I go to an elite boarding school on the East Coast that doesn’t explicitly offer AP courses, so I’m on my own when it comes to selecting which APs to take this coming (junior) year.
My absolute dream would be to study English Literature at Oxford University. The admission requirements for a student from America include three (or more) APs at a 5. They don’t specify which APs they want. However, from students in the UK, they want an English A-Level and preferably other humanities A-Levels, like history and modern languages, as well.
I’ve already gotten a 5 on the Spanish AP, so I’m good for one of the three APs. But Oxford wants the equivalent for the English A-Level, so should I take the English Lang AP or the English Lit AP? Should I take both? Since the course at Oxford is actually called English Literature, I feel like I should take Lit. But I think I have a much better chance of getting a 5 on the Lang AP, especially because the Lit AP is notoriously hard to get a 5 on.
I will have to take the Calc BC AP, as well as AP US History, for class credit next year anyway, and I think I’m pretty well set to get a 5 on US, and possibly a 5 on Calc as well. But I definitely have to ace at least one English AP, so I’d appreciate advice about which one to take!
You should take both. Oxford will be interested in APs that are relevant to your course, which for English are Lit, Lang and any other essay-based AP. They won’t be interested in your Calc score, but they will be interested in your History.
My D’s went to a school that assumed that their regular English class was equivalent to AP level, and students who wanted to take the exams self-studied for them. My D’s took both APs & got 5s. I’m not sure why you think Lit is so hard (it isn’t considered to be especially hard at my Ds school, which is an academically competitive school, but not at the Andover/Exeter level, which is what I assume you mean when you say ‘elite boarding school’)- but in real life it is more relevant to the course that you want to study.
Thank you so much for your answer! The reason I was wary about Lit was that my advisor at school warned me that the Lit AP has one of the harshest curves - but I understand why it would definitely be desirable to Oxford, so I think I will start preparing to take both Lang and Lit.
Also, do you think Oxford would be interested in my Spanish score?
It may be a tough curve, but if you can’t handle Lit you are likely to have trouble with the ELAT, never mind the work you have to do at Oxford
It doesn’t really matter if they are or they aren’t interested in your Spanish: you don’t get to pick which scores you send. You have to report all your scores (as well as any APs that you are taking senior year) and it sounds as if you will have plenty.
I don’t know how much you know about UK admissions, but it is all about showing you are a dedicated and focussed student. I don’t know how you would explain not choosing to take any high school classes in English literature in an application to study English literature. Also, if you’re scared of hard classes, Oxford is really not for you. It’s all about lots of studying and lots of exams. If you don’t want to do that, you’ll hate the place.
Hi! Thank you for your concern – but it’s not classes I’m worried about; as I stated, my school doesn’t offer AP classes, and my English class (in which I’ve been getting straight A+s) is largely literature-based. I was just asking whether or not it would be a good idea to prepare for the Lit AP test, and I have decided that I am going to do so. Thank you anyway, though.
I always feel it’s a bit risky taking an AP test if you haven’t been taught in a class for it, but you need those APs to be considered for Oxford, so go for it and good luck.
Based on the course, you’d likely need:
French and/or Latin to the highest level you can
AP Euro history
AP lang + AP Lit
any philosophy, history of ideas… class
Beside Oxford, which UK universities will you be applying to?
You may be interested in Durham, St Andrews?
