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@Saanjh
0 answers, 5 votes
 • a year ago •
Admissions Advice

Are A levels enough for Ivy league Universities
Answered

I am interested in majoring CS at UC Berkeley or Cornell . Currently I am studying at an online school which doesn't have AP's as part of their curriculum but do offer AP's as a part time paid program.

I would like to know if cracking levels and SAT be enough or do I need to do AP's too.

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Accepted Answer
@Itay
1 answer, 1 vote
 • a year ago

I suggest you should look it up per the college you're trying to apply to :

- some colleges will request you to convert your A level exam to a GPA for them to work, while some can simply ask to for the transcript and they'll figure it out ( as some value is lost when converting grades from one system for another)

- many schools do emphasize it = if your school doesn't offer any kind of AP - mention it, as they'll review your application with this in mind ( You can't compare yourself to others with a resource only they have)

- Lastly, getting a high SAT score - it's pretty much hard to say. Sure, SAT score is important, but it's just another factor - as you know there are hundreds of perfect SAT scores submitted to colleges annually, so admitting one over the other is pretty much a matter of essays and other aspects in your application. It's pretty much like a "cutoff" standard, but of course even if you don't get the "perfect SAT score" keep in mind that even everything will be "perfect" - SAT, grades, and essays. You can still get deferred while another student with "not so perfect" stats will be admitted - Take this in the positive way as to not deter you from applying despite not being "perfect" as colleges do see your qualities through your essays and decide accordingly.

1
[🎤 AUTHOR]@Saanjha year ago [edited]

So we are considering 2 Online schools.

CGA online and International Schooling Online.

CGA online is extremely expensive.

When I asked AI to compare, it showed 70% students get into top uni

And 30 % for the other.

Both offer AP courses ( I don't have additional budget of APs, if I decide CGA ) ... I am so worked up about deciding on this !! If College admissions process requires us to take AP courses if its offered in our school (otherwise we are considered as underachievers) ... what do we do

@Itaya year ago [edited]

If you don't have the budget don't attend them. Second thing, don't trust ChatGPT or others like that... they don't have access to the internet ;thus, not being able to actually compare and infer from data... Lastly once again let me repeat myself - if your current school does not offer AP courses - that's fine. Many international students (including myself) didn't have access to those.. and that doesn't interfere with our chances to enroll a top university ( I talked with graduates about it )

[🎤 AUTHOR]@Saanjha year ago [edited]

Thanks for the information 🙏🏼...though the information that I got from university website was about taking rigorous course if its offered in your school ...and then also YouTube videos of accepted candidates talking about their AP courses uffff...So, if not considering AP as of now ... how many A level subjects should be done ...😷

[🎤 AUTHOR]@Saanjha year ago [edited]

International Schooling Online ... the second online school option...any idea how is the review ? Does it matter ? Also its American Curriculum... how does one calculate GPA for this Curriculum... they are supposed to take 6 credits every year.

1
@vishva
2 answers, 2 votes
 • a year ago

omg i'm doing A-Levels too and my counsellor says that yes it is enough because most if not all the content in A-Level subjects are in AP exams, or at least it's similar content. so AO know the rigour of A-Levels. So it really depends on your predicted grades or your school transcript. and if your planning to submit scores, your SAT as well.

1
[🎤 AUTHOR]@Saanjha year ago

So then..... is it enough to do just 3 A levels to get into top unis ? (Apart from the other requirements?)

@vishvaa year ago

if that's what your country offers then it's enough. some top colleges do indicate that you want to be more competitive by taking academically rigorous courses like if your country offers 4 or more A-levels subjects that you can take at one time, then you would want to show your rigour by taking more subjects. that's what i had to do but i am not 100% sure if it will apply to you. 😅

[🎤 AUTHOR]@Saanjha year ago

Studying online , and it does allow me to take as many more subjects I can pay for !🤷‍♂️

@vishvaa year ago

if you think you can take on more subjects go for it, only if you like the subjects and it is meaningful to you. if you think its a waste of time (or more stressful) and you can get more out of other projects not related to school, go for that. it's how you want to showcase yourself to the colleges you apply to. good luck for your apps!

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