what are my chances of getting into a top US university as UK student
Hi! i'm in year 13 as a UK student wanting to apply to Ivies and top unis in US, come from most average state school possible
sitting SAT Oct 4 - hopefully 1500+
ACT - 25 (obviously bad, but lots of issues w/ test centre)
GCSEs - 9887777777664
A-level: 5 A* and a B in - Math, FM, Econ, Pol, EPQ (Phil) and AS FM respectively
will prob apply for phil but want to do a math degree - had 0 opportunity to take part in math comp/olympiad until this year which i will take late october
Stats/ECs:
did semi-professional rugby w/ london irish for 2 years and took part in comps against U16 saracens and advertising for rugby womens world cup
taken part in some sort of debating society since year 7, founder and pres of Econ and MUN society with active members taking part in regional, national and international competitions like debate mate, oxford union (against top schools like eton college) and wharton gloal investment challenge
write for my local school journal - papers on econ, math and phil
became chess president for 2 years and Made chess club a school wide club after covid and teacher passsed away and hosted + organised the first school-wide and trust-wide chess tournament where the final was broadcasted across schools with trophies.
1 yrears - As Eco ambassador, helped revamp the school garden after Covid by growing plants and flowers, making healthy soil - all during lunch, break and afterschool, helped reintroduce eco friendly ideas into school such as water stations, advertised eco friendly competitions like which form can grow the Plant the most.
1 year - As TFL ambassador, I worked closely with TFL to promote road safety and how we can help our school and local community with transportation changes like introducing more roads and less buses. Lead an assembly with the year 7s and 8s on road safety.
1.5 years Volunteered at the science club for year 7 students and applied my knowledge from Biology, Chemistry and Physics GCSE to help during experiments and engaged with the younger students to enhance their love for science.
a year - Tutor Year 11 students once a week for free and help them achieve their academic goals at GCSE and beyond, as well as give them advice for their Post-16 options.
Have a faceless YT channel with just under 3K total views, which allows me to express my creative talent, helped edit and manage my sister's YT channel which has just under 66K total views, both our channels focused on lifestyle, travel and general social media trends. - 2 years
The young investment banker summer experience live online 2023 by InvestIN During this experience, I partook in a group project where my group presented an equity portfolio, in which we won 1st place.
coursera yale financial markets course
Morgan Stanley Early Careers & AmplifyMe trading virtual event 2025,
Goldman Sachs Pre-University Women’s Event,
(2023)The Debating Award for performing well in debate club, debate mate and Oxford union.
(2024) Economics achievement award for outstanding effort and achievement in A-level Economics Coursera
Meta Introduction to Mobile development course
Talk The Talk confident communication for life Jack Petchy
certificate of achievemnet for outstatnding work in year 12
most of this is in one doc w/ more details so i can remember but i may have forgotten some things
please be honset on how i cam incrase my chances
sorry for typos, im tired
sitting SAT Oct 4 - hopefully 1500+
ACT - 25 (obviously bad, but lots of issues w/ test centre)
GCSEs - 9887777777664
A-level: 5 A* and a B in - Math, FM, Econ, Pol, EPQ (Phil) and AS FM respectively
will prob apply for phil but want to do a math degree - had 0 opportunity to take part in math comp/olympiad until this year which i will take late october
Stats/ECs:
did semi-professional rugby w/ london irish for 2 years and took part in comps against U16 saracens and advertising for rugby womens world cup
taken part in some sort of debating society since year 7, founder and pres of Econ and MUN society with active members taking part in regional, national and international competitions like debate mate, oxford union (against top schools like eton college) and wharton gloal investment challenge
write for my local school journal - papers on econ, math and phil
became chess president for 2 years and Made chess club a school wide club after covid and teacher passsed away and hosted + organised the first school-wide and trust-wide chess tournament where the final was broadcasted across schools with trophies.
1 yrears - As Eco ambassador, helped revamp the school garden after Covid by growing plants and flowers, making healthy soil - all during lunch, break and afterschool, helped reintroduce eco friendly ideas into school such as water stations, advertised eco friendly competitions like which form can grow the Plant the most.
1 year - As TFL ambassador, I worked closely with TFL to promote road safety and how we can help our school and local community with transportation changes like introducing more roads and less buses. Lead an assembly with the year 7s and 8s on road safety.
1.5 years Volunteered at the science club for year 7 students and applied my knowledge from Biology, Chemistry and Physics GCSE to help during experiments and engaged with the younger students to enhance their love for science.
a year - Tutor Year 11 students once a week for free and help them achieve their academic goals at GCSE and beyond, as well as give them advice for their Post-16 options.
