Consensus world view of TOP 5/6 UK University Rankings (Prestige/Research)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is applying through UCAS this fall.

He wants to apply to:
1. Oxford
2. UCL
3. St Andrews
4. Edinburgh
5. Bristol or Exeter

If he picks 5 spots on UCAS, can he apply to St Andrews direct as the 6th spot?

Yes. Many students do it, and it allows you to customize your application to StA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never said no transcript. Of course you need transcripts….but yes, no standardized tests or APs. They all ask for APs. My kid went to a no AP high school in the west coast. Not IB and no APs. They only have Dual Credit and Honors courses.

If kid goes to a HS that offers AP classes you have no choice on the AP requirements.

It took us a long time and money spent with a counselor to find out what schools in the UK would accept a non AP/IB curriculum. There are dozens. We all know about St Andrews already. There are a couple in the Russell Group too. Great ones actually…Good luck!

Why did was it so hard to figure that out? The websites of the universities specify which qualifications they expect from US applicants and most say that, if your school does not offer the IB or APs, then they accept dual credit or honors courses. The websites are all inconsistently structured so it takes time on each site to figure this out. But the information is there. Of course, there are still some universities that require APs or the IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is applying through UCAS this fall.

He wants to apply to:
1. Oxford
2. UCL
3. St Andrews
4. Edinburgh
5. Bristol or Exeter

If he picks 5 spots on UCAS, can he apply to St Andrews direct as the 6th spot?

Which course?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never said no transcript. Of course you need transcripts….but yes, no standardized tests or APs. They all ask for APs. My kid went to a no AP high school in the west coast. Not IB and no APs. They only have Dual Credit and Honors courses.

If kid goes to a HS that offers AP classes you have no choice on the AP requirements.

It took us a long time and money spent with a counselor to find out what schools in the UK would accept a non AP/IB curriculum. There are dozens. We all know about St Andrews already. There are a couple in the Russell Group too. Great ones actually…Good luck!

I also heard directly from a St. Andrews rep that they understand that students from well-regarded independent schools do not take AP exams. Rep said that St. Andrews will fully consider their applications anyway. Seems the US St. Andrews reps are willing/ able to judge school quality. I got the impression that no APs, if your kid goes to a school that offers APs, is a problem.

That is correct. That avenue only exists for kids whose schools are not IBs and do not offer APs.

The thing to be aware of is the equivalent mark for a honours course at some independent schools can be hard to achieve. For example, if a course requires an A* in history for domestic students, this may equate to a 5 in an AP history course or an A+ in an honours history course. At some independent schools where marking is very tough, it may be very difficult or impossible to get an A+. In that case, it may make more sense for the student to do the AP exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Got some good data for Oxford here:

For the 3 years between 2022 and 2024, Oxford received 1482 applications from the US. 184 received offers. 12.4% Admission Rate. 61 US students admitted Per YEar. ( I dont know how many of those 94/yr actually attend).

Better yet, these are the easiest and hardest courses to get acceptance to (indicated by admissions %):

# Course Applications Offers Offer Rate (%)
1 Modern and Medieval Languages 7 3 42.86
2 Linguistics 27 11 40.74
3 History and Modern Languages 13 4 30.77
4 Classics (4 years) 10 3 30.0
5 Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 7 2 28.57
6 Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (... 7 2 28.57
7 Archaeology 26 7 26.92
8 Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Rel... 8 2 25.0
9 Education 13 3 23.08
10 Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic 9 2 22.22
11 History of Art 14 3 21.43
12 Classics 16 3 18.75
13 History and Politics 40 6 15.0
14 Natural Sciences 196 28 14.29
15 Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (... 22 3 13.64
16 Computer Science 126 17 13.49
17 Architecture 38 5 13.16
18 Mathematics 156 20 12.82
19 Geography 16 2 12.5
20 History 32 4 12.5
21 Philosophy 25 3 12.0
22 Law 80 9 11.25
23 Economics 63 7 11.11
24 English 51 5 9.8
25 Human, Social, and Political Sciences 134 13 9.7
26 Engineering 113 10 8.85
27 Land Economy 28 2 7.14
28 Veterinary Medicine 32 2 6.25
29 Psychological and Behavioural Sciences 67 3 4.48
30 Music 2 0 0.0
31 Medicine (Graduate course) 23 0 0.0
32 Medicine 75 0 0.0
33 Chemical Engineering via Engineering 3 0 0.0

Is Land Economy equivalent to real estate majors in business schools in the US or is it an Economics degree focuses on property?

