Oxford or Cambridge?

Calcruzer
Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:49:19 +0000

Here’s some info that was posted previously on CC about this subject. I hope it helps you:

"For LSE, OxBridge, you need 2200+ (preferably 2300+) and 4 5’s. and 1 4.+
For ICL and other classy British schools (University College London, St. Andrews, York) you need 2000+ and 5 aps at 4 or 5.

If you don’t have 5 APs or 5 good APs, you can list your senior year APs and say you’re taking them in may. They’ll give you what is called a conditional acceptance, which basically says, you’re in, but you need to get a 4 or 5 in these courses.

Also mind that LSE is going to be very difficult numbers wise to get in, more than Oxbridge, but Oxbridge requires very difficult interviews and tests with the interview. At least for Oxford the interview is offered in NY and across the pond with very little flexibility.

Also, for British schools, you apply to 6 “courses.” A course is a major at a university. Mind that you can only apply to one course at OxBridge every year. Your UCAS app might look like this.

190 Oxford Politics, Philosophy and Economics
123 LSE Economics
134 LSE Economic History
152 LSE Mathematics and Economics
290 UYork Economics
1083 St. Andrews Economics

For every school besides OxBridge you can apply to as many courses as you want at that school that fit under your 6 allotted courses. There is no other way to apply to British schools that is not UCAS.

UCAS stands for Universities and Colleges Admission Service. There is a 15 pound fee for all 6 applications. All 6 applications are identical: They have your test scores, a “personal statement,” an open reference, and that is all they go off of. You only have to put it in once.

They used to have a “Tariff” for American and Worldwide students where there was a point system for all accomplishments and you added up your points and saw where you should get in. However, the American section seems to be gone now. It’s like 120 points for a Hard AP 5 (Eng, Calc, Language, History) and 50 for a soft AP 5 (Envi Sci, Stat, etc) and something like 50 points for a 750+ on an SAT section. Most courses at Oxford needed 600+ points. See if you can find the tariff.

Also mind that British schools might be cheaper, but the level of instruction is far less. There is far more reading and far less teaching than at an American institution. They call it “reading” for a degree. Also British degrees are 3 years courses with little room for electives.

My mates who were accepted to British schools:

2280, six 5s including AB calc, BC calc, Chem was accepted to Oxford unconditionally for a course in Mathematics and is enrolled…"

The stuff above was posted previously–as I mentioned above.

You might also consider checking these other sites:

[unofficial-guides.com - Oxford University](http://www.unofficial-guides.com/guides/oxford-comments.html)

[Living and Learning in Oxford](Studying and Living Abroad in Oxford, England)

P.S. I’ll be in England in two weeks and will be staying across the street from University College London (in the Bloomsbury district just north of Soho), so if there is something particular about that college you need to know, write me and I’ll see if I can get the info while there.