Oxbridge Application from America

Hi Everyone!
I'm Claudia and I am currently in the 11th grade. I'll be applying through UCAS this coming fall and had a few questions about applying to Oxbridge. I've been told they care about 5 AP Scores of 5 grade and an ACT or SAT above a certain score. Having obtained these requirements, I was wondering if Oxbridge looks at my high school grade transcript heavily? I only ask because while my standardized test scores are excellent, my grades haven't been at the same quality. Anyhow, hope someone applying / applied from America can help!

Yes, they will probably consider your transcript carefully as they know the US system is different, but the test scores may be preponderant as they are a sort of "objective measure". They gauge their evaluations of international student potential in accordance with their understanding of the national system. You should read through this thread, there are very many interesting points you can find:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2801773&page=26&p=49720031#post49720031

My daughter is American and is a 2nd year at Cam. While her experience is different than yours because she applied from France, if you look in my stats you will find a detailed description of her admissions experience.

While many will say that extracurricular experience is not important, we believe that if directly related to the subject to which you are applying they are very important. If for no other reason, they gave her something to write about in her admissions essays, which were discussed at length in interviews.

Good luck.

Hi! I'm an American and I got an offer from Cambridge this year. Honestly, I don't think they looked much at my transcript, other than to see what courses I was taking. They DO ask about the sizes of each of your classes (I think to gauge how much coaching you've gotten), but my HS grades aren't spectacular, and it didn't seem to matter. For reference, at the time of my application I had about a 3.6/4 unweighted GPA and the requisite AP exams, but they weren't all in subjects relevant to my field (it's an arts subject, though; might be different for science).

Exam scores aren't as important if you're applying from the U.S., I think, mostly because APs aren't considered as challenging as A levels. Your reference letter, statement, and interview will probably be a lot more important.

Good luck! Lmk if you have any questions about applying from the U.S., especially to Cambridge-- the process is kind of confusing but imo it's a fairer system than U.S. colleges and it's totally worth it

Hi Everyone!
I'm Claudia and I am currently in the 11th grade. I'll be applying through UCAS this coming fall and had a few questions about applying to Oxbridge. I've been told they care about 5 AP Scores of 5 grade and an ACT or SAT above a certain score. Having obtained these requirements, I was wondering if Oxbridge looks at my high school grade transcript heavily? I only ask because while my standardized test scores are excellent, my grades haven't been at the same quality. Anyhow, hope someone applying / applied from America can help!