Have a faceless YT channel with just under 3K total views, which allows me to express my creative talent, helped edit and manage my sister's YT channel which has just under 66K total views, both our channels focused on lifestyle, travel and general social media trends. - 2 years
The young investment banker summer experience live online 2023 by InvestIN During this experience, I partook in a group project where my group presented an equity portfolio, in which we won 1st place.
coursera yale financial markets course
Morgan Stanley Early Careers & AmplifyMe trading virtual event 2025,
Goldman Sachs Pre-University Women’s Event,
(2023)The Debating Award for performing well in debate club, debate mate and Oxford union.
(2024) Economics achievement award for outstanding effort and achievement in A-level Economics Coursera
Meta Introduction to Mobile development course
Talk The Talk confident communication for life Jack Petchy
certificate of achievemnet for outstatnding work in year 12
most of this is in one doc w/ more details so i can remember but i may have forgotten some things
please be honset on how i cam incrase my chances
sorry for typos, im tired
Reply 1
Not really much you can do to increase your chances here at this stage in the applications process. Being perfectly honest, I would avoid applying to the Ivies/HYPSM, since your profile is pretty average/below average for the average international applicant from the UK. These universities are ultra-competitive, and are looking for considerable impact, passion and achievement - things which are not immediately evident in your ECs. Your academic record is also not optimal, with your 4 at GCSE and B not helping your case.
Please pick your universities responsibly, and consider where you would like to study instead of the prestige of the university. Good luck with the admissions process!
Please pick your universities responsibly, and consider where you would like to study instead of the prestige of the university. Good luck with the admissions process!
Reply 2
Original post
by AnonymousHi! i'm in year 13 as a UK student wanting to apply to Ivies and top unis in US, come from most average state school possible
sitting SAT Oct 4 - hopefully 1500+
ACT - 25 (obviously bad, but lots of issues w/ test centre)
GCSEs - 9887777777664
A-level: 5 A* and a B in - Math, FM, Econ, Pol, EPQ (Phil) and AS FM respectively
will prob apply for phil but want to do a math degree - had 0 opportunity to take part in math comp/olympiad until this year which i will take late october
Stats/ECs:
did semi-professional rugby w/ london irish for 2 years and took part in comps against U16 saracens and advertising for rugby womens world cup
taken part in some sort of debating society since year 7, founder and pres of Econ and MUN society with active members taking part in regional, national and international competitions like debate mate, oxford union (against top schools like eton college) and wharton gloal investment challenge
write for my local school journal - papers on econ, math and phil
became chess president for 2 years and Made chess club a school wide club after covid and teacher passsed away and hosted + organised the first school-wide and trust-wide chess tournament where the final was broadcasted across schools with trophies.
1 yrears - As Eco ambassador, helped revamp the school garden after Covid by growing plants and flowers, making healthy soil - all during lunch, break and afterschool, helped reintroduce eco friendly ideas into school such as water stations, advertised eco friendly competitions like which form can grow the Plant the most.
1 year - As TFL ambassador, I worked closely with TFL to promote road safety and how we can help our school and local community with transportation changes like introducing more roads and less buses. Lead an assembly with the year 7s and 8s on road safety.
1.5 years Volunteered at the science club for year 7 students and applied my knowledge from Biology, Chemistry and Physics GCSE to help during experiments and engaged with the younger students to enhance their love for science.
a year - Tutor Year 11 students once a week for free and help them achieve their academic goals at GCSE and beyond, as well as give them advice for their Post-16 options.
Have a faceless YT channel with just under 3K total views, which allows me to express my creative talent, helped edit and manage my sister's YT channel which has just under 66K total views, both our channels focused on lifestyle, travel and general social media trends. - 2 years
The young investment banker summer experience live online 2023 by InvestIN During this experience, I partook in a group project where my group presented an equity portfolio, in which we won 1st place.
coursera yale financial markets course
Morgan Stanley Early Careers & AmplifyMe trading virtual event 2025,
Goldman Sachs Pre-University Women’s Event,
(2023)The Debating Award for performing well in debate club, debate mate and Oxford union.
(2024) Economics achievement award for outstanding effort and achievement in A-level Economics Coursera
Meta Introduction to Mobile development course
Talk The Talk confident communication for life Jack Petchy
certificate of achievemnet for outstatnding work in year 12
most of this is in one doc w/ more details so i can remember but i may have forgotten some things
please be honset on how i cam incrase my chances
sorry for typos, im tired
sitting SAT Oct 4 - hopefully 1500+
ACT - 25 (obviously bad, but lots of issues w/ test centre)
GCSEs - 9887777777664
A-level: 5 A* and a B in - Math, FM, Econ, Pol, EPQ (Phil) and AS FM respectively
will prob apply for phil but want to do a math degree - had 0 opportunity to take part in math comp/olympiad until this year which i will take late october
Stats/ECs:
did semi-professional rugby w/ london irish for 2 years and took part in comps against U16 saracens and advertising for rugby womens world cup
taken part in some sort of debating society since year 7, founder and pres of Econ and MUN society with active members taking part in regional, national and international competitions like debate mate, oxford union (against top schools like eton college) and wharton gloal investment challenge
write for my local school journal - papers on econ, math and phil
became chess president for 2 years and Made chess club a school wide club after covid and teacher passsed away and hosted + organised the first school-wide and trust-wide chess tournament where the final was broadcasted across schools with trophies.
