and social science (history or geography). Econ and CS are non-core, though econ might just about substitute for history.
FWIW my S18 applied for PPE, got an interview but no offer at Oxford, also rejected from LSE (and UCL, but unconditional offer at KCL). He had five 5s and one 3 when applying, got 3 more 5s plus a 4 in senior year (plus 4.0UW). His APs included CS, Spanish lang and lit, English lang and lit, Calc AB and BC, Euro and US history and APES.
If you want to go to the U.K., then try KCL, some places outside London or Scotland.
Gotta ask- with hundreds and hundreds of options in the US why look overseas? What’s the objective here?
Either Varsity Captain or AAA Hockey
Volunteers coaching neurologically disadvantaged kids how to play hockey
Started anti bullying club at school
These are the kind of activities which will nicely round out an application to a US college, but won’t make a shred of a difference in the UK.
Odds of making a top tier US college are very low. I am told by the counsellor at his high school the “college placement landscape is very competitive”. The best colleges in US have acceptance rates at the 3% mark.
LSE and imperial in my opinion are very doable. And rank in the top 10 globally. And cost half the price. With higher acceptance rates.
The odds of making Oxbridge for him are low I think.
It will be likely economics, entrepreneurship with a minor in comp science. I haven’t looked into exactly what the offerings are.
Which of these would best supplement
AP Econ
AP Comp Sci
AP Calc BC
AP German
The choices are
AP Environmental Science
AP Psychology
AP Human Geography
AP Comparative Government
Odds would likely be better at UBC/McGill.
LSE and Imperial tend to admit student just a bit below Oxbridge level. Keep in mind that British students are only allowed to apply to 5 universities so the acceptance rates can’t be understood like in the US, where most top students apply to 10+.
LSE and Imperial may be reachable reaches but a student with these as reaches and 5*5s&3.7+ could get into excellent US universities too - most state flagships except for a handful, for instance.
The ECs you mention would be very useful to a US college application list.
Hockey would be appreciated at some top colleges for Economics - Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College… If he can get coach support&he passes the academic pre read in June of a junior year, it’d be a major hook.
There are over 2,500 4-year colleges and the top 10% are excellent. You can buy a Princeton Review’s Best Colleges to get ideas.
In the UK, look into St Andrews, Durham, Warwick, U Edinburgh, for universities in a more manageable environment.
Scottish universities are 4 years and have a bit more onboarding. St Andrews fosters close relationships and Edinburgh, despite being a capital, is more manageable than London.
Durham, Warwick, York, and Queen’s Belfast are Collegiate Universities - the broader institution has its own colleges within, helping in socializing and networking.
London universities expect a lot of familiarity with living on your own in a big city. Students are spread all over the city and typically must know how to shop and cook for themselves (though some “halls” or “accomodations”, ie. Housing, are “catered” with a hot dinner, but it’s nothing like the lavish cafeterias Americans are used to.) Students may only have 8-9 hours of “module”/ “class” a week and are expected to work on their own - British students are used to that from GCSEs and especially A Levels.
I’m not sure I’d send an American freshman there unless they’re comfortable living on their own and have lived in a big city before.
You can’t compare UK acceptance rates with US ones. UK applicants are self-selecting due, in part, that UK unis have minimum entry requirements and applicants are limited to applying to 5 unis. LSE is not less competitive for admissions compared to a US college with single digit acceptance rate
AP Comp Gov
But he’d really something quantitative too (is AP Physics 1 unavailable?) I suppose AP Stats could be taken as a “half”.
This is problematic. UK universities don’t have anything like a “minor”. You need to find specific courses. The personal statement should proclaim your undying fascination with that specific subject. And there’s almost no overlap between Imperial and LSE, the former is STEM, the latter social science. The courses are listed on their websites, your kid needs to do some research.
Honestly none of those. They are all regarded as fluffy (ie non-core) APs. Do AP English language.
100%
AP English language+AP Physics 1 would be preferred at both.
Then AP Stats/AP Comp Gov to round out the 2 years and useful for his US applications too.
Note that he will have to be able to take the TMUA in January 2026.
(Look at “TMUA test specification” for the curriculum he’s supposed to have mastered before the test).
The results can be used for LSE, Imperial, Warwick, and Durham
There is no “major” or “minor” at English universities. Scottish universities have a bit more flexibility. You apply for a “course”, ie., subject/degree program - and that’s what you study for 3 years.
He may be interested in BESS at Trinity Dublin.