Did anyone's DC get accepted/rejected at a UK school this year?

[Anonymous]

Any BTDT advice? What kind of stats did your DC have? How was the process? Did your DC interview? If accepted, is your DC going? Is DC a UK or American citizen and do you think that played any part in your DC's acceptance/rejection?

TIA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any BTDT advice? What kind of stats did your DC have? How was the process? Did your DC interview? If accepted, is your DC going? Is DC a UK or American citizen and do you think that played any part in your DC's acceptance/rejection?

TIA

Yes, my DC applied this year through UCAS and was admitted to all five of the schools to which she applied (Cambridge, University College London, Durham, Univ of Edinburgh, and St. Andrews). We are US citizens with no ties to the UK. She will be attending Cambridge in the fall. In general, I don't think that there are any real disadvantages to being from the US, in fact many claim that it is easier to get in from the US. Oxbridge is a bit of a different issue (it can be harder for US students due to a variety of issues). If your DC is interested in applying to either Camb or Oxford (you can't apply to both), I'd be happy to explain the admissions process in further detail. If your child is not interested in Oxbridge, than the application process is rather easy, transparent and fast.

[Anonymous]

Would love to hear more, DC interested specifically in Cambridge and also Durham and UCL.

[Anonymous]

OP again, I should say that we American citizens and DC is on track to meet the entry requirements by this Fall.

[Anonymous]

Sure. First I'll start with the general and then segue into the specifics about Cambridge (which are different from the way that Oxford works).

My DC applied through UCAS, which is like the UK's common app. Your DC will write one personal statement for all five schools that highlights his/her interest in, knowledge about, and experience with his/her intended field of study. As you probably already know, UK schools don't really care about any classes or extracurriculars that are outside your DC's intended major so don't wast valuable space on this type of info. Your child will also submit any SAT/ACT scores, SAT IIs and AP exams that he/she has already taken, along with a list of any AP courses he/she is taking senior year. One recommendation is also required. This recommendation should be from a teacher who can speak to your child's ability in his/her intended field of study.

If your child is applying to Cambridge, all of this must be completed no later than October 15th. This means that you will need to be on top of the school's guidance counselor (who will also need to create a UCAS login). My DC attends a private school but if I were coming from public, this would be my biggest single worry.

Notifications of acceptance come in on a rolling basis. It took Durham all of two weeks to notify my DC that she had been accepted. Others straggled in throughout the winter and fall.

Admits may be "conditional" or "unconditional." If you have an unconditional offer, you're in; if you have a conditional offer, the uni will establish required scores on senior year APs. It is important to note that, even if your child already has sufficient APs, the uni may still require senior scores. All of this will be clearly stated in the UCAS portal once a decision arrives.

If your child is asked to interview at Cambridge, that notification will arrive around Thanksgiving. You have the option to interview in NYC or in person in early December. We selected in person as an affirmation of my DC's interest. The in person option was terrific because the student gets to stay in college. The interviewing (my DC had two rounds with four professors in total) is intense and the professors are there to test not only your DC's knowledge but also how he/she responds to being challenged and/or being wrong. So, it's a combo of what you know, your enthusiasm, and your ability to talk issues through in a collegial, productive manner. Relatedly, the professors will use your DC's personal statement as the basis for questioning so make sure he/she knows info he/she claims to have studied inside and out because they will ask questions about it.

Mentioning college makes me realize that I forgot to explain the college process. When you apply to Cambridge, you aren't really applying to the university, you are applying to a constituent college. An applicant has two options: he/she can choose a college to apply to (a direct application) or can make an open application. If you make an open application, your child will be assigned to a college (if he/she makes it to interview). Cambridge's website has links to all of the 30-odd constituent colleges. Your DC can read up on those to see which option seems best.

Admissions notification for all Cambridge colleges occurs somewhere around Jan 15th - sort of like Ivy Day.

Finally, the UK version of college confidential is called the student room. It is a very useful resource to find out the specifics of how everything works.

Best of luck to you and your DC.

