<p>To make a long story short: I’m currently a student in the second year of a California Community College. I was planning to transfer to a UC/USC, etc. but upon going to the UK -specifically Oxford- for three months in a Study Abroad program, I fell in love (or obsessed) with England and decided that’s where I wish to study and live for the rest of my life.</p>
<p>I know that one cannot transfer, and I have researched about UCAS. The problem is that although I’m an American citizen, I’ve lived abroad for most of my life in a spanish-speaking country until college. Therefore, I’ve never taken SATs or APs, which is what UK Universities are interested in. So I was wondering what one should do in my case. Study to take the IB or APs by myself? Is there any way to take A-Levels in the USA? How demanding is this work?</p>
<p>tl;dr
-American student
-Wants to apply to UK universities
-Finished secondary school abroad so doesn’t have SATs/APs/ACT</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>What qualifications did you get abroad? Oxford have a list of acceptable international qualifications ([International</a> Qualifications - University of Oxford](<a href=“http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/international_students/international_qualifications/index.html]International”>http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/international_students/international_qualifications/index.html)) so your qualification there may be acceptable.</p>
<p>I’d certainly email admissions tutors at a few unis you’re looking at to discuss your situation, since CCC courses are supposed to cover AP-level material and your situation is rather specific. I’d also ask if taking APs in relevant subjects would be worthwhile since they’re standardised exams and unlike IB you can self-study for them (you have to go to an IB school to do IB - not worth it in your case). Assuming you did the equivalent CCC courses AP exams are probably more a matter of technique than raw material.</p>
<p>I must admit that my grades in secondary school were horrible because I barely attended classes, but I decided not to be lazy anymore and now I have a 4.0 GPA in Community College. I checked Oxford’s website but for Argentina, “School leaving qualifications would not be sufficient for candidates to make a competitive application”, and I doubt I’d get in anyways. Oxford Brookes seems like a decent Plan B :P</p>
<p>I didn’t know that CCC courses covered AP-level material. I’m not familiar with the American educational system yet. Emailing them is probably going to be the best option, so I’ll try that.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>In the past, UK universities often expected US students to complete a year of college-level work before applying for admissions. Ask them if your coursework is good enough. In truth, a 4.0 at a decent community college is worth more than four or five AP exam scores. It shows that you really are capable of university-level work.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>