1 yrears - As Eco ambassador, helped revamp the school garden after Covid by growing plants and flowers, making healthy soil - all during lunch, break and afterschool, helped reintroduce eco friendly ideas into school such as water stations, advertised eco friendly competitions like which form can grow the Plant the most.
1 year - As TFL ambassador, I worked closely with TFL to promote road safety and how we can help our school and local community with transportation changes like introducing more roads and less buses. Lead an assembly with the year 7s and 8s on road safety.
1.5 years Volunteered at the science club for year 7 students and applied my knowledge from Biology, Chemistry and Physics GCSE to help during experiments and engaged with the younger students to enhance their love for science.
a year - Tutor Year 11 students once a week for free and help them achieve their academic goals at GCSE and beyond, as well as give them advice for their Post-16 options.
Have a faceless YT channel with just under 3K total views, which allows me to express my creative talent, helped edit and manage my sister's YT channel which has just under 66K total views, both our channels focused on lifestyle, travel and general social media trends. - 2 years
The young investment banker summer experience live online 2023 by InvestIN During this experience, I partook in a group project where my group presented an equity portfolio, in which we won 1st place.
coursera yale financial markets course
Morgan Stanley Early Careers & AmplifyMe trading virtual event 2025,
Goldman Sachs Pre-University Women’s Event,
(2023)The Debating Award for performing well in debate club, debate mate and Oxford union.
(2024) Economics achievement award for outstanding effort and achievement in A-level Economics Coursera
Meta Introduction to Mobile development course
Talk The Talk confident communication for life Jack Petchy
certificate of achievemnet for outstatnding work in year 12
most of this is in one doc w/ more details so i can remember but i may have forgotten some things
please be honset on how i cam incrase my chances
sorry for typos, im tired
Hi,
1. Academics: Your 5 A*s at A-level and predicted 1500+ SAT are strong. The B and 4 at GCSE aren’t ideal, but US schools tend to focus more on your recent, relevant performance (A-levels + standardised tests) than GCSEs. Still, the 25 on the ACT is closer to the national average than to the average ACT score for successful international applications and will hold you back significantly, as that’s a clear objective metric of comparison between you and other applicants. A competitive ACT score for the Ivy League is normally 33+
2. Extracurriculars: You have quite a wide range of meaningful ECs such as: leadership roles, community work, debating, sports at a high level, summer experiences, and creative outlets. While it’s true that Ivies want deep impact and passion, your activities do show leadership and initiative. The key will be how you present and reflect on these in your essays.
3. Competition: Yes, Ivy League admissions are incredibly competitive for all international applicants, and many have even more extensive ECs or academic achievements. So it’s smart to apply to a balanced list with some “reach” schools, some “match,” and some “safety” schools.
4. What you can do now: At this late stage, the best you can do is focus on making your essays really stand out, getting strong recommendations, and submitting your best test scores.
Hope this helps and best of luck,
ULaw Ambassador,
Alfred.
Reply 3
0% sorry
Reply 4
Original post
by AnonymousHi! i'm in year 13 as a UK student wanting to apply to Ivies and top unis in US, come from most average state school possible
sitting SAT Oct 4 - hopefully 1500+
ACT - 25 (obviously bad, but lots of issues w/ test centre)
GCSEs - 9887777777664
A-level: 5 A* and a B in - Math, FM, Econ, Pol, EPQ (Phil) and AS FM respectively
will prob apply for phil but want to do a math degree - had 0 opportunity to take part in math comp/olympiad until this year which i will take late october
Stats/ECs:
did semi-professional rugby w/ london irish for 2 years and took part in comps against U16 saracens and advertising for rugby womens world cup
taken part in some sort of debating society since year 7, founder and pres of Econ and MUN society with active members taking part in regional, national and international competitions like debate mate, oxford union (against top schools like eton college) and wharton gloal investment challenge
write for my local school journal - papers on econ, math and phil
became chess president for 2 years and Made chess club a school wide club after covid and teacher passsed away and hosted + organised the first school-wide and trust-wide chess tournament where the final was broadcasted across schools with trophies.