[Anonymous]

DP here, with a kid also interested in UK and other European schools: THANK YOU SO MUCH for explaining all this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure. First I'll start with the general and then segue into the specifics about Cambridge (which are different from the way that Oxford works).

My DC applied through UCAS, which is like the UK's common app. Your DC will write one personal statement for all five schools that highlights his/her interest in, knowledge about, and experience with his/her intended field of study. As you probably already know, UK schools don't really care about any classes or extracurriculars that are outside your DC's intended major so don't wast valuable space on this type of info. Your child will also submit any SAT/ACT scores, SAT IIs and AP exams that he/she has already taken, along with a list of any AP courses he/she is taking senior year. One recommendation is also required. This recommendation should be from a teacher who can speak to your child's ability in his/her intended field of study.

If your child is applying to Cambridge, all of this must be completed no later than October 15th. This means that you will need to be on top of the school's guidance counselor (who will also need to create a UCAS login). My DC attends a private school but if I were coming from public, this would be my biggest single worry.

Notifications of acceptance come in on a rolling basis. It took Durham all of two weeks to notify my DC that she had been accepted. Others straggled in throughout the winter and fall.

Admits may be "conditional" or "unconditional." If you have an unconditional offer, you're in; if you have a conditional offer, the uni will establish required scores on senior year APs. It is important to note that, even if your child already has sufficient APs, the uni may still require senior scores. All of this will be clearly stated in the UCAS portal once a decision arrives.

If your child is asked to interview at Cambridge, that notification will arrive around Thanksgiving. You have the option to interview in NYC or in person in early December. We selected in person as an affirmation of my DC's interest. The in person option was terrific because the student gets to stay in college. The interviewing (my DC had two rounds with four professors in total) is intense and the professors are there to test not only your DC's knowledge but also how he/she responds to being challenged and/or being wrong. So, it's a combo of what you know, your enthusiasm, and your ability to talk issues through in a collegial, productive manner. Relatedly, the professors will use your DC's personal statement as the basis for questioning so make sure he/she knows info he/she claims to have studied inside and out because they will ask questions about it.

Mentioning college makes me realize that I forgot to explain the college process. When you apply to Cambridge, you aren't really applying to the university, you are applying to a constituent college. An applicant has two options: he/she can choose a college to apply to (a direct application) or can make an open application. If you make an open application, your child will be assigned to a college (if he/she makes it to interview). Cambridge's website has links to all of the 30-odd constituent colleges. Your DC can read up on those to see which option seems best.

Admissions notification for all Cambridge colleges occurs somewhere around Jan 15th - sort of like Ivy Day.

Finally, the UK version of college confidential is called the student room. It is a very useful resource to find out the specifics of how everything works.

Best of luck to you and your DC.

My kid applied to Oxford (got to the interview stage, did not get in), and the process was very similar. The only thing you did not mention, there is a written exam that’s taken in early November. The kids get selected for an interview based on their applications + the exam results. Interviews are either in person or by Skype.

[Anonymous]

OP here -- thank yo use much -- that was really helpful! A couple of follow-up questions:

1. I infer from what you said that the UCAS portal will track DC's application for each uni through one login, is that right?

2. If you don't mind sharing, did your DC meet the minimum numbers for SATs and APs or did your DC exceed/far exceed the posted minimum numbers. It sounds like your DC received an unconditional offer if you know she is attending in the Fall (as opposed to hoping to attend in the Fall). I'm wondering what she had at the end of her junior year that got her to the unconditional offer.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure. First I'll start with the general and then segue into the specifics about Cambridge (which are different from the way that Oxford works).

My DC applied through UCAS, which is like the UK's common app. Your DC will write one personal statement for all five schools that highlights his/her interest in, knowledge about, and experience with his/her intended field of study. As you probably already know, UK schools don't really care about any classes or extracurriculars that are outside your DC's intended major so don't wast valuable space on this type of info. Your child will also submit any SAT/ACT scores, SAT IIs and AP exams that he/she has already taken, along with a list of any AP courses he/she is taking senior year. One recommendation is also required. This recommendation should be from a teacher who can speak to your child's ability in his/her intended field of study.

