Applying as a US Affiliated Student... Do I Have a Chance?

Right now I am in my 4th year at my undergraduate university in the US. I am currently a double major in both history and political science, while also pursuing a legal certificate.
I expect to graduate in the spring summa cum laude. I studied law for a semester abroad at manchester university and received the following marks for the 3 classes i took: 2 class 1's and a 2:1.

I am applying for senior status in law at both Cambridge and Oxford and wanted to know if I have a decent shot at getting in either of them. I also wanted to know how much emphasis they place on high school scores (SATs/ APs) as mine are decent but not amazing.

Reply 1

Richardmarcj

Well, I applied as a high school student. There was a major emphasis on my AP scores. I received a batch of 5, 5, 4 as a junior, and they wanted me to get three more 5s as a senior (I got four 5s, just to be safe :p:

). I also think that they (Jesus) wanted a minimum of 720 on each section of the SAT. I also know that one of the places to which I applied to asked me to get three 700s on my SAT IIs. I can't remember if that was Cambridge or not.

Honestly, it'll depend on the college (so check first before applying!), and you're in a slightly different situation than I was.

Reply 2

Zhen Lin

I'd say applying to be an affiliated student after finishing an undergraduate degree is significantly different from applying to be an undergraduate after finishing high school...

Reply 3

T-Dog

They will look at your undergraduate scores and attainment much more closely than highschool stuff. I'm sure the Manchester experience will help you - shows ability, interest and dedication I would have thought. What did you think about it? (I assume you enjoyed it or wouldn't want to go back to England...)

Reply 4

yt274

hiya tbernard321,

am also applying for a place for affiliated student this year, but my situation is a bit different from you since im applying from Japan and currently in my last year in my Japanese uni. my japanese uni course is liberal arts study, and am applying to PPSIS to study politics in cam.

in japan, we dont have any SAT system, high school graduation is only assessed on the basis rither pass or fail, so in the coaf form, i put 'n/a' in the sections of SAT and A levels.

the good thing for me is that i studied at one of the cambridge collge in its semester abroad scheme (nearly a year programme), and got official transcript from there, and i fortunately obtained the reference from my Director of Study in cambridge for UCAS and COAF form, as well as the reference from my supervisor at cam. my grades at cam was 2:1.

i dont know how much this would cover up the lost bits of my application such as SAT scores, high school grades,,, just fingers crossed.

i would like to have some advice from who actually have applied to cam for affiliated place!

Reply 5

tbernard321

T-Dog

I enjoyed studying in Manchester a lot. Truly an amazing experience and now I have my heart set on moving to the UK permanently and studying/pursuing a career in international human rights law. Hopefully I can get in... I really don't want to stay in the US and go to law school here. I have a feeling they will put more emphasis on my undergrad too, and if that is the case I should be in a better position. :smile:

Reply 6

klondiker

tbernard321

I will be starting as an affiliated student at Cambridge this year for the History degree. I am from Canada, so it's more or less similar to the US system, and I also applied as a 4th year undergrad. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

I don't think they place too much emphasis on high school scores (you do have to submit them though). When I got an offer, it was conditional upon getting a certain GPA in my undergrad, which makes me think that undergrad performance is much more important to them.

Good luck with the process!