AP Exams - anyone else based in the US get results today?

Ellmau · 08/07/2024 23:57

Depends what they are, what subject they're applying for and which unis. But they may be OK effectively applying with grades in hand.

Paying overseas fees will help with admissions.

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Itsbetterbythebeach · 09/07/2024 02:02

Yes definitely depends on the UK Uni/subject being applied for. DD applied from the US this year to study Law with 2 good AP exam scores from junior year , good SAT and strong gpa. She took another 3 APs in senior year. The offers she got were exactly in line with what were listed on the University websites under the equivalent requirements for US students. Where they wanted 2 APs plus SAT score she received offers conditional only on graduating high school as she had already met the requirements.Where they required 3 APs at 5 she was offered a place conditional on getting another AP pass at 5 senior year. She only applied for Universities for which she met/would meet the requirements (a couple were “top tier” Unis although not COWI).She got offers from all the Universities she applied to.

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JesusWeptLady · 09/07/2024 02:15

Itsbetterbythebeach · 09/07/2024 02:02

Yes definitely depends on the UK Uni/subject being applied for. DD applied from the US this year to study Law with 2 good AP exam scores from junior year , good SAT and strong gpa. She took another 3 APs in senior year. The offers she got were exactly in line with what were listed on the University websites under the equivalent requirements for US students. Where they wanted 2 APs plus SAT score she received offers conditional only on graduating high school as she had already met the requirements.Where they required 3 APs at 5 she was offered a place conditional on getting another AP pass at 5 senior year. She only applied for Universities for which she met/would meet the requirements (a couple were “top tier” Unis although not COWI).She got offers from all the Universities she applied to.

This is so good to read. Thank you. Is she going to a UK university in the Fall and do you mind my asking which one?

One of our kids now has 4 AP's at 5's in required subjects the other has 3 AP's at 5 and a 4 in different but also the required subjects for the desired major. They are going into 12th grade soon so there is an option to take more if needed.

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babygrootandstarlord · 09/07/2024 12:11

Yes, DD did. She now has four APs with score of 5 and 2 more APs with scores of 4. She is taking four more next year, mainly just out of interest/preference over the other courses being offered at her school.

For some of the UK courses she will be applying to she has all the required AP 5s already, but for two of the courses Chemistry is required and she won't take that until next year.

She's applying to both USA and UK so I think that's also influenced her decision to take more this year (for "rigor" on USA apps)

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Itsbetterbythebeach · 09/07/2024 12:55

Yes she is going to a UK University this fall. She picked University of Exeter. They allow you to have an A in an Honors level class in lieu of an AP exam score so she received an Unconditional offer from them as she had already met the academic requirements.She also received offers from Aberdeen and Sterling - just required graduating high school with 3.3 GPA. Edinburgh offer conditional on another 5 from senior year AP (which we just heard she got yesterday so now her American father is traumatized she turned them down/her British mother thinks Exeter is a much better fit).

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JesusWeptLady · 09/07/2024 13:25

Itsbetterbythebeach · 09/07/2024 12:55

Yes she is going to a UK University this fall. She picked University of Exeter. They allow you to have an A in an Honors level class in lieu of an AP exam score so she received an Unconditional offer from them as she had already met the academic requirements.She also received offers from Aberdeen and Sterling - just required graduating high school with 3.3 GPA. Edinburgh offer conditional on another 5 from senior year AP (which we just heard she got yesterday so now her American father is traumatized she turned them down/her British mother thinks Exeter is a much better fit).

That is fabulous. Congratulations to your kid. Exeter is one of the tops (as you probably know). I hope she has a wonderful time there.

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poetryandwine · 09/07/2024 15:21

Congratulations to your DC, OP, and to the others on this thread

I agree that depending on the particulars this might be enough that they will be applying with grades in hand. Or they could still be missing required subjects.

The Admissions websites of the universities the DC are interested in may clear this up. If they don’t, I feel certain that Admissions teams would be delighted to hear from prospective applicants in this situation.

It’s best for the applicant to email the admissions contact, who will route the question properly. This is the time to do it, before the current admissions cycle starts heating up.

IIRC your DC have English as a first language but may be on Overseas fees? Are they too idealistic to subtly work this into the query? Although I am British my family relocated to America 10 years ago. However I have always planned to attend university (as an Overseas student) in the UK. In Year 11 I received Grade 5 in AP exams in X, Y and Z and Grade 4 in W. Do these grade satisfy the AP component of the Entry Requirements for your degree programme in A? If not could you please advise me of further AP subjects and grades required? Thanks and courteous sign off

Because the combination is extremely potent

Regardless of fees status, the Fulbright Foundation website may have some information about this

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Itsbetterbythebeach · 09/07/2024 15:22

Thank you. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it all goes well. Plus Exeter is much closer to my family who are all still over there.Good luck to your 2 as well.
DD is a clever hard working girl but I have to say I think (from my personal experience only) International fees+English as 1st language+American so no problems with getting money to the UK/used to paying eye watering university fees made her an extremely attractive applicant to them. Over in the US she doesn’t tick any of the widening participation/diversity boxes so ironically she would have found it easier to get into her top US pick if she could have applied as an International student over here as it would have made her “more interesting”…..

