I am a rising high school senior who is interested in studying Computer Science in the UK. I recently changed to this because what I originally was going to study (International Relations) would be better as a Master’s. I don’t have many advanced math and science stats, so I will have to do a foundation year.
Which universities are good for computer science or have foundation programs that native English speakers can do?
Here are my stats:
1310 SAT (retaking next month)
780 SAT US History
Taking SAT World History and Math 1 (I’m taking precalculus as a senior) in December
5 AP Psych
4 APUSH
Taking AP CSP, Gov, and Micro/Macro this coming school year
I would like to get a job in the UK after graduation because with my major, the job market is pretty good. If not that, then I will move to another country, and I have no intentions to come back to the USA. I want to do a full degree abroad.
I think you are better off doing a year of college math and CS here at a c.c. then applying.
fwiw, the job market for people with an undergraduate CS degree in the UK might be good for UK citizens (and, until Brexit, EU citizens), but not for internationals. Ditto for the EU and the RoW.
FYI my daughter was told that foundation courses were not appropriate for US students with a good high school background who were just missing one or two required courses for their subject. They are for re-entry students or students coming from a insufficient high school background or non-English speaking educational system.
This is not a good plan. You will need calc at AP BC level to start CS and actually follow the course. Foundation year will probably not bring you to that level. Are there any other courses that interest you, besides math heavy ones? History?
Yes, but OP won’t have calculus. There are a few courses which allow entrance without maths A level but not the better courses, and I understand students without that background are more likely to fail out on the course. So a foundation year may be a good option for him/her - although the suggestion of taking math courses at a CC for a year could work too.
“Foundation year will probably not bring you to that level.”
IT may depend on the course. Most of the ones I suggested offer guaranteed admission to the same university’s full degree, so they must think it covers enough math to prepare the student.
@VickiSoCal I checked the US admission website for Nottingham and they said that any American who doesn’t meet entry requirements can do their foundation year. Some other programs I looked at have entry requirements for Americans (3.0 GPA).
@Conformist1688 I would like to study at a good school, which all require Math A level. Thanks for info.
@jupiter98 I decided very recently to switch majors, because I plan to master in international relations, and parents & former college students recommend doing something technical. The reason why I want to do foundation is because I can do Science and Engineering, which allows me to also take physics and chemistry classes.
Durham told my daughter that she could not do Chemistry without Calc BC and that she was overqualified for their foundation year. York, St. Andrews and Edinburgh were ok with IB Math SL.
Also, have these “parents & former college students” who “recommend doing something technical” done degrees in the UK? if not, they may not understand just how focussed the programs are. You want to be really sure that you truly enjoy studying CS (or whatever you choose). Foundation year is probably a good plan for you.