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My 1st pick school is Oxford in England. My concern is that it is one of the hardest schools in the country to get into. Can I get in? The other school I am interested in is Tufts, NYU, Cornell, and Berkeley

GPA: 3.4 (straight A's sophmore, junior and as a senior too(I am currently a senior); horrible freshman year.

ACT: 31 (I hope oxford takes the act)

EC's:
Technology club (2 years)
Mock trial (1 year)
Football (1 year)
Baseball (3 year) All-State)
Teen Republicans
Habitat for Humanity
Teen Library Advisory Board
Founder of Teens with Tenacity: Helping inner- city

Course Load:

Freshman: 2 honors (English, Spanish
Sophomre: 1 honors (English)
Junior: AP Physics, honors english, honors spanish, AP U.S. History

5 on all AP tests

By Brown101 (Brown101) on Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 11:16 pm: Edit

Things I left out: 600 community service hours

and, I really want to go to Washington and Lee University

By Tuannguyen (Tuannguyen) on Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 11:38 pm: Edit

Oxford admission gives HUGE weight for it's interview. It cares very little about the SAT score (it probably just has a minimum requirement, which, last i checked, was 1300, but it is misleading, because americans who actually get in have scores much higher). The amount of Americans accepted into Oxford was a single digit number last year (or so i heard). APs are very important though. ECs serve as kind of like a prerequisite, but after they know you have a few, they don't really care anymore. That's what i heard. The bulk is on the interview, practice interviewing NOW!

By Brown101 (Brown101) on Monday, September 15, 2003 - 07:35 am: Edit

Thanks. Anything else?

By Arealtexan (Arealtexan) on Monday, September 15, 2003 - 09:30 am: Edit

Your admissions chances really depend on the subject you wish to read at Oxford, and how good you are at it. You haven't said which subject you want to read, or how many APs you are taking in your senior year, so it is difficult to provide analysis specific to you.

By Brown101 (Brown101) on Monday, September 15, 2003 - 05:01 pm: Edit

I am taking all AP's my senior year accept for regular Calculus. I want to read for something related to law, business, or history. Does this help?

By Brown101 (Brown101) on Monday, September 15, 2003 - 09:18 pm: Edit

Do you think I can get in guys??

By Tuannguyen (Tuannguyen) on Monday, September 15, 2003 - 09:57 pm: Edit

No one knows. Because a huge part of the acceptance is the interview. If you can ace the interview, and take the breath of the interviewer away as you shake his hand, you're in. If you screw up, you might as well go home.

Atleast that's what i think. If anyone can confirm this, it would be nice.

By T0fu (T0fu) on Monday, September 15, 2003 - 11:18 pm: Edit

Teens Republicans? That's gross.

By Cmaher (Cmaher) on Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 02:10 am: Edit

What's wrong with being a republican?

Does every teenager have to be a I-hate-Bush-but-I-know-nothing-about-politics-liberal-left-wing-radical -fanatic?

btw I'm a libertarian and very liberal in terms of social issues but I get sick seeing all these stupid teenagers who are liberal just because it is seemingly the popular thing to do.

By Arealtexan (Arealtexan) on Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 02:19 am: Edit

Brown101 - have you looked at the Oxford prospectus? There is no business undergraduate degree. And specifically which AP classes are you taking? It has an impact - you need to have a solid grounding in subjects that are relevant to the degree course you want to take.

Here is the prospectus: http://www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/prospectus/

And well said, Cmaher.

Tuannguyen - I do not think any student is going to be taking the interviewer's breath away, no matter how well you do. No 18 year old is going to have the knowledge to answer everything they ask you perfectly. And if you think you have messed up, you may still be offered a place. Plenty of students who think that they have done terribly haven't done so badly and get an offer.

By Veggieoptionsux (Veggieoptionsux) on Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 10:15 am: Edit

For the interview, it doesnt nec matter if you don't know the answers. What matters is your ability to grasp new concepts (which no doubt they will throw at you) and think on your feet. Also, you should be able to discuss the material (as most interviews start off with some written stimulus) clearly and effectively. An added plus would be to convey ur passion and flair for the subject(s) u intend to read.

PS: I'm sure you know that Oxford doesn't follow the typical liberal arts curriculum that most US unis do. With that in mind, you will have to decided on either law, history or Econs+Management.