Will I get into these universities (American student)?

They are average I guess in a Middle Class person's idea of Universities, I mean obviously Universities in the 15-25 range of league tables are obviously average out of 120ish universities.

Do they even maths, bro?

Hi, so I'm currently going into my last year of high school in the United States and I'm set on studying film in the UK (either history or production). I recently got back my AP scores, and while they're fine, most of the universities I really like want something a little bit higher. I'm just wondering if the requirements they state are firm or more of a guideline. The unis I'm very interested in are:

Queen Mary
Sussex
Royal Holloway

I also like:

Essex
Kent
Coventry
East Anglia
Greenwich
Middlesex

My grades and test scores are:

GPA: 3.55
SAT-R: 2010
AP: English Language and Composition - 4, US History - 3
Grades: As and Bs
In the fall of this coming year, I plan to take the ACT and predict around 26-28. I'm unsure of whether I should take SAT-S tests or not, since the universities ask for tests that are relevant to the course being applied for, but the only ones they offer would probably be Literature and World History, both of which I haven't studied recently.

I also plan to take AP Human Geography and AP Literature this year. Would it be possible to get a conditional offer that depends on my grade in one of these?

So basically, Queen Mary, Sussex, and Royal Holloway are my top three, but they're all looking for 2-3 APs with scores of 4, and I only have one 4 and one 3 currently. They also seem pretty interested in SAT Subject Tests but like I said, I don't know if any would fit my course/what I've been studying.

Do you guys think I still have a chance with my personal statement and everything? Are there any unis in the south or middle of England that you know of which would be likely to accept my qualifications? And finally, would it be worth a shot to email the unis and just ask if they would accept my qualifications?

Thanks so much, sorry this is so long I appreciate any information!!

Charlotte

Also - sorry if I posted this in the wrong place, I still don't fully know how to work this site

Yeah I was trying to point out most people on TSR don't know that 113/2=56.5

I know this isn't the answer that you want to hear, but you need to speak to each university individually and find out from them. However in general you need to meet the stated entry requirements for your programme and if they accept you with lower then that's a bonus. If you are applying for next year and still have plans to sit some exams, then it's likely they may make you a conditional offer to make up the missing grades.

One thing you also need to think about is the actual programme you apply for - you've mentioned history and also production. History will typically have higher entry requirements and be more competitive than production as V100 (single honours history) is one of the most competitive undergraduate degree courses out there. A lot of universities will stick to their grade requirements for something like history or English, but may drop a grade on a less popular programme like classics or physics. Again though, this is a generalisation. This isn't to put you off, more to say that it's likely you will find programmes with lower offers if you look at joint honours with history AND/WITH something else or if you just look at production. Royal Holloway have a media arts programme which may be of interest to you.

You should email the universities but they will not be able to tell you if they will accept you. They will be able to tell you if they will consider you with your qualifications and potentially what the offer would be, if they were to make an offer. You may or may not be aware but British universities work in a different way to American ones. US institutions tend to be focusing more on the individual student and their fit into the target cohort, so therefore they will look at personal statements and other attributes beyond grades in more detail. In the UK they are primarily interested in your academic results and pay less attention to the individual student (particularly in a less competitive institution that doesn't interview), then if you pass the academic assessments your personal statement may be looked at... but when it comes down to it you need to get the grades. That said the fact that you're American will work on your side as admissions officers like to have Americans in the classroom - they pay overseas fees, they are native English speakers and tend to be good students/ambassadors.

Hey there, I spent a year in the U.S doing a senior year in high school. Your high school diploma is great, however it doesn't count for any UCAS points as high school grades are not gained through standardised examinations. The universities are mainly interested in AP scores and your ACT or SAT scores as they are standardised examinations.

There are two types of AP qualifications, those in category A which are comparable to UK A-levels and will get you into university. These are mostly made up of core subjects such as English, maths, science ect. There are also category B subjects which are less intensive such as environmental science, art, ect.

Some universities will have US qualification requirements on their websites so have a look. Your English AP subjects are good and i'll give you a link so you can check the others out. (US History is an A cat also so you have a 'B,C' at the moment). Be aware that some universities will require a specific subject qualification like maths if you are going into economics or biology if you are studying biomedical science ect. so check on course requirements.

Going by UCAS points Category A AP subjects at a 5 are equivalent to an A, 4 a B, and 3 a C. So you're looking good with your current and future AP's as long as you aim for grades of 4. All universities will need 3 AP subjects minimum.

Your GPA is good, try and stay above a 3.5 and you shall be quite comfortable.

I did the ACT also because I thought about going to a US uni. The ACT is quite important and quite a few universities that i have seen will need a 27 to give out a conditional offer so your prediction is good. Make sure to work hard on it.

https://www.ucas.com/sites/default/files/ap-subject-groupings.docx

here are the AP groupings. Also, yes i would contact UK universities. Also, it is very rare for universities in the UK to give unconditional offers so don't worry about receiving a conditional.

Honestly Middlesex, Greenwich and Coventry are pretty mediocre-not great unis, not really worth coming all the way over here and paying loads for. And yes definitley email admisisons- only they will know what they will accept.

Hi Charlotte,

Fairly good grades there - I would seriously consider a Russell Group university as Arts subjects such as film are among the least competitive.

Good luck!

Yeah I believe you... I just don't want to get rejected from all the universities I apply to haha. Are there any you know of that are better than the ones I put but don't have too high requirements? Thanks!

