what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?
#16
Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?
aye, anyone can get a passport...was still a funny story none the less
#17
Just Joined
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 8
Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?
If they are available at her school, and your daughter is fairly accomplished academically, I would (as a graduate of a fairly selective university and also of the public high school system) recommend that she take as many APs as she can. If she is able to handle material that is even the least bit above grade level, she should be fine, and they look excellent on a transcript, and might even save her money on her college tuition bill - I saved about $15,000 because I was able to skip an entire semester.
Another option is taking a bunch of PSATs..."pre"-SATs. Generally you take them in 10th grade prior to the real SATs, but because they are more specialised than the regular test you can really demonstrate your specific strengths. They have tests for Science, Writing, foreign languages, etc. Things that the SAT itself wouldn't cover. Usually there is a space on college applications for those scores and if you get a good score, it can be very impressive.
Sorry for rambling, and I hope this was helpful.
#18
Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?
They probably give more substance to AP because that's the kind of crap that you would normally be doing in the wasted first year of uni over here....all that basic maths, english, p.e etc.
I would disagree with this...I would not consider A-levels to be equivalent to AP courses, because AP credit is generally accepted to be on-par with university credit - i.e. the university will give you credit for an equivalent course from their school for having passed the AP exam with a score of either 4 or 5. I think the reason UK universities would prefer to see AP/IB credit on a transcript is because it gives them a bit more of an absolute standard to which they can compare the applicant. A GPA from a standard American high school means very little to an international school, since academic standards vary so widely. But at least the Advanced Placement or IB testing boards offer a little bit of standardisation.
#19
Homebody
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: HOME
Posts: 23,181
Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?
I also agree with whoever said that it would be advisable to delay the move until the girl has sat her GCSEs. It would make the transition sooooooooo much easier.
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#20
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,669
Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?
I utterly agree with what Elvira said. My kids are writing their iGCSE's next year even though we live in the US (have to fly to Europe for that - they stopped allowing them to be written in the US a few years ago), but it is worth it, IMO.
#21
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Joined: Feb 2004
Location: Hinsdale, IL
Posts: 469
Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?
my daughter & i are moving to las vegas as soon as i sort out a school for her there, hopefully before the end of the year. i'm just wondering what's the equivalent of gcse's here in uk to american education because she's in her 11th year and suppose to have her gcse's on april next year.
Education (Dearing Report):
"The American high school diploma compares in standard with GCSE and the
associate degree with GCE A-level and Advanced GNVQ, the bachelor’s degree with a
UK pass degree or higher national diploma and the Master’s degree with a bachelor’s
honours degree from a British university."