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poetryandwine · 09/07/2024 15:32

poetryandwine · 09/07/2024 15:21

Congratulations to your DC, OP, and to the others on this thread

I agree that depending on the particulars this might be enough that they will be applying with grades in hand. Or they could still be missing required subjects.

The Admissions websites of the universities the DC are interested in may clear this up. If they don’t, I feel certain that Admissions teams would be delighted to hear from prospective applicants in this situation.

It’s best for the applicant to email the admissions contact, who will route the question properly. This is the time to do it, before the current admissions cycle starts heating up.

IIRC your DC have English as a first language but may be on Overseas fees? Are they too idealistic to subtly work this into the query? Although I am British my family relocated to America 10 years ago. However I have always planned to attend university (as an Overseas student) in the UK. In Year 11 I received Grade 5 in AP exams in X, Y and Z and Grade 4 in W. Do these grade satisfy the AP component of the Entry Requirements for your degree programme in A? If not could you please advise me of further AP subjects and grades required? Thanks and courteous sign off

Because the combination is extremely potent

Regardless of fees status, the Fulbright Foundation website may have some information about this

Huge caveat: DC cannot make it sound like they are taking admission for granted if subjects are suitable! Rather, the context of this query is, ‘are my AP subjects suitable? I am asking now because I can still revise my Y12 choices.’ The implication is, I humbly understand you will be considering my application holistically against the competition.

Though outside of the fierce Oxbridge competition where anything could happen I am highly optimistic for both of them

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JesusWeptLady · 09/07/2024 15:54

poetryandwine · 09/07/2024 15:21

Congratulations to your DC, OP, and to the others on this thread

I agree that depending on the particulars this might be enough that they will be applying with grades in hand. Or they could still be missing required subjects.

The Admissions websites of the universities the DC are interested in may clear this up. If they don’t, I feel certain that Admissions teams would be delighted to hear from prospective applicants in this situation.

It’s best for the applicant to email the admissions contact, who will route the question properly. This is the time to do it, before the current admissions cycle starts heating up.

IIRC your DC have English as a first language but may be on Overseas fees? Are they too idealistic to subtly work this into the query? Although I am British my family relocated to America 10 years ago. However I have always planned to attend university (as an Overseas student) in the UK. In Year 11 I received Grade 5 in AP exams in X, Y and Z and Grade 4 in W. Do these grade satisfy the AP component of the Entry Requirements for your degree programme in A? If not could you please advise me of further AP subjects and grades required? Thanks and courteous sign off

Because the combination is extremely potent

Regardless of fees status, the Fulbright Foundation website may have some information about this

Thanks for this @poetryandwine your advice as always, is particularly helpful.
DS has 5's in AP exams US History, European History, English lang and Psychology. He wants to study History. We checked with all the admissions offices of the Unis on his list what they would prefer in terms of subjects and grades. One or two of them actually said "no subject requirements" for History which surprised me. He also has a solid SAT and a high GPA.
DD has 5's in AP exams English Lang, Biology, Psychology and a 4 in Government & politics. She wants to study Psychology which we know is super competitive (here and over there in the UK) but is lined up to take AP Chem, Stats and Calculus this year so should have all the bases covered. She has a solid SAT and a high GPA as well.

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JesusWeptLady · 09/07/2024 16:00

poetryandwine · 09/07/2024 15:32

Huge caveat: DC cannot make it sound like they are taking admission for granted if subjects are suitable! Rather, the context of this query is, ‘are my AP subjects suitable? I am asking now because I can still revise my Y12 choices.’ The implication is, I humbly understand you will be considering my application holistically against the competition.

Though outside of the fierce Oxbridge competition where anything could happen I am highly optimistic for both of them

Show quote history

Got it - thanks!

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JesusWeptLady · 09/07/2024 16:02

Itsbetterbythebeach · 09/07/2024 15:22

Thank you. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it all goes well. Plus Exeter is much closer to my family who are all still over there.Good luck to your 2 as well.
DD is a clever hard working girl but I have to say I think (from my personal experience only) International fees+English as 1st language+American so no problems with getting money to the UK/used to paying eye watering university fees made her an extremely attractive applicant to them. Over in the US she doesn’t tick any of the widening participation/diversity boxes so ironically she would have found it easier to get into her top US pick if she could have applied as an International student over here as it would have made her “more interesting”…..