Sorry in advance for the novel!

I'm also an American student and my qualifications were almost exactly the same as yours so I can try to help. I applied this year as a graduate from an American college (where I studied film!) but it was for an undergraduate degree (Law) so I had to do it on UCAS and they looked at my high school stuff.

Anyway, did you just finish taking APUSH? Because there's a subject test for that and I don't think they mind if the SAT-IIs are in the same subject as the APs. Are you taking Lit next year or did you already take it? If you can fit it in, you should definitely try to go for it. The thing about these tests that's pretty annoying is that schools assign different "levels" for different kinds of APs/subject tests. So a 4 on APUSH is worth more points than a 5 on AP Stats in UCAS tariff points (here's an example from Exeter). You definitely want to take subject tests so you can boost your tariff points (obviously they can't calculate points for you the same way they can for UK students because you're doing a different diploma, but I'd imagine they'd take them into consideration for comparison purposes). As someone else mentioned, most schools that accept/look at the ACT will want 27+ so you seem to be in the right neighborhood for that. Try to take it fairly early so you can retake if you need to.

I applied to schools in Scotland and they seemed to require fewer tests than did the English universities I researched so I'm not sure how much my advice will be able to apply to your situation. I would imagine that Film would be less competitive than English or History, though you will probably have to decide between production and studies (that will make a difference, I think, as production is less academic than studies/theory).

Basically, each school is different; some schools will care more about tests, while others will care more about references and personal statements. You just have to hope that the ones you apply to will find things to appreciate about your application. I think that they have to be relatively flexible with international applicants because schools and qualifications are so different from their own; furthermore, the US is so big and every state is so different, we can barely compare students from across our own country. Also we don't take tests as seriously in the US so it's just not really comparable. And they know that. If you put a lot of effort into your statement and you get a glowing reference letter, it will probably make more of a difference than it would for a domestic applicant.

That being said, I agree with the previous posters who said you could set your sights higher. Definitely check the requirements for each school, but keep in mind that those are guidelines rather than straightforward rules. In a lot of cases the different academic departments will have their own requirements and admissions teams so it's really hard to know what they really require. I think personal statements probably matter a *lot* for arts subjects so make sure you articulate your interest as sincerely and enthusiastically as possible. They want to know that you know what the subject entails and that you're sure it's what you want to study.

Long story short: your SAT score is in the 94th percentile. You've passed both your APs. Your GPA is good. You will probably do well on the ACT and you have plenty of time to craft an excellent application. Take the subject tests, do a ton of research, pick 2 safety schools and 3 reaches/matches and you'll probably do well!

Why are you not going to an American uni? I am just wondering.

I think the first thing you want to think about is what kind of film course you want to do.

"Film History" isn't really a course that exists (there's a handful of universities offering it, but this pales in comparison to the selection from the alternative)- Film Studies is more what you'll be looking at. Film Studies is moderately popular, and has a small level of practical work, but mostly focuses on theory. In some cases it's essentially English Lit with films. Most of the universities you've suggested will offer this.

Film Production is a much more creative course. The focus will be on creating films etc. Whilst you can go to a "normal" university (Uni of Derby offer it, although I wouldn't say they're worth going to), this will mostly be offered at specialist art universities - Art University Bournemouth, University of the Arts London, University for the Creative Arts, Ravensbourne. Without looking it up, I'd take a reasonable bet that most of the universities you're looking at will not offer a Film Production/Practise course.

The major difference between the two is that Film Studies will mostly look at your grades, and entry requirements may end up higher than you have (as you've seen so far). However Film Production will focus more on a portfolio you produce at an interview, and as a result entry requirements are lower. So, it'll be better on you to decide what you want to do first without moving further (although judging by your OP I'm going to assume you're leaning more towards Film Studies)

You could probably get into some of those universities with a parking ticket and a letter from your mum, never mind actual qualifications.

You should set your sights a little bit higher, especially since some universities are quite lax on their entry requirements for courses that aren't as popular.

Out of interest, would you not be better off studying in the US? It's none of my business but the United States has a far larger film industry, so to an outside observer it would look as if your career prospects would be much better served by staying at home.

Haha okay I get it... But that's interesting, it's good to know that less popular courses don't mind the requirements as much.
And yeah I see where you're coming from, I just like the idea of going to university to study only what I'm interested in, and not having to bother with getting a 'well-rounded education' and everything. Also just little random reasons I would prefer to study elsewhere... like a four year American degree will cost more, political stuff in the US and so on Thanks for your answer!

Out of interest, would you not be better off studying in the US? It's none of my business but the United States has a far larger film industry, so to an outside observer it would look as if your career prospects would be much better served by staying at home.

Hi! Yeah I did just finish APUSH but I couldn't take the subject test in June and I've already forgotten a bunch so I don't think I'd do very well I took Lang this past year so I will be taking Lit this time! I'll also be taking Human Geography, which unfortunately is a B subject, but I'll try to do well on it haha. That's good that they're more flexible with international students, and I'm glad to know the requirements are more of a guideline. I also like the idea of two safety schools and 3 reaches/matches! Thanks so much for your help!!

Mostly because I much prefer the idea of focusing on one subject, because in the US you have to take classes in very different subjects to fulfill your general requirements, which I'm not interested in.
In addition, I'm tired of America in a lot of ways, and would like to get away and experience a different culture, if only for a bit.
That being said, I'm still going to apply to a few universities in the US and Canada, but I would prefer the UK!