Neither. It’s the degree for posh farming families in the UK and/or the very few kids who are “recruited” for rowing (unofficially as sports recruiting isn’t a thing, except that Oxford and Cambridge like to win in the boat race)

Wrong. This is the equivalent of Land Use Economics in the US and yes, it is a combo of Economics towards the property markets with a legal component included.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is applying through UCAS this fall.

He wants to apply to:
1. Oxford
2. UCL
3. St Andrews
4. Edinburgh
5. Bristol or Exeter

If he picks 5 spots on UCAS, can he apply to St Andrews direct as the 6th spot?

Which course?

A couple of different ones depending on the uni, but basically: Management/Economics, Financial Economics/Management, Management/Innovation, etc….

We have visited all 6 of them. UCL was the only London uni he is considering because he was influenced by his cousin who went to school there. He has spent 2 weeks with his cousin a year ago. He thought LSE was just cold….We understand housing in London is tough. Housing is also tough to a lesser extent in Bristol and St Andrews after 1st year. As far as campuses, he liked Exeter campus the best. It is the one campus that is the most similar to an American campus. He loved how quaint St Andrews was. Loves how lively the cities of Edinburgh and Bristol are…. And Oxford….it is Oxford. He already has 3 APs with 5’s from last year. Awaiting scores of 4 more. He thinks he got 5’s on all.

We were told St Andrews says that if you have applied to any other school though UCAS, you need to use UCAS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never said no transcript. Of course you need transcripts….but yes, no standardized tests or APs. They all ask for APs. My kid went to a no AP high school in the west coast. Not IB and no APs. They only have Dual Credit and Honors courses.

If kid goes to a HS that offers AP classes you have no choice on the AP requirements.

It took us a long time and money spent with a counselor to find out what schools in the UK would accept a non AP/IB curriculum. There are dozens. We all know about St Andrews already. There are a couple in the Russell Group too. Great ones actually…Good luck!

Why did was it so hard to figure that out? The websites of the universities specify which qualifications they expect from US applicants and most say that, if your school does not offer the IB or APs, then they accept dual credit or honors courses. The websites are all inconsistently structured so it takes time on each site to figure this out. But the information is there. Of course, there are still some universities that require APs or the IB.

Because there are unis in the Russell group that claim that you need a combo of APs and ACT/SAT and maybe you can substitute an honors course here or there. BUT in the end, these same unis accepted my son without APs/ACT/SAT even if their website says you need them…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Got some good data for Oxford here:

For the 3 years between 2022 and 2024, Oxford received 1482 applications from the US. 184 received offers. 12.4% Admission Rate. 61 US students admitted Per YEar. ( I dont know how many of those 94/yr actually attend).

Better yet, these are the easiest and hardest courses to get acceptance to (indicated by admissions %):

# Course Applications Offers Offer Rate (%)
1 Modern and Medieval Languages 7 3 42.86
2 Linguistics 27 11 40.74
3 History and Modern Languages 13 4 30.77
4 Classics (4 years) 10 3 30.0
5 Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 7 2 28.57
6 Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (... 7 2 28.57
7 Archaeology 26 7 26.92
8 Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Rel... 8 2 25.0
9 Education 13 3 23.08
10 Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic 9 2 22.22
11 History of Art 14 3 21.43
12 Classics 16 3 18.75
13 History and Politics 40 6 15.0
14 Natural Sciences 196 28 14.29
15 Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (... 22 3 13.64
16 Computer Science 126 17 13.49
17 Architecture 38 5 13.16
18 Mathematics 156 20 12.82
19 Geography 16 2 12.5
20 History 32 4 12.5
21 Philosophy 25 3 12.0
22 Law 80 9 11.25
23 Economics 63 7 11.11
24 English 51 5 9.8
25 Human, Social, and Political Sciences 134 13 9.7
26 Engineering 113 10 8.85
27 Land Economy 28 2 7.14
28 Veterinary Medicine 32 2 6.25
29 Psychological and Behavioural Sciences 67 3 4.48
30 Music 2 0 0.0
31 Medicine (Graduate course) 23 0 0.0
32 Medicine 75 0 0.0
33 Chemical Engineering via Engineering 3 0 0.0

Is Land Economy equivalent to real estate majors in business schools in the US or is it an Economics degree focuses on property?

Neither. It’s the degree for posh farming families in the UK and/or the very few kids who are “recruited” for rowing (unofficially as sports recruiting isn’t a thing, except that Oxford and Cambridge like to win in the boat race)

Wrong. This is the equivalent of Land Use Economics in the US and yes, it is a combo of Economics towards the property markets with a legal component included.

