How to plan your child’s course journey (starting from elementary school) so that he can safely enter a good university at the end - both in the UK and the US.
IGCSE, A-level, IB, AP?
What are the requirements for entering a British university?
Sometimes schools advise parents that their children must take the GCSE exam if they want to go to a UK university. They insist that UK universities want to see UK test scores and will not receive evaluations (transcription cards) or internal certificates from international schools, such as IB junior high school courses or US high school .
schools sometimes also recommend that if you think your child will be admitted to a U.S. college, there is no need to take the IGCSE test (even if students follow a course based on the IGCSE syllabus) because U.S. colleges/universities (unis)* only want to see internal scores and high school transcripts of the U.S. system... without accepting (or even understanding) test scores from other systems.
However, expat parents who want to send their children to the best local schools may not have a completely seamless, same system choice when they move around the globe, no matter where they go. They may have planned their kids for the next 12 years in a system at first, and then suddenly find out that they have come to a city that has lost their plans.
But few people realize that universities in the UK and the US are increasingly aware of each other's systems and are often willing to accept students who skip through multiple courses. In other words, parents may have more choices than they know.
Generally speaking, this speculation that good universities are not keeping pace with other courses and exams, or that they will somehow not find ways to recruit a smart talented student is nonsense.
Maybe it can be said that weaker students will develop better if they do not skip between different systems, just because it is never easy even for excellent students. However, sometimes families are transferred from one position to another, in order to find the best education they can find, they have no choice but to transfer to the system they were in than their children were before.
It is gratifying that most colleges and universities have been familiar with other systems for a while and have some benchmarks in which they look for excellent applicants.
IGCSE (or GCSE) is an important factor in admission to UK universities if applicants have only read A-Levels, because students have traditionally read only 3 or 4 subjects. So, for example, a student applying for medicine may submit a series of excellent A-level test scores in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, but the admissions officer is able to trace back to early GCSE scores to determine how a student performs in other aspects (e.g., does this person know how to write? How does he perform in humanities?) A-Level scores probably represent a student’s strengths, but GCSE/IGCSE scores help fill in other aspects and make A-Level scores more complete.
As the IB degree program demonstrated the breadth and depth of a series of subjects in the last two years, the test scores achieved by students two years ago were not an important factor... What mattered was the subsequent IB diploma score. In fact, American universities know that IB diploma grades will not come out until the summer after graduation, so based on students' existing grades and school's IB predictions, students will be admitted in the spring, subject to the students continuing to study the same academic courses and their grades reach the same level.
Now, admission to a certain field of expertise (such as medicine, architecture, engineering) may be affected by courses/exams taken before the IB diploma program: For example, if you want to study medicine, IB only allows two sciences at most (IB allows students to replace the sixth with the second of the first five (such as the third language, the second humanities, the second science, the second mathematics).
However, for such a field of expertise (medicine), some British universities want applicants to complete biology, chemistry, and physics in A-Level courses, which is not possible in IB courses.Therefore, an IB candidate may be admitted because he has done biology and chemistry at the IB level, but may also need to submit a copy of Physics IGCSE or GCSE. In some cases, IB students interested in studying medicine in the UK can take the physics exam at GCSE or IGCSE at the same time if the school is willing to help arrange.
Contrary to people’s thoughts (and fears), students in American high school courses can also enter British universities. Generally speaking, British universities will look at SAT and SAT subject tests (Oxford and Cambridge University expects SAT scores to reach 700 or above in each part of the SAT score), or ACT test (hope to reach 32 out of 36), and hope to have at least three advanced courses (at least two AP tests to reach 5 points and the other 4 points) or IB diploma (38-40 points, 6 or 7 points in high-scoring subjects). UK universities are less interested in extracurricular activities unless they may help your proposed field of research. For more detailed information, please visit the Oxford admission requirements page or the Oxford International Students page.
