anvit Posted June 19, 2015 Report Share Posted June 19, 2015 i want to know about the whole collegiate system of USwhen you take the SAT(redesigned)?Which colleges are the best for economics/journalism/law/psywhat it takes to get into ivy league colleges...and moreplease tell me everything i need to know all about UK system as well Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kw0573 Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 UK schools you should probably thinking applying at March, April of your grade 11 (Year 11). A friend had her interview in June of grade 11.---USUS schools typically have deadlines around December/early January. There's also an earlier admissions at many school (which ends around October/November) that allows you to get your offer early (mid December ish). Some early admission are tied with the condition that if you get it, you must go. All depends on the schoolI took my SAT when I just started grade 12. I think that was a bit too late, because by September and October you should be focusing on writing your essays. A handful students in grade 11 at my school have already started prepped for SAT and I think it's a great idea. It may benefit you to take the old SAT (/2400) this year in case universities still not used to looking at the /1600 mark. The redesigned SAT begins in 2016 and a key difference is having only vocab in context instead of basically memorizing vocab. If it's still in the new system, SAT Subject Tests scores may also be desired by universities. You can take both the SAT and subject tests multiple times. https://sat.collegeboard.org/homeYou may choose to also look at ACT, if that's offered. Doing both and often can only boost your chances (because you can just simply send in the higher one of the two)I think that's a good start for people just starting to learn about US/UK schools. Once you have started prepping for the entrance requirements (essays or otherwise) then you should search on the internet for insights that experts have written. Rankings of schools are available online at multiple sources. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeznuts Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 UK for economics - warwick, LSE, durham, nottingham, bath and exeter are good. nottingham is 34 points for international students which is low for econ. journalism - city, kent, leeds, sheffield Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvit Posted June 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 UK for economics - warwick, LSE, durham, nottingham, bath and exeter are good. nottingham is 34 points for international students which is low for econ. journalism - city, kent, leeds, sheffield Why not oxford or cambridge? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Award Winning Boss Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 A moderator here writes a blog about UK university applications. It's getintouni.wordpress.com You start your application around September - January for admission into the next following year. for example, you'd apply in your second year of IB to enter after the summer holidays. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmi Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 A Comprehensive Guide to Applying to US Universities 1. There are a LOT of universities. There are thousands of colleges and universities, and the best way to start is to think about what you want to study and what kind of setting you'd like to study in. Do you want to go to a university located in the middle of the city, or somewhere in a very small town? Do you want to study in a place that has 30,000 students, or do you want to go to a very small school? Do you want to study in a particular area of the country (Northeastern US like New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania), the Midwest, the west coast, the southern US)? Once you've identified these, look for schools that fit that criteria. You can find schools that are well-ranked for what you want to study and fit what you want in a school through a lot of websites. It's best to identify a range of schools, ones that fit into these categories:1. Schools you'd love to attend, but may not be able to get into easily ("dream/reach" schools)2. Schools you'd likely be able to get into ("match" schools)3. Schools you are almost certain you can get into ("safety" schools) Ideally, all of the schools regardless of the category should be schools you'd like to attend. 2. You will be required to have either the SAT or ACT when applying. Schools accept either, so take whichever you feel best fits your strengths (SAT is mostly critical reading, math, and some writing, and ACT covers most general subjects). In addition, find out if you are required to take SAT II subject tests. These are different from the normal SAT because they are subject-specific exams that can be used to demonstrate expertise and interest in a field. Most top US universities require at least two (sometimes three) in subjects relating to the area you want to study (so for example, an engineering student might take math II, physics, and chemistry; a person interested in law might take literature and history; a person interested in medicine might take biology and chemistry, and so forth. If they aren't required, don't feel compelled to take them (though you are allowed to submit them). The ACT has no subject tests. What is a "good" score or not depends on what's the general range of scores that admitted students have. For the best schools, you want to achieve at least a 2200 (out of 2400) on the SAT and a 32 (out of 36) on the ACT. Universities generally publish these as the middle 50 percent. This means that half of the students admitted had a score between X and Y, 25% of admitted students had a score lower than X, and 25% of admitted students had a score higher than Y. The best time to take the SAT is in late spring of your junior year (end of IB1). This way you have time all year to study it, and then can retake it in the fall of your senior year (beginning of IB2) if you so desire to bring up your score if it's too low. Applications are due usually around