[burninginme]

To stand a chance of getting into a middle of the road US university as an international student who has done A Levels, what sort of grades am I looking at as a minimum to be in with a chance?

Is it possible at CCC-BCC, or am I going to need closer to ABB-AAB for my application to stand?

Thanks

[pigetrational]

It's hard to say, since most American unis look at so much more than just grades - your extra-curricular activities, essays, SAT scores etc. Having higher grades isn't a bad thing however.

Which universities are you thinking of?

[burninginme]

Thanks for the reply. Also, I'm told that American universities don't really hold foreign qualifications as direct equivalents to US ones, and as a result want applicants to have sat US exams too.

Is this the case? I was reading that to apply, you will have had to taken the SAT test. I looked in this and the SAT seems to be little more than establishing your level of literacy and mathematics. I don't get it, can anyone enlighten me on the academic side of things?

Thanks

[pigetrational]

Essentially they will accept A Levels, but you must also have met their requirements for the SAT reasoning and any SAT IIs (the subject based ones).

Most, if not all US unis will accept A Levels as qualifications. True they are hard to compare to the American system, but you don't need to sit any US exams, just the SAT tests.

The SAT is there to test comprehension, maths and so on, plus your essay writing ability. A lot of US universities follow a Liberal Arts program, and these are important skills for all undergraduates to have, since you will be studying English, Maths, humanities, sciences etc. alongside whatever your main concentration is.

[ninety_nine]

Unless you plan to stay on in the US, I don't know why you'd be prepared to go to an American university - the fees alone are enormous! I'd imagine it'd only be worth it if you got into one of the top american universities i.e the Ivy Leauge, M.I.T etc. Even then you could just apply to Oxbridge/LSE/UCL/Imp etc. saying you a lot of time and money, without losing any prestige or graduate prospects.

[HarryUS]

Originally Posted by ninety_nine

Unless you plan to stay on in the US, I don't know why you'd be prepared to go to an American university - the fees alone are enormous!

Some of the top US universities recently (i.e. as of 4 years ago) began to run needs-blind admissions processes which apply to international as well as domestic students. Prime examples are Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Schoalrships and bursary support can also be won from universities and from the Fulbright Commission

Originally Posted by ninety_nine

I'd imagine it'd only be worth it if you got into one of the top american universities i.e the Ivy Leauge, M.I.T etc. Even then you could just apply to Oxbridge/LSE/UCL/Imp etc. saying you a lot of time and money, without losing any prestige or graduate prospects.

As for prestige/graduate prospects, it may seem like a fine line, but the Time Higher Education supplement while not exact, has the following big picture outlook for its World University Rankings 2008

Top 10: US has 6, UK has 4
Top 25: US 14, UK 6
Top 100: US 36, UK 17

It's also worth noting that the trend is in favour of US institutions. Those UK universities in the top 200 are falling, including Oxford and Cambridge, which now lie below Harvard and Yale.

Back to the OP, aim high. Many US universities have little clue as to the difficulty of A Levels, and so are looking for good results. It's worth scouting out the opportunities at some of the mid level US colleges, particularly the small liberal arts colleges. They provide excellent facilities and faculties, and can be a great opportunity to challenge yourself, broaden your horizons and forge lasting friendships.

But until you take the SAT you'll be hard pushed to know exactly where you stand relative to US applicants.

[psl89]

Isnt it because US universities receive more funds than UK universities that UK unis lag behind in the rankings?

[NazB]

You need excellent results! So do your best. Get AT LEAST AABB.

[lmcorr]

How would you take an SAT exam in the UK?

[pigetrational]

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/...g/sat/reg.html

[HarryUS]

To elaborate a little bit on pigetrational's post, you sign up for one of the UK locations, and take it from there. There's an international fee in addition to the standard test fee, the next test date is the 10th of October and book as early as you can to be able to sit the test as close to home as possible. You have to get to the test centre early in morning, and I knew someone taking the test last month who couldn't get a slot in London and had to go to Edinburgh for 2 days...

[xSkyFire]

Originally Posted by HarryUS

Some of the top US universities recently (i.e. as of 4 years ago) began to run needs-blind admissions processes which apply to international as well as domestic students. Prime examples are Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Schoalrships and bursary support can also be won from universities and from the Fulbright Commission




As for prestige/graduate prospects, it may seem like a fine line, but the Time Higher Education supplement while not exact, has the following big picture outlook for its World University Rankings 2008

Top 10: US has 6, UK has 4
Top 25: US 14, UK 6
Top 100: US 36, UK 17

It's also worth noting that the trend is in favour of US institutions. Those UK universities in the top 200 are falling, including Oxford and Cambridge, which now lie below Harvard and Yale.

Back to the OP, aim high. Many US universities have little clue as to the difficulty of A Levels, and so are looking for good results. It's worth scouting out the opportunities at some of the mid level US colleges, particularly the small liberal arts colleges. They provide excellent facilities and faculties, and can be a great opportunity to challenge yourself, broaden your horizons and forge lasting friendships.

But until you take the SAT you'll be hard pushed to know exactly where you stand relative to US applicants.

4/10 in the top 10 isn't bad when you consider how big the UK is compared to how big the US is and the wide gap in the amount of funds the Universities get too lol