King’s Award for Enterprise·International Trade·2024
Insights & guides
Plain-English guides written by the A&J Education team on UK A-Levels, Oxbridge admissions, the Ivy League, EPQs, and the Common App.
UK admissions
A-Level grades run from A* to E. Here's how the boundaries are set, what each grade means, and the grades top UK universities actually require.
UK admissions
Cambridge's overall acceptance rate sits at roughly 13%, close to Oxford's, but with its own quirks by course, college, and nationality.
UK admissions
The EPQ is graded A*–E, worth half an A-Level for UCAS, and powerful when the topic genuinely connects to the student's degree. Here's how to choose one well.
UK admissions
Further Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry consistently top 'hardest A-Level' rankings. But difficulty is subject-specific and depends on the student. Here's the honest picture.
UK admissions
Oxford's overall acceptance rate sits at roughly 14%, but the headline figure hides huge variation by course, college, and nationality. Here's how to read the numbers properly.
UK admissions
University College London accepts around 38% of applicants overall (far more accessible than Oxbridge), but the most competitive courses sit in the single digits.
US admissions
Brown University is the Ivy with the most flexible curriculum: no required general education courses, lots of pass/fail, and a culture of intellectual self-direction.
US admissions
The Common App is the central platform for applying to over 900 US universities. Here's what it actually requires, and where international students need to be careful.
US admissions
Dartmouth is the smallest Ivy League university, in rural New Hampshire. Strong undergraduate teaching focus, a culture rooted in the outdoors, and a quirky academic calendar.
US admissions
Harvard admitted 3.6% of applicants in its most recent cycle, the lowest in the Ivy League. But the headline rate hides a much more complex picture. Here's what's actually going on.
US admissions
Ranking the Ivy League is mostly a fool's errand. If you must, here's how the eight compare on the metrics that actually distinguish them.
US admissions
The Ivy League is eight US universities. They're often grouped together, but each one has a different character, strength, and admissions profile.
US admissions
The University of California has nine undergraduate campuses, ranked sharply by selectivity. Berkeley and UCLA top the list; the other seven are strong-but-different options.
Application advice
Top universities reward genuine depth in 2–3 areas, not breadth across 10 generic clubs. Here's a list organised by category, plus the activities that actually matter for admissions.
Application advice
A-Levels are the UK's main pre-university qualification: typically three subjects taken over two years from age 16 to 18. Here's how they work and what universities care about.
