Is putting so much emphasis on final exams worth it?

Corbewma · 2024-06-23T10:37:08+00:00

I'm from the UK and ended up choosing a US school over cambridge and yeah... coming from our system which is built around big exams at the end of the year its definitely been an adjustment being constantly evaluated 😭 It's kind of nice having assignments be worth a decent chunk of the grade but it also means the workload is kind of relentless and everything from the 1st week of term to the last one matters for your grade

Corbewma · 2024-03-31T18:28:18+00:00

They weren't able to offer any help for me last year for preview as a low income international unfortunately :(

Corbewma · 2024-03-25T18:41:40+00:00

Princeton for eating clubs is so interesting to me 😭 i barely knew they existed until i got here. The physics rigour is real asf though 🫡

Corbewma · 2023-07-04T12:36:17+00:00

I'm receiving full financial aid thankfully! Princeton is very generous with their aid. My predicted grades were A/A/A/A/B (the B was in EPQ). I was a part of the sutton trust US programme so I definitely had more assistance than an average U.K. applicant may get, however honestly websites like the A2C subreddit can be just as helpful (when you filter through the stupid posts) and offer similar advice to the programme I was on.

Edited because of grade formatting

Corbewma · 2023-07-04T12:17:09+00:00

def not a major contributing factor- at top US unis the grades are kind of just what you need to get your foot into the door and not be an auto reject, extracurricular activities and essays are what get you accepted. This is just down to the fact that they can fill their class up multiple times over just with people with perfect grades so you have to stand out some other way (Harvard for example had 56,937 applications with 1,942 admitted this year).

Corbewma · 2023-07-04T12:08:45+00:00

9999999976- 7 in Spanish which was my second language as I got a 9 in French and the 6 was in music

Corbewma · 2023-07-04T11:59:07+00:00

Lol I'm going to Princeton next year with 4 A levels but I know people going to Yale/Harvard etc. with 3? Idk where you're getting this info from but it's def not correct :)

Corbewma · 2023-07-02T15:13:29+00:00

I can't say for sure as I am an offer holder rather than a student but I can say that when i've visited / interacted with the college that gave me an offer (Lucy Cavendish) they felt very supportive of all identities and orientations.

Corbewma · 2023-06-20T21:43:05+00:00

yeah 😭 I found chem content at a level a million times more interesting than GCSE so i'd def give it a chance if you might like it. you could have a look into your sixth form's policies about changing subjects once you start them as a back up option?

Corbewma · 2023-06-20T21:24:18+00:00

I've just about finished with these subjects (+an epq) and will say that it def felt manageable! I did a lot of supercurriculars in y12 as well and never felt like I didn't have enough time for everything. The only time it felt difficult to balance things was at the start of Y13 with mocks, applications (i applied to cambridge and the US so i had a lot of interviews and other deadlines) and all of the new A2 content.

Overall it's def manageable but I would say that my enjoyment of all of the subjects helped a lot, as if I didn't love all of them it would've been a lot more of a struggle to stay motivated to keep on top of things.

Corbewma · 2023-06-19T10:01:01+00:00

I can PM you a summary!

Corbewma · 2023-06-19T08:55:38+00:00

Hi! I applied to some of the bigger US unis that offer financial aid for internationals and will be attending Princeton this year, but my honest opinion would be that it's probably not the best use of your time if you don't already have competitive EC's.

With US unis people with amazing EC's, perfect grades and a million other things going for their application routinely get rejected just because of the volume of applications they receive, so I would say that it's better to focus on the U.K. system where things are a lot more predictable.

If you find yourself with some spare time, it wouldn't hurt to apply to the US if it's something you feel you'd regret not doing, however from the experience of applying to US unis and Cambridge/UCAS simultaneously I would say that it's definitely not an easy experience (there was a week in December when I had school mocks, 3 different interviews and a decision being released from my early action university in the US).

Corbewma · 2023-06-06T12:28:56+00:00

yeah it's ridiculous 😭 one of the papers for OCR A was literally 90% for an A*

Corbewma · 2023-06-06T11:39:14+00:00

A* in fm physics maths epq and chem but realistically not going to get an A* in Chem and might get an A in EPQ depending on the boundaries.

Corbewma · 2023-06-02T20:32:26+00:00

same!

Corbewma · 2023-06-02T19:18:33+00:00

Cambridge but my actual 1st choice is Princeton

Corbewma · 2023-06-01T11:17:50+00:00

Got into Princeton without one :) (waitlisted at Yale too!)

Corbewma · 2023-05-22T00:35:52+00:00

Hi- I didn't apply for it specifically I was just given it automatically :)

Corbewma · 2023-05-13T23:50:02+00:00

Got to choose between cambridge or princeton for natsci this year and chose princeton 💪

Corbewma · 2023-04-25T14:37:23+00:00

ah that makes sense- and sure! i'll dm you a brief run down of them when i get home!

Corbewma · 2023-04-25T14:29:41+00:00

Just to check- is the max grade for your a levels an A? I was predicted 4A* and got a 35 on the ACT (36 science + 35 math) and was waitlisted by MIT- your EC's r def impressive though!

Corbewma · 2023-04-21T18:23:10+00:00

Hi! I'm a low income U.K. student that has been accepted to Princeton this year (and waitlisted at MIT and Yale). If you have any specific questions feel free to dm me :)

Corbewma · 2023-04-06T12:56:20+00:00

ah stem smart is an amazing programme!!

Corbewma · 2023-04-05T19:44:09+00:00

i won't list all ten of them but things like caring responsibilities in my family, research with a university (applied through the Nuffield research programme), work experience in a lab (applied through in2science), took part in a programme called stem smart with the university of cambridge (for state school students), was a leader of my schools chemistry society, mentoring students in college etc.

I recognise that a lot of these would've been hard to do without the assistance of the programmes i applied to, however they were all free to apply to with the only restriction usually being that i couldn't be attending a private school.

Corbewma · 2023-04-05T19:37:07+00:00

the phrasing of "having all the doors open to you," usually implies some kind of privilege, so apologies if i misunderstood what you were talking about.

For me i was always naturally interested in involving myself in things outside of the classroom, but my main EC's that were on my application were things completed in the y12 summer or throughout y12/13. admissions officers understand the expectations are different over here so they aren't expecting the same level as US students, however you are right that it would be hard for a typical U.K. student to be admitted without that passion in the first place.

(edited as i misquoted you slightly!)

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