Stats for kids attending Oxford UK from the US
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Anonymous
I think you are wrong -- Econ is not even listed as a 'helpful' subject for PPE applicants. If kid has a math AP (preferably BC) and perhaps a history, he should be good. The TSA test is required for PPE applicants, and from what we hear, is often determinative of whether US students are invited for interviews. Apparently, Oxford tutors believe grade inflation is out of control in the US and that AP exams are too easy. |
Anonymous
I’m pretty sure “Oxybridge” is just a nickname for Appalachian State |
Anonymous
I am not wrong. I had direct contact with the Oxford admissions office this last cycle on this exact point. |
Anonymous
You are correct however, that if they don't get above a certain grade in the TSA they do not get offered interview. This last year the cut off was 65 points or above. |
Anonymous
They care about AP scores, not AP classes. A 5 with an A in the class is not better to Oxford than a self studied 5. |
Anonymous
This -- and broadly this is true across most UK universities. It also is largely true in other European universities. |
Anonymous
This is wildly mis-informed. |
Anonymous
| Some of the universities in the UK will make allowances for the fact that schools in the USA do not always offer AP classes / exams. In some cases they will take A grades in honors classes as an equivalent. But this is on a case by case / university by university basis. |
Anonymous
NP my kid got in with only self studied 5s. so I dont think it's misinformed. |
Anonymous
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Even if predicted grades / scores are required for the UCAS forms and the central Oxford admissions people, they don't seem to be used by the decision makers.
Oxford tutors don't trust predicted grades, even from UK teachers: https://www.reddit.com/r/oxforduni/comments/1e6cfr1/ama_i_did_ppe_admissions_for_5_years/ This link says they rely on GCSEs (which few US students would have), TSA scores, and -- most important -- interview results. High SAT scores are necessary but not sufficient. AP scores too. Near-perfect SAT scores seem to correlate with very high TSA scores. That's what gets students through the first cut. Then the interviews are determinative. About 30% of students interviewed are offered offers. |
Anonymous
If your school does not predict all 5's for the AP's for Oxford, then the application simply does not progress. You will be put on the waiting pile and when the interviews are set up you just won't get one. |
Anonymous
If your school won’t predict a 5 on all your APs, you probably shouldn’t be applying to Oxford anyway. A college counselor who would do that —unless the kid has no 5s from junior year AND doesn’t have a prayer at a 5 in senior year — is out to get the kid. I can’t see it happening. |
Anonymous
A counselor who doesn't predict that a kid will get all 5's, should tell the kid they can't predict 5's, and that the kid should apply elsewhere. Predicting 5's, when that's not what they actually expect, can result in a kid getting a conditional offer, and then finding themselves without a school when AP results come out. A counselor who facilitates that is the one who is acting unprofessionally. Predicting multiple for a kid who had 1 or 2 in junior year and "a prayer" of getting some in senior year, is dishonest and unethical. |
Anonymous
When I was at Oxford there were a lot of super wealthy dumb asses butt they were mostly from the developing world |
Anonymous
It is not common practice to offer "predicted grades" in the US for AP exams. But if pushed, the counselor will say something along the lines of "X student achieved 3 AP exams at 5 last year, we see no reason why they won't achieve another 3 AP exams at grade 5 again this year" That is what my kids HS did for her and she progressed to the next stage at Oxford. |