As a minimum requirement to enter a four-year bachelor’s degrees, the student should have completed at least five GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) at grade C or above, including English and Math, plus be completing or have completed a post age 16 qualification. The most competitive universities will expect to see three A-Levels or their equivalent. This could include a minimum of three A-Levels alongside the Welsh Baccalaureate, the IB or Pre-U.
AP (Advance Placement)
Background
- Widely used curriculum for high school students in the U.S, created by a panel of experts and college-level educators from the College Board.
Assessment
- Offers over 30 subjects.
- Students are graded on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being no recommendation and 5 being extremely well qualified.
- Each college has different guidelines, most require a minimum score of 4 or 3 to receive college credit.
University Entrance
- Typically appears as a “CR” grade on the college transcript, although some colleges and universities will award an A grade for a 5 score.
- Further university entrance exam required depending on the student’s choice.
AdvancED
Background
- Largest community of education professionals in the world.
- Non-profit, non-partisan organization that conducts rigorous, on-site external reviews of PreK-12 schools and school systems.
- Serves as a trusted partner to 32,000 schools and school systems, enrolling more than 20 million students across the United States and 70 other nations.
Assessment
- AdvancED was created through a 2006 merger of the PreK-12 divisions of the North Central Association (NCA) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)—and expanded through the addition of the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) in 2011.
University Entrance
- Further university entrance exam required depending on the student’s choice.
A-Level
Background
- The General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (short form: GCE Advanced Level), or more commonly, the A Level, is a school leaving qualification offered by educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the British Crown dependencies to students completing secondary or pre-university education.
Assessment
- Grade scale from A* (highest) to E (minimum required performance)
- Generally studied over 2 years.
University Entrance
- Obtaining A-levels or equivalent qualifications is required for university entrance.