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US applications

I’m wanting to apply for MIT as well as uk unis such as imperial, Oxford, bath and Durham for automotive/ mechanical engineering. How do you make a uni application stand out, as I didn’t get the best grades at GCSE ( 3 A stars 3 A’s and 4 B’s).

Reply 1

Ew4n85

I have a few extra curriculars, but nothing impressive. Grade 6 trumpet, play in orchestra and jazz band, and I have been volunteering at a food bank for 4 years

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

If you can afford the application cost then you can always chance it, I think with your GCSEs and more limited ECs it's probably a long shot though. Don't peg your hopes and dreams on it, but if it's not a financial burden then go ahead and roll the dice I guess!

Reply 3

Ew4n85

I am doing maths further maths and physics for a levels and have started gold Duke of Edinburgh and gold stemm award. I don’t know whether the maths and physics Olympiads would be worth any credit as well?

Reply 4

Sandtrooper

Volunteer Team

Original post by Ew4n85

For sure, all extra-curriculars can help an application, particularly the Olympiads.

Reply 5

ben324234

Original post by Ew4n85

I have a few extra curriculars, but nothing impressive. Grade 6 trumpet, play in orchestra and jazz band, and I have been volunteering at a food bank for 4 years

OP - of those points, the food bank is the one you should focus on for 2 reasons.

Consistency - 4 years means you had a reason for doing it. You can talk about your growth and what you learned

Community - you are serving your community. It's an act of service which means you are serving a mission that is greater than just yourself

You want to write an essay that really highlights these points. Don't be afraid to get very personal about your reasons. The US system is a completely different beast to the UK.