American Considering Getting a Degree in the UK

Applying to College
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I’m an American student wondering about schooling in the UK-- specifically, if it’s worth the cost and effort, and if it is as good as attending an American college. I understand a majority of the requirements for attending school-- I need a Tier IV student visa, and depending on the college, a good ACT/SAT score, AP credits, a valid passport, and a guarantee that you have the funds necessary to pay your way.

What I’m having trouble unearthing in the depths of the Internet is proper pros and cons: from some sources, I find that it’s too expensive, despite federal and university aid, but from others it says that if you have the right amount of need, it can be cheaper than some of the more expensive, higher-ranked American universities. I hope to pursue a career in film and television development, which I believe will be applicable in any major city (although I may be wrong), and if it can save me money and give me the invaluable experience I’m looking for.

I’ve been considering studying internationally for years, either in a studying abroad program or while working for a degree. But I’ve always been intimidated by the price tag that comes with the experience, and whether it would give me a more worthwhile experience. Will I will be able to find a job? How different is coursework in the UK-- will I be able to to take classes outside of a Film/Television focus? Do you major/minor in a subject? How long will it take for me to achieve a degree? What will my living situations be like-- as in, will I be guaranteed housing, or will I be required to purchase a flat? How are student loans paid by international students?

I’m in a relatively poor financial situation, with less than $40k between both my parents, but I’m going to apply to every scholarship, grant, and reasonable loan possible.

I’m desperate for information, and even though I have time to think about my options and apply (I’ll be applying after the summer for the 2016 term) I know how important it is to have the facts and start preparing if I’m going to be serious about this.

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Unless you are a resident in the EU, you will have to pay on the overseas fee scale, which are higher depending on the discipline. This should help you: http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/international/finance/. My d is American, but we are resident in the EU, so she pays EU rates.

Coursework is completely focused on your area of specialization - you do not get to take courses outside of it. That is the most pronounced difference: it is not a liberal arts education, but closer to Junior year thru masters in the US. The upside is that it will take 3 years, not 4. For those who feel they know what they want to do, it is absolutely top notch in a good uni.

The job question is tougher. If you want to enter a network in the US media via your school, they will not recruit in the UK. Nonetheless, the undergrad degree would be relatively well understood outside the UK, so it would be a question of hitting the pavement once you graduate.

So far as the economics goes, my d is at Cambridge and we pay about 23K pounds a year, all inclusive. That isn’t cheap, but the course is absolutely perfect for her and she plans to reside in EUrope, so the Oxbridge network will work for her. In the US, she was offered scholarships at Ivies and selective liberals arts colleges, but it still would have cost 75K $ per year - with the extra year we calculated that it was 1/4 to 1/3 of the cost for Cam. So it made sense to us and Cam was her first choice anyway.

Finally, the Scottish unis do not charge tuition, so look into them. I can’t advise you on them.

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@Alcibiades‌, I’m quite certain that the Scottish universities charge non-Scots a fair bit of tuition.

Also, the US unis and colleges may have cost you more, but no college/U in the US has a COA approaching $75K/year yet.

BTW, to the OP: Your chances at fin aid in the UK would range from slim to none.

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Purple, at a parent looking at the options, I can assure you that it would have cost us about $75k per year, all included. I know because I was the one who was supposed to pay. Keep in mind, these were the fanciest of the fancy.

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Really, i wouldn’t waste your time. You need to do some real legwork for US schools.

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@alcibiade‌, including airfare, you mean? While flying business class in all flights? Because I know what the COA is for even the most expensive American privates. If you can show me an American uni/college with a COA much above $65K (in 2014), then I’ll stand corrected.

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Really, what school are you looking a in the USA that would be a fit for your stats and your major that would be a match that would cost 75K? So far you have an ACT of 30? And you want to get into tv etc? Fancy schools need fancy stats.

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Yes, purple, it would include several air fares from Europe (lately at $1300 per round trip, with one for the family visit to her). But maybe I did exaggerate somewhat - my wife reminds me that I often do. Still, $75K was the figure we used in calculations, admittedly quirky. However, the strengthening of the dollar makes the deal in the UK (for Cam) appear even better.

What is the deal you made for your kid(s)? If you are interested in unis in the UK, you should scroll down my posts, I have written a fair amount about our experience or contact me directly. We are not even going to consider US unis when our son applies in 2 years.

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Back to the topic in question.

Doyle - I don’t mean this in a harsh way but you seem entirely clueless.

Firstly, Google the student room, which is a UK version of this board which we cannot link here.

Secondly, here is a link to some flats for sale in London. I hope you have £19 million.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/Knightsbridge.html

Thirdly, here is a very brief summary on UK unis (but really, if you had done any research you would know all of this, which tells me the UK may not be a good choice for you).

You apply for a specific course. That is a equivalent of your “major” (but there is no understanding of that word. It is meaningless) and there are no “minors”. You may be able to apply for a joint honours course which involves two subjects, but this is all absolutely specified on application. You already know exactly what you will be studying when you apply, and to switch subjects you have to drop and and re-apply in many cases (now someone will post there is more flexibility in Scottish universities. They have been reading too much marketing material from St Andrews. There is slightly more flexibility in Scotland, but not much, and it’s mostly in the first year. You cannot choose to study anything or radically change direction. While we are on this topic, Scottish universities also charge massive fees for foreign students).

The UK model is that full pay foreign students subsidise the home students. So you are very very unlikely to get any meaningful financial aid from a UK source (by “meaningful” I mean that a token £100 book grant is not going to help you). On the plus side, they need your money so you are more likely to get in. Courses outside of Scotland are usually only 3 years long, so that may help you make a saving.

