[LoveDC]

Ok so as the title suggests I am a very stressed out junior especially since I just look the SAT subject tests today and am nervous about how I did and that I am smack in the middle of AP testing time

Then In the UK I am considering-
LSE- super reach should I even bother applying?
King's College- for War Studies or International Politics- completely unsure here
St. Andrews- again I am not sure if it would be a reach or a target
Aberyswth
Maybe Edinburgh or Warwick- I really need more information about them

So my stats in short-
ECs- your average activities NHS, varsity tennis...ect. significantly I started a debate type club at my school, and I got a one of a kind internship over the summer in Nicaragua through my previous mission work with a non profit organization

GPA- 4.0
Rank top 10% hopefully it will stay that way my school is reallly competitive\
Loads of AP's and college classes- taking the hardest classes possible

My real weakness is test score
SAT super score 1900 definitely want to retake in the fall somemore but not sure how much I can improve
ACT 29 again want to improve, realistically speaking maybe by one or two points
APs-
World History 4
APUSH, Macro Econ., AP Bio (a hopeless case since I had such a bad teacher), AP English- scores all pending here-
SAT Subject tests- scores pending
Im also going to try to take 6 or 7 aps next year but that will be too late for admission

[ellocin]

What is is question??? You don't think you would get an offer from St Andrews??

[LoveDC]

Im really not sure, its been hard to find information about st. andrews aside from this website, UCAS's, and TSR

Is the ACT/SAT score that St. Andrews post as an entry requirement the minimum, meaning that you need higher scores to be a competitive applicant?

Do they consider anything else besides grades and test scores? I've heard schools in the UK tend to not care about ECs as much.

[dragon500uk]

Extracirricular activities for the top universities matter more. Anyone shmut can get good grades, if they only wanted good grades why would they even bother letting you submit references and and a personal statement? So yeah - sell yourself.

[tooosh]

When are you getting your results? The next UCAS cycle doesn't begin til August and even then you have until January to apply. You don't even need all your test scores but it would be a good idea to get as many as you can done before then since you can get a conditional offer based on tests you will do or are waiting on results for.

Also I highly doubt UK unis will superscore the SAT.

Edinburgh is typically easy for an American who has over 1800 SATI in one sitting and good (can't remember the score) scores in relevant SATIIs.

As for ECs as long as you have something outside of work then it's fine. But it's even better if it's relevant to your course.

[simon-leeds]

Can I ask why you are even considering Aberystwyth yet aren't sure about Edinburgh or Warwick?

[Bella_trixxx]

(Original post by simon-leeds)
Can I ask why you are even considering Aberystwyth yet aren't sure about Edinburgh or Warwick?

Aberystwyth has the first IR department in the UK, and it's still one of the best.

[WolfSong2000]

Well, speaking as a postgrad IR student, my experience counted a lot more than my grades (which were pretty average, tbh).

[Washington_Capital]

Don't worry at all about St A or Edinburgh. I am going to St A next year and received an unconditional. I got an offer from Edinburgh too. My SAT was 1960 and my ACT was 30. LSE is probably a reach, but these other two should be fine. Also are you in DC?

[amillar2210]

I'm going to St Andrews next year for IR too. I don't know about the American grades system, but I know it shouldn't be a problem for an American with high grades and a good personal statement to get in. St Andrews is very competitive, but less so for foreign students - as long as you're smart of course.

I would apply to Edinburgh over Warwick, but I may be biased since I live there. Edinburgh probably has the better reputation internationally and I have heard better things about the course there. I have to agree about Aberystwyth - It seems a bit of a waste of an application. It may be one of the first unis in the UK to do IR but no-one has heard of it and I haven't heard much praise for their IR course.

[Charlieeeeee]

(Original post by amillar2210)
I'm going to St Andrews next year for IR too. I don't know about the American grades system, but I know it shouldn't be a problem for an American with high grades and a good personal statement to get in. St Andrews is very competitive, but less so for foreign students - as long as you're smart of course.

I would apply to Edinburgh over Warwick, but I may be biased since I live there. Edinburgh probably has the better reputation internationally and I have heard better things about the course there. I have to agree about Aberystwyth - It seems a bit of a waste of an application. It may be one of the first unis in the UK to do IR but no-one has heard of it and I haven't heard much praise for their IR course.

