United Kingdom

SWITZERLAND cont.

second language, mathematics, natural sciences (biology, chemistry, and physics), humanities and social sciences (geography, history, economics/law), and specific electives taken during the last three years of secondary school.

Further, most universities will require five Advanced Placement (AP) subject tests in particular areas with scores of 3 or higher (several AP subjects are not recognized, such as art history and psychology), or two years of university-level work on top of the applicant’s high school diploma. If you are enrolled in the IB program, they will also have specific subject requirements, including the fact that math and/or science be taken at the Higher Level (HL). ETHZ will require both HL math and one science (Bio, Chem or Physics) while EPFL will require HL Math and HL Physics. The 10 cantonal universities ask for a minimum IB score of 32/42 (excluding TOK and the Extended Essay), while ETH and EPFL ask for a minimum score of 38/42 (again excluding TOK and the Extended Essay).

If you are considering applying to Swiss public universities, you really need to speak to a university advisor before selecting your grade 10 courses. If you enroll at LAS in grade 11, you must tell the university advisor before picking any courses and finalizing your course schedule.

How to Apply

There is no common application in Switzerland. Students must apply to each individual university.

Most universities follow a two-part application process. Part one generally requires an application, photo, passport copy, and the intermediary grades from the last two years of high school, as well as language certification. The second part includes final grades, transcript, and diplomas.

Most universities of applied sciences and arts will not admit students with only a high school diploma and will ask for at least one year of practical, internship, or work experience relevant to the degree. Generally, this means a gap year is needed to get the work experience.

When to Apply

Many Swiss public universities will accept first/ preliminary applications from January to the end of April. The second part of the application (final results/grades) are submitted by mid-July. Students who require a visa to study in Switzerland are encouraged to submit the first part of the application by the end of February.

UNITED KINGDOM (UK)

The UK is home to over 125 different universities. Universities in the UK usually ask that students choose, apply to, and then focus on a single area of study (though you may also have the chance to combine two areas of study, such as French and History or Business and International Relations). To search for courses in the UK, use this website: https://digital.ucas.com/search.

If you are someone who is certain of the subject you want to study in college, a UK university could be a good choice for you. If you are undecided about your major, be aware that in order to apply to the UK, you will have to make a decision about what you will study. Note that transferring to a different subject will usually entail starting your degree over from the beginning.

Most degree programs in the UK take three years to complete; the notable exception to this is Scotland, where many degree programs are four years long.

UNITED KINGDOM (UK) cont.

Application Considerations

The primary factor that UK universities use in making admissions decisions will be your AP or IB exam scores. Most UK universities are looking for three to four specific AP scores in areas related to your intended area of study. Only University College London and London School of Economics require, while Cambridge University recommends, that applicants sit for five AP exams related to their intended field of study. You can go to each university’s website, look up the program in which you are interested, and see whether you have qualifying AP scores. Some UK schools may also require and consider SAT or ACT scores that were earned previously. You are required to submit all of your test scores if you are applying using UCAS, a centralized application system. A few UK universities may request and review your high school transcript.

Students without qualifying test scores can often apply to a one-year foundation course in order to qualify later for entry to a degree program at a UK university.

For IB students, UK universities will put a lot of emphasis on your IB predicted grades. Some programs may require certain specialized admission tests depending on the program of study.

Fortunately, UK universities are very transparent in their requirements, so the results are more predictable than the US.

Universities in the UK will ask you to write a personal statement about your interest in and commitment to your intended course of study. This may involve writing about relevant high school courses you have taken, internships or other work experiences, material you have watched or read, and/or pursuits you have engaged in outside of the classroom. Your university advisor will also write you a reference letter based on teacher comments about your demonstrated engagement with your field of interest.

Some courses of study may require you to take specialized admissions tests as part of the application process (e.g., the LNAT for law or the BMAT or UCAT for medicine). Please look carefully at the requirements of each of the programs to which you are applying. Some universities may also require that you take the IELTS, an English language test. LAS offers this test twice a year (October and March).

How to Apply

Most UK universities use a nationwide system called UCAS for their applications. UCAS is an online portal where you can search for programs and also apply to universities. UCAS only allows students to apply to a maximum of five programs, or courses, so students must select carefully. The LAS university advisors will create a step-by-step presentation on how to register for and complete the UCAS application for all students interested in applying to UK universities. Grade 11 students normally create the UCAS account during a Student Success class in May.

Check to see whether the UK universities to which you may be interested in applying use the UCAS app. If they do not, you will need to follow each individual school’s application requirements, which can be found on their websites.

When to Apply

The UCAS has two deadlines. The first deadline is October 15th, which is for Oxbridge, medicine, dentistry and vet science applications. The second one is usually a date in late January. However, the LAS internal deadlines will be October 1st and early December since we have to check