In the vast majority of cases, you will be able to live in halls of residence (that’s like dorms) in your first year only (you get your own room though. UK students are utterly horrified that US students have to share a room with strangers). After that it’s up to you to find accommodation. In most cases students rent houses with their friends (again, everyone has their own bedroom). There are also privately owned halls in some places which you can join. Mostly, it’s up to you to figure all of this out. There is a massive cultural difference in how 18 year olds are treated in the UK compared to the US. In the US they are considered very young teenagers who need a lot of help. In the UK they are considered adults who can get by on their own. This attitude pervades all of life. No-one will make you go to classes or check up on you. You are a grown up.

Now we get on to “Media studies”. This is probably the least respected course you could study in the UK. It is much derided in the press pretty much constantly. I think you would have much better prospects in the US with any degree in media, television, communication, film etc.

All of the above related to directly enrolling in a UK university full time. Study abroad programs though a US university are entirely different. They vary between programs and issued like housing, financial aid,credit transfer and what exactly you study are entirely program specific. A program can range from full immersion (living with a host family, attending classes with directly enrolled students at the host uni) to total exclusion (living with US students, taught in special classes for US students, making sure you have no contact with any one outside of your program). In most cases very little studying is involved and it is more about the experience.

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@alcibiade, Oxbridge certainly may make sense for the right kid and the tutorial system is pretty special. The Scottish system may as well. I think that a broad liberal arts education and the flexibility to switch majors is valuable for many kids, however, and for an American, the UK unis aren’t all that cheap. Plus, outside of Oxbridge, LSE, and maybe a few of the ancient Scottish unis, UK universities just aren’t known in the US. Even Imperial would draw a blank stare from most people; UCL and KCL would from almost all Americans.

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You’re right, of course, Purple, on every point you made above. Why are you in this discussion, unless you are contemplating the UK option? Cam does fit my d because, usual for Americans, she chose what she wants to do at about 15; she loves the tutorial system, esp with the writing. As EU residents, we also get the lower rate.

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       Really though, the POV of an EU resident with a kid who is at Cambridge is so far from being relevant to the OP as to be a whole new thread. Most people wouldn't have a clue as the the costs of a UK uni to an EU resident.
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@alcibiade, my kids are still far away from college, but I explored UK schools for various grad degrees and have been exploring and learning more about possible options because 4 years full-pay at an American private is indeed extremely expensive.

I don’t think I have to fully love the English university system in order to participate in a discussion about it, though, and I do appreciate your insights in to it, as they’re definitely a valuable resource.

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Yes, purple, when you’re talking about 1/4 million $ or so, it’s a daunting proposition. The UK experience is not for everyone, but in Europe they do expect students to have an idea sooner of what they want to do and then you have to stick to it for the degree (or change with great difficulty). I enjoyed our interchange and wish you luck.

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@PurpleTitan‌ @alcibiade‌ @Alfonsia‌ @cupcake‌ I’d like to thank all those who replied to my post, if I’m not a little late to the plate, but holy guacamole, this was a…significant amount of information. Even as things went a little of track, I understand the gist-- not worth it, don’t be an idiot, so on, so forth. Your focus is worthless in the UK, don’t bother renting a flat (not that I’d live in London, anyway), and that all financial aid is a farce. I know I seemed rather ignorant in my inquiry, but that was my whole purpose for posting: I knew literally nothing and wanted more concrete evidence than the random scraps of detail I’d scavenged from the interwebs about UK schooling but already knew (such as specific career focuses, 3 year degrees, need for off-campus living after the first year, more independence as an adult) and got it in surplus because, that’s what I’m on this website for. Answers from people who actually had a clue. Most of the questions I asked were in hopes of confirmation, and I did indeed get that. I have a friend who currently attends school out of the country, and his experience was slightly…varied from these responses, but to each their own. Thank you for your honesty. As everyone alive knows, it’s all about the Benjamins involved (hence my whole inquiry in the first place), so I was just looking for a valuable experience, in every sense of worth.

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Doyle, don’t apologize for asking naive questions. Cupcake is smart and always offers useful and accurate advice, but she can be abrasive. The media major question can be addressed by majoring in something else. The most important thing is that it won’t be cheaper in England than the US, but you should still look into Scotland. We didn’t get into the quality of education, but I would argue that in the right place, like Oxbridge, the experience can be truly phenomenal.

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While I agree with most of the posters here, even with the foreign fees, many UK unis are much cheaper than American schools. My top choice going into this year was the University of Edinburgh, which would have cost me 35K (sans airfare). That’s significantly cheaper that a top or even second-tier US school. In fact, many upper-middle class Americans from my school head to Edinburgh or St. Andrews when they can’t afford a private school here.

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If a science degree at Edinburgh is 20K UK pounds (int), plus the extra fees here and there, plus COL in Edinburgh (can’t be less than 15K UK pounds plus) and you must add in the flight $, because that is how it works, you are looking at a near 55K USD. Edinburgh offers would probably mean your kid would get a great scholarship in the USA too. St Andrews is more about money that stats, so I don’t think it is comparable.

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My son is an American studying in Glasgow. Yes, we’re paying international tuition rates, but he did get a scholarship for several thousand GBP a year-- so there IS money out there for intl students. The total 3-year cost of schooling came in at less $$ than 4 years at several of the American schools he got into. Yes, there are travel costs, and living arrangements to deal with, and no meal plan. (and lots of other issues with dealing with studying abroad…) But-- he’s having an amazing experience being there! After graduation, he’ll almost definitely need to return to the states to get a job, but he was willing to take that chance to have a much different college experience than all of his HS friends.

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So give us the details of this top secret scholarship then. Seen it all before. Everyone says they are special and have a secret source. I have yet to ever see evidence that such things exist. I’d love to be wrong in this case.