I'd never heard of St Andrews before my friend went there to do IR. And even she said that Aberystwyth has a good reputation for IR. She only went to St Andrews because she's rich.

[simon-leeds]

(Original post by Charlieeeeee)
I'd never heard of St Andrews before my friend went there to do IR. And even she said that Aberystwyth has a good reputation for IR. She only went to St Andrews because she's rich.

If you're American then fair enough, but if you're British that would be a bit odd. Well I am definitely British (at least last time I checked) and I honestly didn't even know Aberystwyth had a University, let alone that it was supposedly good for IR.

[Charlieeeeee]

(Original post by simon-leeds)
If you're American then fair enough, but if you're British that would be a bit odd. Well I am definitely British (at least last time I checked) and I honestly didn't even know Aberystwyth had a University, let alone that it was supposedly good for IR.

No I was just pointing out. I am British but I'd never heard of St Andrews or Aberystwyth, probably because I was from England and only knew about Oxbridge. Just goes to show that there are some unrecognised gems kicking around. For example, barely knew Sussex existed last year let alone that it was a good uni, and now its in 11th place on the league table. Insane.

St Andrews is a decent uni for IR, but I would personally never go there, as a British citizen. I'm not sure what the experience is like for international students, but everyone I've ever met from there was rich, snobby and self serving. My visit to see my friend was disastrous, I couldn't stand any of them.

Both Aber and St Andrews have a good international student reputation, regardless.

[simon-leeds]

(Original post by Charlieeeeee)
No I was just pointing out. I am British but I'd never heard of St Andrews or Aberystwyth, probably because I was from England and only knew about Oxbridge. Just goes to show that there are some unrecognised gems kicking around. For example, barely knew Sussex existed last year let alone that it was a good uni, and now its in 11th place on the league table. Insane.

St Andrews is a decent uni for IR, but I would personally never go there, as a British citizen. I'm not sure what the experience is like for international students, but everyone I've ever met from there was rich, snobby and self serving. My visit to see my friend was disastrous, I couldn't stand any of them.

Both Aber and St Andrews have a good international student reputation, regardless.

I would barely call St Andrews "unrecognised".

[LoveDC]

so I got my SATIIs back and my ap scores... will this change my chances?
SAT II:
US history 630
Lit 700
Biology 660

AP:
Mac Econ 3
Bio 3
World 4
APUSH 4
AP enlgish lang. 5

[Oxy]

GPA of 4.0 should get you a very good shot at an IR place. Definitely apply, what have you got to lose? They don't put as much weight into extra-curricular activities as American Ivy leagues say. As long as your SAT scores are higher than the minimum then you're in with a very good shot.

Good luck

[ChessMister]

(Original post by Charlieeeeee)
No I was just pointing out. I am British but I'd never heard of St Andrews or Aberystwyth, probably because I was from England and only knew about Oxbridge. Just goes to show that there are some unrecognised gems kicking around. For example, barely knew Sussex existed last year let alone that it was a good uni, and now its in 11th place on the league table. Insane.

St Andrews is a decent uni for IR, but I would personally never go there, as a British citizen. I'm not sure what the experience is like for international students, but everyone I've ever met from there was rich, snobby and self serving. My visit to see my friend was disastrous, I couldn't stand any of them.

Both Aber and St Andrews have a good international student reputation, regardless.

As a British citizen I will be staying away from London.

[LoveDC]

is anyone else(international/ American) that applied to these schools willing to give their results/ stats

[Washington_Capital]

Since no one else has given you their stats I'll break down mine.

SAT: 1960
Reading: 620
Writing: 680
Math: 660

Act: 30
English: 29
Math: 31
Science: 29
Reading: 30

APs
English: 4
Calculus: 3
US history: 3
Chemistry: 2
Environmental Science: 4
Statistics: 3
US Government: 4

GPA was something like 3.5 and my school didn't rank.
Once again, I think you will get an offer. Just remember to take your time on the personal statement. If you have more questions feeling free to message me. Also, are you in DC? And if so which school?