The Ultimate Guide to the US University Admissions Process
American universities are becoming an increasingly popular choice amongst British students, as the academic flexibility that US institutions offer serves as a refreshing alternative to the more rigid structures of UK universities. Still, the US admissions process can feel daunting, especially when it seems like British schools primarily only prepare students for the UK admissions system. But don’t worry! If you’ve decided that you want to attend university in the US – or if you’re at least interested in entertaining the idea of applying to schools in the US – then this article will tell you everything that you need to know to prepare your applications. Not only will this post break down the different steps of the US College process, compare standardised testing options, highlight key dates, and talk through application strategies, but it will also clarify common misconceptions about US universities and their respective admissions processes.
By U2 US Admissions Tutor, Carmen ( 2018 – 2022 | Brown University & Master’s from Cambridge University)
Demystifying the US University Admissions Process: A Guide for British Students
Building Your College List: How to Choose the Right US Universities for You
If you think that university in the US is something that you are interested in, the end of Year 11 is an important time to begin consolidating ideas about what kind of experience you are looking for. Consider what degrees you might be interested in and ask yourself what size of a school you want to attend. Does a school with requirements to complete coursework in a range of different departments excite you, or would you prefer somewhere that gives you more freedom to select which classes you want to take? Is location important? Are extra-curriculars activities something that you want to pursue at university and, if so, what kinds?
Spend some time researching different US universities and use your answers to the above questions as a guide to help you decide which schools might be a good fit for you. As you find schools that match your interests, add them to your college list.
A good goal is to have a preliminary college list with between six and fifteen schools by the start of Year 12. Some of these schools should be ‘safety’ or ‘target’ schools, which are institutions that, given your credentials, should be relatively safe bets admissions wise. The rest of these schools should be ‘reaches’, or schools that are a bit more of a gamble, and any school with an acceptance rate of less than 10% should be considered a reach, regardless of how good of a student you are. At this point in the process, it is okay to have more ‘reaches’ than ‘targets’ on your list, because this initial list acts as a tool to help you determine what kind of standardized testing scores you need to aim for, and whether you need to bump your grades up in school, before you submit your applications during Year 13.
Two things to note as you compile your college list. The first is that, as you do your research, ‘college’ and ‘university’ will often be used interchangeably in the US. There is, however, a subtle difference: universities are institutions that offer both undergraduate and graduate programs, while colleges only teach undergraduate students. The second note is that there is much greater diversity in the type of institution that you can attend in the US as compared to the UK, as American higher education can be separated into three different categories: public universities, private universities, and liberal arts colleges.
Public universities are primarily government funded institutions. They are much larger than both private schools and liberal arts colleges and they consequently tend to offer larger class sizes. Their larger size, however, means that they typically offer a broader range of degree options, which can be a benefit if you are interested in studying something particularly niche. They are slightly cheaper for international students than private universities, although the difference is not substantial, and some top public universities include UC Berkeley, UCLA, the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), UNC Chapel Hill, and UVA.
Private universities are educational non-profits, and they tend to be smaller than public universities, although they can range considerably in size. Students who attend private universities will often find themselves in a mix of small seminars and larger lectures. Private universities, alongside liberal arts colleges, tend to be the most expensive institutions.
Some top private universities include Georgetown, NYU, Stanford, MIT, and the schools within the Ivy League (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, UPenn and Cornell).
Liberal arts colleges are also private institutions, although they are much smaller in size, typically offering class sizes that are never larger than 12-30 students. As a result, liberal arts schools consistently rank as offering some of the best undergraduate teaching in the US, and because undergraduates are the primary focus at liberal arts colleges, these institutions tend to have more research and funding opportunities for admitted students as compared to other elite institutions. For this reason, certain liberal arts colleges can be extremely competitive to earn admissions to. Some top liberal arts colleges include Pomona College, Williams College, and Amherst College, and these schools posted acceptance rates of 7%, 8%, and 9% respectively in 2023.
Preparing for Standardised Tests: Strategies for Success on the SATs and ACTs
Now that you have a tentative college list, you can determine what range of standardized test scores you need to aim for. For Ivy League universities and other top schools, ACT scores between 33-36, or SAT scores of at least 1500, are important to make one’s application competitive. School’s will often publicize what percentage of admitted students had what test scores on their websites, which can be useful information to consider, but it is nonetheless worth keeping in mind that these scores are only one aspect of one’s overall application.
Try to think about admissions tests in the summer before Year 11 and Year 12. Taking practice exams for both the SATs and ACTs is important when deciding which one is the right test for you. The SATs are comprised of four multiple choice sections: Reading, Writing, Math (with no calculator) and Math (with a calculator), and you receive one score out of 800 for Math and another score out of 800 for English. Your composite score is determined by adding your Math and English scores together.
The ACT exam is also comprised of four multiple choice sections: English, Math, Reading, and Science. Each of these sections are scored out of 36, and the average of these scores equals your composite score. Both the ACT or SAT can also be taken with an optional essay section, although this section has no bearing on your composite score, and many schools – including Yale, Princeton, and Stanford – no longer require it.
Importantly, many students perform substantially better on one exam as compared to the other. For this reason, it is worth spending a month at the beginning of summer before Year 12 studying and taking practice exams for both before narrowing your focus to revise for the exam that you perform best on.
