Congrats to your son @johnnya!! It is interesting that York obviously does give out conditional offers. As St. Andrews said they try not to for Americans. Of course no need to say but if you don’t mind I am curious. Was the conditional offer on his Subject test scores he is about to take or APs?
The conditional is on one outstanding subject test.
He is also applying to University College Dublin, which is, I believe, his first choice because of the strength of its experimental archaeology program. We’re optimistic about all except Durham. And when he visited Durham this summer he was not keen. So, I think he’s in good shape.
FWIW: The lesson that has been the most striking in this process of looking at universities in Europe is the importance of choosing a program rather than a university. As mentioned in a previous post, my son is not keen on Durham in spite of the fact that it is an amazing university with a top archaeology program. But his interests are quite specific to a rather new sub-specialty in archaeology – experimental archaeology. And for that, places like University College Dublin, Exeter, and York excel. So does UCL, but he did not want to be in London. Whereas in the U.S. we tend to focus on the overall university, it makes sense in Europe to give at least equal weight to the specific academic program in considering the best fit.
Absolutely, @johnya. Even if your interests aren’t as specific as your son’s, it is much more important to compare course for course than it is in the US. A surprising number of students don’t realize how different English at (say) Kings is from English at (say) UCL- and haven’t read the fine print well enough to know how rigid the courses can be.
Just got an unconditional offer for King’s College for Mathematics and Management 7 days after sending my application!!!
Congrats!
@kiwi351 WOW Congrats!!
Congrats, @kiwi351! nice to have one in your pocket 
Congrats @kiwi351. Its great to have a KCL unconditional acceptance so soon. Hopefully it will help you to edit down your list of US backup options considerably.
Thank you to all who helped me on this sub, and hopefully, I’ll have more acceptances coming!
Hi everyone! I’ve posted before on this part of the forum but never to this thread! I submitted my app through UCAS for English and Classics on the 15th, and thus far, I’ve received a conditional from King’s College London- 5 (AP English Literature), 5, and a 4- this Monday, and an unconditional from University of Edinburgh today. Needless to say, I’m very happy, but am still awaiting decisions from University of St. Andrews, University College London (where I applied for just English), and Oxford (my top choice).
I’m taking the CAT and ELAT next Wednesday, so fingers crossed that goes well and I’m at least invited to interview. Good luck to everyone else!
I wont lie, UCL and Oxford for English will be tough, you have a better chance at St Andrews as they are more accommodating to Americans, but still, English is an extremely popular subject and so your offer may be conditional. Good luck, let us know how you get on.
Good luck with the tests, @whimsicalwhims .
Best of luck @whimsicalwhims Which Oxford college did you apply to?
Son received a “virtual” unconditional offer from the University of Sheffield for archaeology. I say “virtual” because they simply stated their minimum entry requirements as the condition.
Congratulations. Is the King’s college one of Cambridge? Thanks.
Did anybody receive interview notice from Cambridge?
@ailele, I think that the poster means Kings College London. Cambridge interview invitations haven’t gone out yet, and Cambridge offers don’t go out until January.
Many thanks.
Did anybody receive interview notice from Cambridge?