If your child is applying to Cambridge, all of this must be completed no later than October 15th. This means that you will need to be on top of the school's guidance counselor (who will also need to create a UCAS login). My DC attends a private school but if I were coming from public, this would be my biggest single worry.

Notifications of acceptance come in on a rolling basis. It took Durham all of two weeks to notify my DC that she had been accepted. Others straggled in throughout the winter and fall.

Admits may be "conditional" or "unconditional." If you have an unconditional offer, you're in; if you have a conditional offer, the uni will establish required scores on senior year APs. It is important to note that, even if your child already has sufficient APs, the uni may still require senior scores. All of this will be clearly stated in the UCAS portal once a decision arrives.

If your child is asked to interview at Cambridge, that notification will arrive around Thanksgiving. You have the option to interview in NYC or in person in early December. We selected in person as an affirmation of my DC's interest. The in person option was terrific because the student gets to stay in college. The interviewing (my DC had two rounds with four professors in total) is intense and the professors are there to test not only your DC's knowledge but also how he/she responds to being challenged and/or being wrong. So, it's a combo of what you know, your enthusiasm, and your ability to talk issues through in a collegial, productive manner. Relatedly, the professors will use your DC's personal statement as the basis for questioning so make sure he/she knows info he/she claims to have studied inside and out because they will ask questions about it.

Mentioning college makes me realize that I forgot to explain the college process. When you apply to Cambridge, you aren't really applying to the university, you are applying to a constituent college. An applicant has two options: he/she can choose a college to apply to (a direct application) or can make an open application. If you make an open application, your child will be assigned to a college (if he/she makes it to interview). Cambridge's website has links to all of the 30-odd constituent colleges. Your DC can read up on those to see which option seems best.

Admissions notification for all Cambridge colleges occurs somewhere around Jan 15th - sort of like Ivy Day.

Finally, the UK version of college confidential is called the student room. It is a very useful resource to find out the specifics of how everything works.

Best of luck to you and your DC.

My kid applied to Oxford (got to the interview stage, did not get in), and the process was very similar. The only thing you did not mention, there is a written exam that’s taken in early November. The kids get selected for an interview based on their applications + the exam results. Interviews are either in person or by Skype.

As I noted at the beginning of my post, Oxford's process is different from Cambridge and this is a key difference. Oxford requires a preliminary exam before being asked to interview; Cambridge does not. My DC had her exam at interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here -- thank yo use much -- that was really helpful! A couple of follow-up questions:

1. I infer from what you said that the UCAS portal will track DC's application for each uni through one login, is that right?

2. If you don't mind sharing, did your DC meet the minimum numbers for SATs and APs or did your DC exceed/far exceed the posted minimum numbers. It sounds like your DC received an unconditional offer if you know she is attending in the Fall (as opposed to hoping to attend in the Fall). I'm wondering what she had at the end of her junior year that got her to the unconditional offer.

Thank you!

Answers:

1. Yes, that is correct.

2. My DC exceeded the posted minimum for Cambridge, which was far above the posted minima for all of the other unis to which she applied. Her unconditional offer came because she had the requisite five 5s on her APs that, in combination with her interview, personal statement, and exam score, her college deemed sufficient. However, she has a friend who had five 5s on her APs and the college is still requiring additional senior APs. Every college and major is slightly different.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! Printing this thread and saving it!

[Anonymous]

They love Americans. You pay so much more than Europeans

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They love Americans. You pay so much more than Europeans

But a lot less than you would for full pay OOS or private in the US.

[Anonymous]

Not totally on point because my DC applied to a UK grad school as a senior in college but the conditional offer was contingent on achieving a certain final GPA in college, which required some real work to achieve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They love Americans. You pay so much more than Europeans

But a lot less than you would for full pay OOS or private in the US.

Exactly.

Same in Canada.