The British Education Terms

I am planning on applying to a UK school, and I want to know what this means:

The normal entrance requirements are:
» A level Music at grade C or above (most students achieve grade A or B), and either
» a second A level at grade E or above, or
» two AS levels both at grade C or above (not including Music)

What is A level, "Grade E" ....AS levels. I tried to look it up in other places, but I have come to the conclusion after about two days of trying to figure it out... I need some help. Some good old fashioned UK help.

A levels are the exams that are widely used by most British students to get into UK universities.  You take A level courses in usually 3 subjects over 2 years- the AS level is the first year of an A level.  The exams are graded A-E, A being the best.

The A level doesn't have a direct equivalent in the US. The US High School diploma is usually considered equivalent to GCSE's, which are the general education exams taken before A-levels. Advanced Placement exams are often used by UK universities in place of A levels for American students, or sometimes the first year of a 4-year undergraduate program in the US is considered broadly equivalent to A levels. 

Every uni is different though when it comes to what they'll accept for admissions. Ask your university for their admissions requirements for American students, chances are you're not the first one to apply!

Ah thanks so much.

If you're applying to a university as a foreign student, there will be somebody from the university who can tell you the equivalent requirements. If you're confident about your application, it might not even be worth worrying about.

Universities generally have their own 'conversions' for looking at US and other transcripts. Having spoken to a few people on the subject, there's also a push to accept more international students, even if they fall a bit below the British standards, just to get the extra money.

Universities generally have their own 'conversions' for looking at US and other transcripts. Having spoken to a few people on the subject, there's also a push to accept more international students, even if they fall a bit below the British standards, just to get the extra money.

Yeah, I've heard this too - international students are very attractive to UK universities because the UK government subsidises the UK student fees and so most of the university's money comes from international student fees (the average international student pays $20,000 per year to study in the UK, whereas UK students pay just $6,000 per year (and this figure has tripled recently - used to be only $2,000 for UK/EU students when I was an undergrad)).