late December or early January for regular decision. There are two ways you can find out earlier, which is early decision and early action. Early action means you apply sooner (usually by November) and find out your decision earlier. Early decision works the same way, but the main difference is that this is usually binding, meaning if you are accepted, you MUST attend the school (unless some major extenuating circumstance arises later on). Do not apply ED if you are not 100% sure that this is the school you definitely want to attend and have sufficient funds to cover your tuition and fees. A lot of schools work with the common application, which is a generalized form that you fill out once and can send to any number of schools, but not all do, so you need to find out which don't and send in separate applications for those. Generally you submit your grades from high school, a list of your extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, and essays. If you're applying for something that requires a portfolio (such as art, architecture, or music) you submit that as well. 3. Ivy League schools (and related universities like Stanford and MIT) are very very hard to get into. There are so many people applying, pretty much all of whom are great students, that not everyone can get in. At these schools, everyone has very good grades and SAT/ACT scores, so how people stand out is through their extracurricular activities and application essays. These schools are not looking for someone who has a perfect GPA and SAT score and no activities, and just goes to school, studies, and sleeps. If you apply with just that, you will not be admitted. They are looking for people who can bring something unique to the school. They are looking for people who are great student and great leaders in their school and activities. They want to see you care about something, whether it's to music by playing several instruments, being in youth orchestras, teaching lessons to kids, etc, or to sports by playing a sport or two for many years and being team captain, and winning tournaments and competitions, or to a subject by founding a club for it at your school, taking part in olympiads if they exist (such as science and math olympiads). They want to see you give back to the community by doing a lot of community service. They also want to see what kind of a person you are, and they do this with your application essay. This is one of the few areas that you can express yourself, and they look at this heavily. Writing a very generic answer will work against you, they want to see what's different about you. To sum up the above, you need:1. Very good grades and predicted scores2. Very good SAT/ACT/SAT II scores (generally 2250+ for SAT, 33+ for ACT, and 700+ per SAT subject test)3. Several extracurricular activities that you are heavily involved in for a significant amount of time, and have leadership roles in. For this part, quality > quantity. They'd rather see you were in four activities that you participated in every week for four years and were officers in, rather than 15 activities that you were a passive member in or rarely participated in at all just to "have it on your resume" or "because it looks good."4. Community service5. A great essay6. Anything else that can make your application look good (such as a part-time job, internships, research, etc) Even then it's all up to luck whether you get in or not. 4. Other things that are important to know is that a lot of times, unlike places in Europe and the UK, you don't need to know what you want to study when you apply. Oftentimes in the US you can go in as "undecided" or even change what you want to study once you get there, so if you are unsure of what you want to list, then it's fine. However, it's best to have a general idea because this can make your essays better or can save you time once you get to the university. In addition, the US very rarely gives conditional offers. Once you're admitted, you're pretty much guaranteed a spot unless your high school grades drop significantly from when you applied. IB scores are usually only used to assign "credit" for introductory level university courses if you achieve at least a certain score (usually a 5 or better, but can be higher or lower), and these are usually only for your HL subjects. 5. US universities can be very expensive, especially for international students. It's best to look into any sorts of financial aid you can receive to make it cheaper. A lot of the time, scholarships are reserved for US citizens, but you can find some that anyone can apply to. Sometimes your local government may be able to sponsor you, so that's worth checking out. When applying to schools, find out if they are need-blind or not. If a school is need-blind, this means they do not take into account your financial situation or ability to pay when deciding to admit you to a school. If they are not need-blind and you indicate on your application that you need financial assistance, they may be less willing to admit you (especially if it's a significant amount). Schools tend to be not need-blind for international students, but this is not the case everywhere. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeznuts Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 UK for economics - warwick, LSE, durham, nottingham, bath and exeter are good. nottingham is 34 points for international students which is low for econ. journalism - city, kent, leeds, sheffield Why not oxford or cambridge? if your predicted grades is in the 40s and you're willing to apply early then go ahead Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lelu Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 to find out about colleges, here are the websites I have used:acceptancerate.comtopuniversities.comthecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk commonApp and the College Board can also help you if you've taken the SAT, enter it into collegesimply.com, it'll give you how likely you are to get in for all colleges in the states... good luck Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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