You may be right too, but I’m the PP and I’m definitely not wrong! This was the running joke while I was at Cambridge and was completely accurate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never said no transcript. Of course you need transcripts….but yes, no standardized tests or APs. They all ask for APs. My kid went to a no AP high school in the west coast. Not IB and no APs. They only have Dual Credit and Honors courses.

If kid goes to a HS that offers AP classes you have no choice on the AP requirements.

It took us a long time and money spent with a counselor to find out what schools in the UK would accept a non AP/IB curriculum. There are dozens. We all know about St Andrews already. There are a couple in the Russell Group too. Great ones actually…Good luck!

Why did was it so hard to figure that out? The websites of the universities specify which qualifications they expect from US applicants and most say that, if your school does not offer the IB or APs, then they accept dual credit or honors courses. The websites are all inconsistently structured so it takes time on each site to figure this out. But the information is there. Of course, there are still some universities that require APs or the IB.

Because there are unis in the Russell group that claim that you need a combo of APs and ACT/SAT and maybe you can substitute an honors course here or there. BUT in the end, these same unis accepted my son without APs/ACT/SAT even if their website says you need them…

If that’s the case, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t share the names of those universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never said no transcript. Of course you need transcripts….but yes, no standardized tests or APs. They all ask for APs. My kid went to a no AP high school in the west coast. Not IB and no APs. They only have Dual Credit and Honors courses.

If kid goes to a HS that offers AP classes you have no choice on the AP requirements.

It took us a long time and money spent with a counselor to find out what schools in the UK would accept a non AP/IB curriculum. There are dozens. We all know about St Andrews already. There are a couple in the Russell Group too. Great ones actually…Good luck!

Why did was it so hard to figure that out? The websites of the universities specify which qualifications they expect from US applicants and most say that, if your school does not offer the IB or APs, then they accept dual credit or honors courses. The websites are all inconsistently structured so it takes time on each site to figure this out. But the information is there. Of course, there are still some universities that require APs or the IB.

Because there are unis in the Russell group that claim that you need a combo of APs and ACT/SAT and maybe you can substitute an honors course here or there. BUT in the end, these same unis accepted my son without APs/ACT/SAT even if their website says you need them…

If that’s the case, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t share the names of those universities.

Because I am a HS counselor and quite frankly, now I know the way with these schools and I dont need to advertise to anybody else the gems we found.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never said no transcript. Of course you need transcripts….but yes, no standardized tests or APs. They all ask for APs. My kid went to a no AP high school in the west coast. Not IB and no APs. They only have Dual Credit and Honors courses.

If kid goes to a HS that offers AP classes you have no choice on the AP requirements.

It took us a long time and money spent with a counselor to find out what schools in the UK would accept a non AP/IB curriculum. There are dozens. We all know about St Andrews already. There are a couple in the Russell Group too. Great ones actually…Good luck!

Why did was it so hard to figure that out? The websites of the universities specify which qualifications they expect from US applicants and most say that, if your school does not offer the IB or APs, then they accept dual credit or honors courses. The websites are all inconsistently structured so it takes time on each site to figure this out. But the information is there. Of course, there are still some universities that require APs or the IB.

Because there are unis in the Russell group that claim that you need a combo of APs and ACT/SAT and maybe you can substitute an honors course here or there. BUT in the end, these same unis accepted my son without APs/ACT/SAT even if their website says you need them…

If that’s the case, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t share the names of those universities.

Because I am a HS counselor and quite frankly, now I know the way with these schools and I dont need to advertise to anybody else the gems we found.

Honestly, you sound kind of petty. It sounds like you think they’ll be a big bunch of students interested going to Cardiff or Sheffield or wherever. But are they gems?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never said no transcript. Of course you need transcripts….but yes, no standardized tests or APs. They all ask for APs. My kid went to a no AP high school in the west coast. Not IB and no APs. They only have Dual Credit and Honors courses.

If kid goes to a HS that offers AP classes you have no choice on the AP requirements.

It took us a long time and money spent with a counselor to find out what schools in the UK would accept a non AP/IB curriculum. There are dozens. We all know about St Andrews already. There are a couple in the Russell Group too. Great ones actually…Good luck!

Why did was it so hard to figure that out? The websites of the universities specify which qualifications they expect from US applicants and most say that, if your school does not offer the IB or APs, then they accept dual credit or honors courses. The websites are all inconsistently structured so it takes time on each site to figure this out. But the information is there. Of course, there are still some universities that require APs or the IB.

