BFIS students following the American Diploma Program may be accepted in European Universities. It is recommended that a student have three Advanced Placement courses with scores of 3 or higher.

If a student is an EU citizen he/she may apply to a university in any EU country with the same acceptance criteria and the same fee structure as a citizen of that country. To qualify a student must hold citizenship in one of the EU countries and have lived in a EU country for three years prior to becoming 18 years old.

The policies on university entrance and the university structures of European countries are in transition at the moment. Most European degree courses are three years. The rules for university entrance are still decided by the individual country and often by the individual university.

Another option to enter EU universities is that they do accept each other's entrance examinations. The Selectividad in Spain, for example, plus a language test in the language in which the students will be studying. Even students who are citizens of a country but who are living outside of the country are required to take the language test.

It is extremely important that students be in touch both with the country where they plan to attend a university and the specific university at least one year prior to entrance. Please see specific countries below:

1. The English Universities will accept the US high school diploma, SAT I, TOEFL if English is not the student's mother tongue, and three AP courses with a minimum score of 3. Students applying to England should apply through the UCAS system by January 15 of their senior year and may select up to 6 universities or programs that they would like to attend. If a student wishes to pursue medicine, dentistry or veterinary study the deadline is October 15. The deadline for both Oxford and Cambridge is October 15. More information on attending a university in England can be obtained at www.ucas.com.

2. Scotland offers a 4 year degree based on 12 years of prior education which is completely aligned with the US system. Therefore, they consider students with just a US high school diploma. Scotland is a very economical choice for a university education. Scotland is part of the UK and you may apply through UCAS.

3. Italy is much less flexible and the US high school diploma is not sufficient for university entrance (except for US citizens). Successful attendance at a US 2-year college for one year plus 4 AP exams with a score 3 or higher, or successful attendance for two years at a 2-year college is required.

4. The Netherlands strongly suggests students have an IB diploma, but take each student on a case by case basis. Students may be accepted with 3 APs with scores of three or higher. Students need to pass a test (NT2) to prove proficiency in Dutch (even if they are citizens of the Netherlands) to attend Leiden and Delft. Students may apply to a university in the Netherlands all year long and then confirm when they have the degree in hand. The uniform Dutch university application is the IBG. For more information go to www.nuffic.nl.

5. Germany passed a law to accept the IB or 3 APs with a 3 or higher. Students must also pass a German language proficiency test.

6. Austria accepts either the IB or 3 APs with a score of 3 or higher. In addition, students must take Austrian geography and history.

7. Students planning to attend a university in the United States will need to take the SAT. If English is not their native language, they may need to take the TOEFL. Some universities waive the TOEFL if the student has attended an International School where classes are taught in English. Most US universities do give credit for AP courses and students may earn as much as one year of college credit by carefully selecting AP courses and scoring well on the exams. For more information on US universities and AP recognition, check the College Board website at www.collegeboard.com/intl.

At a meeting of the Guidance/Admission Officers at the European Council for International Schools, the university admission officers agreed that regardless of their requirements, or if they grant credit for IB or AP, their admission decision was significantly influenced by the students having taken IB or AP courses. This was evidence that the students had pursued a rigorous high school curriculum.

For further information, the European Council of International Schools has a web site with criteria for many universities in the world. Go to www.ecis.org/colleges/countries.