TAP Articles - Europe

My name is Andrew Row, and my college application story may differ from others because I chose to study outside of the United States.

It had long been a dream of mine to study outside of the United States, and as the college application process started I decided to move this dream to reality. At my high school there wasn’t a lot of information about how to apply to international schools, so I largely had to figure it out on my own. Luckily, my sister studied abroad as well and was able to help me. I was interested in applying to schools in the British Isles (like the University of Edinburgh, University College London, and the school I currently attend, Trinity College Dublin), but most were not on the Common App. However, the United Kingdom had its own version of the Common App, called UCAS, which stands for the University and College Admissions Service. It is a different system than the one in the United States, because rather than applying to the university itself, you apply to a major. There are no general education classes, just classes in the major you choose. Thus, every part of the application is geared towards your specific major.

I compiled my college list with safety, reach, and target schools. It is important to remember that when applying internationally the acceptance rate may differ for international students. My main focuses were History and English courses, so I tried to choose schools that had exceptional programs in those departments. UCAS only requires one personal statement that gets sent to all of your chosen schools with only one due date, so I had to find a way to combine my interests in History and English in 4000 characters (about 700 words). I wrote about the juncture of this interest and how it evolved over the years. I did not have to write supplementals for UCAS.

I also was interested in schools like Trinity College Dublin and McGill, which had their own websites on which to apply. These application portals are fairly easy to figure out and require only one essay each. Honestly, I remember it being much less work than the Common App or UCAS, because it was much more straightforward– you give your contact information, your extracurriculars, and write an essay, then you’re done.

One thing I struggled a lot with about this process was the SAT. UCAS and these other websites did want an SAT score with a minimum of 1290. Though I took it three times, I never managed above a 1290. However, the other parts of my application helped me, because I still got into an amazing school.

Luckily, I got into Trinity and it ended up being perfect for me. During the process I wasn’t completely married to the idea of any specific university, so it didn’t matter as much when I didn’t get into, say, the University of Edinburgh. I think I was more casual with the college process than a lot of people, but it still ended up working out for me.