I’m in my senior year in High School looking to do an undergraduate degree in engineering. While there’s plenty of good options here in the US, I’ve recently been looking up universities in England and I instantly fell in love! I want an education at one of their top universities that’s recognized internationally. I’m aware of the fact that they don’t provide financial assistance but I’m willing to pay full price if that’s what it takes. My SAT scores are at 2300 and I have 5 AP’s related to engineering with a score of 5. Not too active in extra curricular activities but as I understand it, universities in England aren’t too interested in that (also another reason I have my mind set on going there). What are the top universities there for engineering and what would be my chances of getting in? Thanks in advance!
You have already missed the deadline for next year, so you will have a gap year. I would suggest working in something relevant, particularly if you are considering oxbridge. The admit officers will look at your experience and ask you about it. You certainly look viable on paper.
The big difference btn US and UK undergrad is that in the latter you will study exclusively in your subject - absolutely no electives outside, so it is like starting sophomore year with your major chosen, and not at all a liberal arts education. No hand holding, very high expectations, extremely heavy work loads.
My daughter (an AMerican who applied from France) is at Cam. She is not in engineering, but hangs out with a bunch of them. There is a great vlog about Cam, in computer science by Jake Wright, and there are also Oxvlogs, both on youtube. They have plenty of tips and describe the intensity and scene in great detail. You should also look on the Student Room, which has loads of info on UK unis, by uni and subject.
If you go into my stats, you can find a description I did of my daughter’s experience gaining admission.
Deadline passed for Oxbridge only. You have until June 30 to apply elsewhere. It is advisable to apply by January 15, though. Look at Durham, UCL, Edinburgh. Websites are very informative.
If you fulfill minimum requirements listed, you will most likely get in. Good luck.
@alcibiade is right if you are looking at Oxford or Cambridge, but Imperial (which is #9 in the world, compared to Cambridge-6 and Oxford-7), UCL, Manchester and Edinburgh are all still open for applications (as are many others, notably Bristol and Nottingham). Imperial closes Jan 15, but irl I would get it in before the get back from New Years.
Assuming you have CalcBC and Physics (I think all of them require those, but didn’t check) you should be in good shape for any of them from a qualifications point of view. The other admissions variables will be your recommendation and your Personal Statement (PS).
The PS demonstrates your interest in and suitability for the course you are applying for- which means not just engineering, but what type of engineering. Unlike most US engineering programs, you apply directly into a specific field of engineering- as @alcibiade said, in the UK you are effectively coming in as a sophomore and are meant to know what you want to study. The UK doesn’t focus on non-academic ECs the way the US does, but anything you have done that is relevant to what you want to study does matter. So, anything you have done outside of your school requirements- including at home in your free time- should be woven into your PS if it adds to your case on why you are a good candidate for that specific course. You can apply to up to 5 courses, all for one fee and using the same PS and Recommendation via UCAS.
I strongly, strongly, strongly urge you to read carefully the detailed course descriptions for each course and each university: they vary more than you might think. As @alcibiade pointed out they are very prescriptive and I doubt that (except for the Scottish universities) any of the programs have more than nominal choices in the first two years.
If you are not 100% sure what area of engineering you want to go into, I would seriously look at Scotland over England: the courses are 1 year longer and the first year is more flexible, giving you some non-engineering course options and letting you get some broad engineering background. You still apply to a specific field, but there is a little room for change if you get there and are surprised to find that you love something else more.
You’ve not missed the deadline for anything except Oxford and Cambridge.
However, the main deadline is 15th January. This guarantees you equal consideration. After that date, you can still apply, but you can be rejected purely because of the date you applied on. All applications go through UCAS (with the exception of a handful of universities that accept Common App - but you can’t use both systems at once https://www.commonapp.org/search-colleges?outside=1&f[0]=field_admissions_office%253Afield_address%253Acountry%3AGB ) so these dates hold true regardless of which unis you apply to.
However, I’m concerned that you would not have enough time to put in an application that is well researched and well written, and to get a UK-style reference, within the next month. So, you have three options
- take a gap year - which is entirely normal in the UK, you just need to do something productive (work, travel, volunteering, or a combination of the above) and apply in the autumn of 2016. Universities are more than happy for you to do this.
- apply now, and risk either not getting offers, or making poor choices
- apply after January 15th, and hope that your high grades and international fee status carry you through. If you choose this route, then before you apply, ring up the universities in question and ask if they will still consider applications for that course from an international student, or if the course is full.
You’ll need to write a personal statement (NB it’s very different to a US college admissions essay) that is focused on why you want to study your particular subject. Note that you will have to choose a branch of engineering to study (e.g. aerospace, mechanical, civil, chemical) as there are very few general engineering courses.
I would strongly advise having a look at the UCAS website and The Student Room, which is like a UK version of CC.
In terms of universities to consider, the Russell Group of universities can very broadly be seen as the UK version of the Ivy League, so have a look there, but be aware that there are some excellent universities outside of the Russell Group (e.g. Bath). If you can tell us what engineering specialism you’d like to study and the what sort of thing is important to you in a university (e.g. city vs smaller town vs rural area, any particular social activities on offer, that sort of thing) then we can help to narrow it down a bit.