We are in the same boat. Having a high performing cohort in the school means they are pretty much of a muchness in terms of competing with their peers. Only a few EC's they have that are unusual that might have helped with US applications, which we are not doing anyway.

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BackToWhereItAllBegan · 09/07/2024 19:01

I would still take at least one more AP in Senior year. DS had taken 10 AP's by the end of junior year, got all grade 5's and covered all the relevant subjects but two of the universities he applied to made the offer conditional on getting at least one more grade 5 in Senior year (along with maintaining a certain GPA).

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Itsbetterbythebeach · 09/07/2024 21:15

Not quite on the subject of this post but I would like to add .There has been a lot of press about the International students getting Uni places with lower academic requirements.We did tours round all the prospective Unis last summer and spoke to their International recruitment staff. They were all very welcoming and helpful but made it very clear to us that if DD did not meet the admissions requirements listed she would not get a place and even if she did there was no guarantee of an offer. All the Universities were asking for 5/4 on multiple AP exams plus strong class grades over the full 4 years of high school.APs are not as in depth as A level courses (only being a 1 year course) but getting a 5 is difficult. Only between 10-15% of exam takers get the top grade. Add to that the fact that schools only normally let their top performing students study and take AP classes and you are competing against only those top performing students to get that grade. Academically the Unis were not going to give us an easy ride just because she was an International student.

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poetryandwine · 09/07/2024 23:55

Itsbetterbythebeach · 09/07/2024 21:15

Not quite on the subject of this post but I would like to add .There has been a lot of press about the International students getting Uni places with lower academic requirements.We did tours round all the prospective Unis last summer and spoke to their International recruitment staff. They were all very welcoming and helpful but made it very clear to us that if DD did not meet the admissions requirements listed she would not get a place and even if she did there was no guarantee of an offer. All the Universities were asking for 5/4 on multiple AP exams plus strong class grades over the full 4 years of high school.APs are not as in depth as A level courses (only being a 1 year course) but getting a 5 is difficult. Only between 10-15% of exam takers get the top grade. Add to that the fact that schools only normally let their top performing students study and take AP classes and you are competing against only those top performing students to get that grade. Academically the Unis were not going to give us an easy ride just because she was an International student.

I agree that good universities, units of admission and international students themselves are being unfairly tarred. A recent driving force was an article in one of the broadsheets (we don’t subscribe to) that stirred up a lot of trouble by comparing Y1 entry requirements ‘for Home students’ IIRC to the entry requirements for international foundation years (Y0) at some prominent Russell Group universities. But it very much backgrounded the difference in the levels.

I think this was either The Times or The Telegraph. It was appalling journalism from a reputable newspaper.

In truth plenty of universities are now practising double standards, which is unfair to both qualified Home students who are rejected and unqualified Overseas students who are admitted. Desperate times, desperate measures - not that I find this remotely acceptable. I felt very lucky not to face this pressure when doing admissions.

There are so many excellent Overseas students, particularly in STEM, that it is possible for a good STEM School to chase the dosh without compromising standards - indeed, one could argue, by raising them. Imperial does this very effectively. This raises questions about the fundamental purposes of a British university that are more subtle than they first appear, especially given that every Home student on a British STEM course is a money loser.

It is quite a mess.

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poetryandwine · 09/07/2024 23:57

PS My School like the one you describe still does not succumb to this practice. Not sure about the entire uni however

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Itsbetterbythebeach · 10/07/2024 01:29

@poetryandwine Thank you. If you want to take a positive view take it as a compliment that top UK Universities are so well regarded you have a large number of highly qualified students worldwide who are eager to study with them and pay a hefty price for the privilege. On the downside having followed the UK news the Universities have been placed in a very difficult spot and it is no wonder that they are having to make tough choices.
Over here in the “Land of the Free” (although in practice that only applies if you earn plenty of money) we parents face a different dilemma. The problem is not necessarily getting a place at the University you want but paying for it (a good private one can now be $90k per year!). A number of DD friends are not going to the best Uni they got in to but to the one that gave them the most money (fee discount based on being above the average academic profile of other applicants). Speaking as a parent of an 18 year old the grass is definitely not greener over here. If I worked for a University though I am sure I would have a very different view….

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JesusWeptLady · 10/07/2024 01:32

BackToWhereItAllBegan · 09/07/2024 19:01

I would still take at least one more AP in Senior year. DS had taken 10 AP's by the end of junior year, got all grade 5's and covered all the relevant subjects but two of the universities he applied to made the offer conditional on getting at least one more grade 5 in Senior year (along with maintaining a certain GPA).

Yes, I think this is wise, especially for my DD.

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AP Exams - anyone else based in the US get results today?