For most students, preparing for standardized exams is a time-consuming process that requires consistent practice and dedication. Using ACT and SAT prep books can help students to familiarize themselves with the exams. Working on a 1:1 basis with private tutors can be an especially productive strategy for students looking to raise their test scores - book a free consultation with U2 Tuition to discuss how their top US and Ivy League-educated tutors can support with this. I took full-length practice exams every weekend, revising my answers with tutors afterwards, in order to achieve the score that I needed to attend Brown.
Both the ACTs and SATs are offered several weekends a year in the UK, and specific test dates and test centres can be found on the SAT and ACT websites. Because these tests can book up quickly, it is important to register as early as possible. Ideally, students should have the test score that they want by the summer before Year 13, and it is generally not recommended for students to take official SAT or ACT exams more than three times. (There is the option to take it more than that, but typically rates of score improvement wane after the third attempt).
So that students can have the score that they want by the summer before Year 13, the following is a recommended testing schedule:
Test 1: Autumn/Early Winter
Test 2: Winter/Spring
Test 3: Late Spring/Early Summer
It merits consideration that many schools – including some within the Ivy League – have moved towards test-optional policies. While test-optional means that students who do not to submit either SAT or ACT scores will not be penalized for their choice, students who do submit excellent test scores may stand to gain an advantage. Harvard has announced that it will remain test-optional until 2026, while other schools determine their testing policies on a year-by-year basis. Some top institutions, like MIT, continue to require standardized tests as part of their admissions process. As such, preparing for either the SATs or ACTs remains an important aspect of the admissions process for elite US universities.
Starting Your US Application
The summer between Year 12 and Year 13 is when the US admissions process begins to command more consistent attention. In particular, students should use this time to craft their college essay (see here to view our tips for writing your college essay) so that it is completed by the time that the Common Application, or Common App, officially opens on August 1.
The Common App is relatively straightforward to complete. Students will submit their personal information and complete a series of sections about their own and their parents’ educational backgrounds, their test scores, coursework, academic honours, extra-curricular activities, and volunteer experiences. They will upload their college essay and they will also be asked to submit three references – two from teachers, and one from a school counsellor. Students should make sure to give their referees plenty of notice so that their letters are submitted on time.
Within the Common App, students select which universities they plan on applying to, and depending upon which schools they select, students will be asked to write several supplemental essays. These essays are set by each specific school, and they ask for responses that are between 100-250 words. Brown, Dartmouth, and Penn require three supplemental essays, Harvard requires five, Princeton requires seven, and Stanford requires eight. Supplemental essays should not be rushed. Although they are short, they are important spaces where applicants can highlight why they are the right fit for the school that they are applying to.
A note about the Common App: while most schools use the Common App, some universities – including Georgetown, MIT, UCLA, UC Berkeley – have their own application systems. Make sure you know what kind of application you need to complete for the institution that you want to attend.
Finalising Your Application in Year 13: Tips for Submitting a Strong and Complete Application Package
US university applications happen in three different waves:
Early Action (EA)/Early Decision (ED)
Application Deadline: November 1
Notification: Early/Mid December
Early Decision II (ED II)
Application Deadline: Early/Mid-January
Notification: Mid-February
Regular Decision (RD)
Application Deadline: Early/Mid-January
Notification: Mid-March/1 April
Response: May 1
When a student submits an ED application, there are three possible outcomes: rejection, deferral, or acceptance. If a student is rejected, they are unable to reapply to that institution during the same application year. If a student is deferred, the institution will re-read their application alongside RD applicants and wait until Mid-March/April before notifying them on their admission status. If an ED applicant is admitted, then the student is committed to attending that institution, and must immediately withdraw any applications that they have submitted to other institutions.
Outcomes for EA applications are the same for students who are rejected or deferred. If an EA student is admitted, however, their acceptance is nonbinding, and students can still participate in RD applications if they choose to.
Not all schools offer ED or EA applications, but most schools do offer some kind of early application option. Certain schools, including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, have Single Choice Early Action policies (SCEA), which means that applicants who are applying to those schools are only able to submit one early application.
ED, EA, and ED II acceptance rates tend to be higher than RD acceptance rates, often leading people to conclude that applicants have a better chance of gaining admission to the most selective universities when they apply early. While this may in part be true, it is worth noting that early acceptance rates are skewed by the fact that this is when recruited athletes, who have already been guaranteed admission, are submitting their applications. There are, nonetheless, definite benefits to applying early. If a student has a specific school that they want to attend, applying early may save the student from the stress of having to submit lots of unnecessary applications, while also reducing the financial costs that can accrue when applying to numerous universities.
When applicants apply RD, they will either be rejected, waitlisted, or accepted. If a student is waitlisted, this means that there is a chance that the university may offer the student admission over the following months if spaces within the incoming class remain available up to the start of the school year. If a student is accepted, they have until May 1 to notify the university that they want to attend.
Conclusion
While applying to American universities requires planning and effort, following this guide will help you to use your time efficiently and effectively so that you can thrive during the US admissions process. Moreover, U2 Tuition is available to support you at every point – with tutors who offer SAT and ACT prep, college essay guidance, and supplemental essay editing, U2 can work with you to make sure that you are submitting your best possible university applications.