Because there are unis in the Russell group that claim that you need a combo of APs and ACT/SAT and maybe you can substitute an honors course here or there. BUT in the end, these same unis accepted my son without APs/ACT/SAT even if their website says you need them…

If that’s the case, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t share the names of those universities.

Because I am a HS counselor and quite frankly, now I know the way with these schools and I dont need to advertise to anybody else the gems we found.

Honestly, you sound kind of petty. It sounds like you think they’ll be a big bunch of students interested going to Cardiff or Sheffield or wherever. But are they gems?

Better than those….In my HS, I already have 3 kids applying to these schools in the Fall. So yes, I’m not telling you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is applying through UCAS this fall.

He wants to apply to:
1. Oxford
2. UCL
3. St Andrews
4. Edinburgh
5. Bristol or Exeter

If he picks 5 spots on UCAS, can he apply to St Andrews direct as the 6th spot?

Which course?

A couple of different ones depending on the uni, but basically: Management/Economics, Financial Economics/Management, Management/Innovation, etc….

We have visited all 6 of them. UCL was the only London uni he is considering because he was influenced by his cousin who went to school there. He has spent 2 weeks with his cousin a year ago. He thought LSE was just cold….We understand housing in London is tough. Housing is also tough to a lesser extent in Bristol and St Andrews after 1st year. As far as campuses, he liked Exeter campus the best. It is the one campus that is the most similar to an American campus. He loved how quaint St Andrews was. Loves how lively the cities of Edinburgh and Bristol are…. And Oxford….it is Oxford. He already has 3 APs with 5’s from last year. Awaiting scores of 4 more. He thinks he got 5’s on all.

We were told St Andrews says that if you have applied to any other school though UCAS, you need to use UCAS.

What is the Appeal for Bristol and Exeter with these subjects?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never said no transcript. Of course you need transcripts….but yes, no standardized tests or APs. They all ask for APs. My kid went to a no AP high school in the west coast. Not IB and no APs. They only have Dual Credit and Honors courses.

If kid goes to a HS that offers AP classes you have no choice on the AP requirements.

It took us a long time and money spent with a counselor to find out what schools in the UK would accept a non AP/IB curriculum. There are dozens. We all know about St Andrews already. There are a couple in the Russell Group too. Great ones actually…Good luck!

Why did was it so hard to figure that out? The websites of the universities specify which qualifications they expect from US applicants and most say that, if your school does not offer the IB or APs, then they accept dual credit or honors courses. The websites are all inconsistently structured so it takes time on each site to figure this out. But the information is there. Of course, there are still some universities that require APs or the IB.

Because there are unis in the Russell group that claim that you need a combo of APs and ACT/SAT and maybe you can substitute an honors course here or there. BUT in the end, these same unis accepted my son without APs/ACT/SAT even if their website says you need them…

If that’s the case, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t share the names of those universities.

Because I am a HS counselor and quite frankly, now I know the way with these schools and I dont need to advertise to anybody else the gems we found.

Honestly, you sound kind of petty. It sounds like you think they’ll be a big bunch of students interested going to Cardiff or Sheffield or wherever. But are they gems?

Better than those….In my HS, I already have 3 kids applying to these schools in the Fall. So yes, I’m not telling you.

As I said, petty. Makes no difference to me as my son did the IB. I wish those three kids luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is applying through UCAS this fall.

He wants to apply to:
1. Oxford
2. UCL
3. St Andrews
4. Edinburgh
5. Bristol or Exeter

If he picks 5 spots on UCAS, can he apply to St Andrews direct as the 6th spot?

Which course?

A couple of different ones depending on the uni, but basically: Management/Economics, Financial Economics/Management, Management/Innovation, etc….

We have visited all 6 of them. UCL was the only London uni he is considering because he was influenced by his cousin who went to school there. He has spent 2 weeks with his cousin a year ago. He thought LSE was just cold….We understand housing in London is tough. Housing is also tough to a lesser extent in Bristol and St Andrews after 1st year. As far as campuses, he liked Exeter campus the best. It is the one campus that is the most similar to an American campus. He loved how quaint St Andrews was. Loves how lively the cities of Edinburgh and Bristol are…. And Oxford….it is Oxford. He already has 3 APs with 5’s from last year. Awaiting scores of 4 more. He thinks he got 5’s on all.

We were told St Andrews says that if you have applied to any other school though UCAS, you need to use UCAS.

What is the Appeal for Bristol and Exeter with these subjects?

If he likes the idea of something similar to a campus, did he consider Durham? Small university town with loads of charm but about twice size of St Andrews. Three year degree. Highly ranked.