1 yrears - As Eco ambassador, helped revamp the school garden after Covid by growing plants and flowers, making healthy soil - all during lunch, break and afterschool, helped reintroduce eco friendly ideas into school such as water stations, advertised eco friendly competitions like which form can grow the Plant the most.
1 year - As TFL ambassador, I worked closely with TFL to promote road safety and how we can help our school and local community with transportation changes like introducing more roads and less buses. Lead an assembly with the year 7s and 8s on road safety.
1.5 years Volunteered at the science club for year 7 students and applied my knowledge from Biology, Chemistry and Physics GCSE to help during experiments and engaged with the younger students to enhance their love for science.
a year - Tutor Year 11 students once a week for free and help them achieve their academic goals at GCSE and beyond, as well as give them advice for their Post-16 options.
Have a faceless YT channel with just under 3K total views, which allows me to express my creative talent, helped edit and manage my sister's YT channel which has just under 66K total views, both our channels focused on lifestyle, travel and general social media trends. - 2 years
The young investment banker summer experience live online 2023 by InvestIN During this experience, I partook in a group project where my group presented an equity portfolio, in which we won 1st place.
coursera yale financial markets course
Morgan Stanley Early Careers & AmplifyMe trading virtual event 2025,
Goldman Sachs Pre-University Women’s Event,
(2023)The Debating Award for performing well in debate club, debate mate and Oxford union.
(2024) Economics achievement award for outstanding effort and achievement in A-level Economics Coursera
Meta Introduction to Mobile development course
Talk The Talk confident communication for life Jack Petchy
certificate of achievemnet for outstatnding work in year 12
most of this is in one doc w/ more details so i can remember but i may have forgotten some things
please be honset on how i cam incrase my chances
sorry for typos, im tired
sitting SAT Oct 4 - hopefully 1500+
ACT - 25 (obviously bad, but lots of issues w/ test centre)
GCSEs - 9887777777664
A-level: 5 A* and a B in - Math, FM, Econ, Pol, EPQ (Phil) and AS FM respectively
will prob apply for phil but want to do a math degree - had 0 opportunity to take part in math comp/olympiad until this year which i will take late october
Stats/ECs:
did semi-professional rugby w/ london irish for 2 years and took part in comps against U16 saracens and advertising for rugby womens world cup
taken part in some sort of debating society since year 7, founder and pres of Econ and MUN society with active members taking part in regional, national and international competitions like debate mate, oxford union (against top schools like eton college) and wharton gloal investment challenge
write for my local school journal - papers on econ, math and phil
became chess president for 2 years and Made chess club a school wide club after covid and teacher passsed away and hosted + organised the first school-wide and trust-wide chess tournament where the final was broadcasted across schools with trophies.
1 yrears - As Eco ambassador, helped revamp the school garden after Covid by growing plants and flowers, making healthy soil - all during lunch, break and afterschool, helped reintroduce eco friendly ideas into school such as water stations, advertised eco friendly competitions like which form can grow the Plant the most.
1 year - As TFL ambassador, I worked closely with TFL to promote road safety and how we can help our school and local community with transportation changes like introducing more roads and less buses. Lead an assembly with the year 7s and 8s on road safety.
1.5 years Volunteered at the science club for year 7 students and applied my knowledge from Biology, Chemistry and Physics GCSE to help during experiments and engaged with the younger students to enhance their love for science.
a year - Tutor Year 11 students once a week for free and help them achieve their academic goals at GCSE and beyond, as well as give them advice for their Post-16 options.
Have a faceless YT channel with just under 3K total views, which allows me to express my creative talent, helped edit and manage my sister's YT channel which has just under 66K total views, both our channels focused on lifestyle, travel and general social media trends. - 2 years
The young investment banker summer experience live online 2023 by InvestIN During this experience, I partook in a group project where my group presented an equity portfolio, in which we won 1st place.
coursera yale financial markets course
Morgan Stanley Early Careers & AmplifyMe trading virtual event 2025,
Goldman Sachs Pre-University Women’s Event,
(2023)The Debating Award for performing well in debate club, debate mate and Oxford union.
(2024) Economics achievement award for outstanding effort and achievement in A-level Economics Coursera
Meta Introduction to Mobile development course
Talk The Talk confident communication for life Jack Petchy
certificate of achievemnet for outstatnding work in year 12
most of this is in one doc w/ more details so i can remember but i may have forgotten some things
please be honset on how i cam incrase my chances
sorry for typos, im tired
· Amherst College
· Bowdoin College
· Brown University
· Dartmouth College
· Harvard University
· Massachusetts Institute of Technology
· Princeton University
· University of Notre Dame
· Washington and Lee University
· Yale University
Reply 5
12
What's your budget? What do the net price calculators for the unis you're considering say? How top is "top"? Why the US over Woxbrimp?
(edited 3 weeks ago)
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