From the perspective of American universities
Although GCSE is generally considered equivalent to a high school diploma in the United States (many schools think it is roughly equivalent to the 11th grade in the United States, plus a little more), and many American colleges and universities still do not necessarily require A-level exams unless they specify otherwise, most universities still like to see students taking the A-level exam and are often asked why they don't take the A-level exam. Until American admissions officials know so well about the British system, they often just think that students choose not to do A-levels. Now, the British system is widely understood in the United States, and it is generally believed that students do not complete A-levels. The Fulbright Commission recommends that at least 5 GCSE academic subjects reach C or above, and 2 or 3 A-levels. However, unlike the British university system, admissions to American universities are not conditioned on A-level test scores - especially the A-level test is even done several months after the US admission letter is issued. Instead, American universities generally require students to provide grades at GCSE and AS levels, as well as academic progress in the final year (A2).
In addition, the A-level exam can sometimes be counted as credits for American universities: usually one A-level exam can be equivalent to 3 undergraduate scores. Students need to consult this question during the application process and should also provide the (US) SAT reasoning test scores, and possibly SAT subject tests, letters of recommendation, etc.
Even for American students, the American high school diploma needs to be strengthened to enter highly competitive American universities; in most schools and states, the basic courses required to obtain a standard diploma are simply not strong enough. Therefore, most colleges and universities do tend to be outside or in place of these basic courses, such as IB courses (though students who take these courses but end up not getting a full IB diploma will not be as interested) and/or some advanced courses (the more competitive colleges, the more recommended AP courses, the higher the score requirements for the final AP exam). The exception to
is that some high schools do not have either, but are known nationwide for extremely strict requirements. An example is Phillips-Exeter College ( New Hampshire ), who think their coursework is even harder than the set AP course (enough, they allow any student willing to take the AP exam and get very satisfactory grades even without actual AP course preparation).
All American universities now accept IB diplomas and know their requirements and values well. Most American universities offer course credits for IB programs, and many will offer college credits for AP programs as long as the exam score is high. As mentioned above, some universities may also provide credit for A-levels courses. These credits allow freshmen to skip the basic freshman 500-person survey course taught by graduate students or reduce spending for one semester (if the student has enough credits to skip 3 or 4 total courses required by the degree).
Note: All American colleges/universities do not require students to take the UK A-level (except GCSE) (or the US AP level), which seems strange, but they are not always able to do so (which depends largely on whether their admission quota was successful in that year). All admissions committees expect students to take the most stringent courses in their school. However, due to the special circumstances, American colleges/universities are willing to evaluate each transcript based on other preparations and the talents and skills presented during the application process. Obviously, "competitive" universities can and do set the highest requirements, while "easy to enter" universities/colleges may not be.
Get help early
UK universities have different admission requirements (so check out their specific requirements in a specific institution), the degree of competition to enter the university and the subjects that are best for studying at one university and another (the prestigious universities you know may not be the best place to study your subject).
In any case, it is important to consult a high school university and career counselor; here is the weak link in the case - many American directors will not know about UCAS applications for British universities, and British directors may not know about the strategies for applying for the United States (arrangement of SAT exams, teacher recommendation letters, university visits and interviews, application deadlines, etc.).
Parents of high school students should ask in advance whether the school can help with the application procedures. Of course, many international schools deal with various applications from universities around the world, so they will handle this issue well.
For students who want to enter UK universities with an IB diploma, it is important to know what the admission criteria are when students choose IB diploma programs. But this is true even for 9th graders who plan to enter the most competitive American colleges.
information harvested?
In terms of education, few choices are irreversible, although those who should know send a terrible warning and they will refute this useful, comfortable fact. Try to plan, stay flexible, make the best choices when problems arise, and make sure your child is a good reader and grammar writer. The carefully selected schools and school systems themselves won’t let you down, and the latest savvy of the College Admissions Office won’t let you down.
But no matter which university or country you are interested in, don't let it start making plans too late. Also, don’t ignore it simply because you think too much recruitment information and course changes have made your child miss the opportunity.
