I’m a HS junior currently considering applying to universities in the U.K. I briefly discussed international colleges with my school’s college counselor, and she said in the past it’s always been a better idea for a student to go to an American school and study abroad rather than directly going to an international school due to complications with applying, getting visas, and whether the degree would be valuable back in the states after graduation. If I were to apply in the U.K., I would probably think about Cambridge, St. Andrews, UCL, and Imperial College London. If anyone has knowledge about American students at those universitities and how the degrees are viewed back in the United States, I would be very appreciative.
What major? that can make a difference. For example pre-med classes taken outside the US or Canada may not qualify you for US medical school admission. Also very limited financial aid for American students in the UK.
Right now I am primarily interested in mathematics or physics
Can you afford it? If you have the stats, outside of Oxbridge the UK schools are pretty straightforward.Stats are all you need. but you won't get aid or scholarships and you can look at up to 40-50K a year once you start adding up costs. .
@Sybylla Thankfully, the cost is not a great concern for me, and the 40-50K a year would likely be less than some private or out of state public schools in the US, where I would likely receive little need-based financial aid anyway. My biggest concern is whether that cost would be worth it compared to similar schools in the US.
There is a lot of information online about US students going to the UK, including here on CC- do some searches.
Brief summary of some of the headline pieces:
*Pretty much all the info you need about each university is on their website.
*In general, UK unis are less interested in ECs, GPAs and classes not related to your intended subject. Notable exception is St Andrews.
*In general, a US student who meets the stated requirements (typically 3 APs with specific marks in relevant subjects) and does a decent Personal Statement (essay about why you want to study the specific course you are applying to) and a decent LoR is likely to get an offer. Notable exceptions are Oxbridge, LSE and Imperial.
*In general, if a course requires “AAB” at A level you can interpret that as 5,5,4 on APs . If Maths and/or further maths are specified it usually means CalcBC. Unless they specify ‘no particular subjects’, you can assume that they are expecting that your exams will be in areas close to the subject area. So, if you are applying for Chemistry, they will likely require Chem, BC, and ‘prefer’ Bio, Physics, etc.
*The courses are much more focused, much more structured and much less flexible than in the US. In most courses you have few, if any, options in your first year; when you do have options they will be almost entirely in your subject (so, if you enroll in a Math course, you are unlikely to take any non-math classes at all- ever). Note that the Scottish universities have some electives and (especially in the first year) are more flexible than the English ones. Also, a number of universities (incl Cambridge) have a broad course in natural sciences, where you start wide and narrow. It is always important to read the detail of the course at each uni to see what is required/ where the focus is: a “BA English” can be surprisingly different from one university to the next.
*Scottish and most English STEM & foreign language courses are 4 years; English (non-language) humanities tend to be three years.
*Assume that there is no meaningful financial aid.
*IMO none of those schools are so obscure that name recognition or credibility will be an issue
So, does any of the above give you any better sense of whether the UK is a good choice for you? If you want to share your interests & stats, there are a number of very UK-knowledgable posters around.
collegemom3717 has a very good general grasp on the UK system generally (admissions and academics) and can explain the system to those who think in American terms. So do some others on this site. I wish I had found this site before my eldest applied. (notwithstanding the high chaff to wheat ratio).
Having gone through the process myself I would not agree with your college counselors specific concerns, i.e. “complications with applying, getting visas, and whether the degree would be valuable back in the states after graduation” (at least with respect to the UK).
With the help of people on this site the application system will be navigable. The UK application system (UCAS) has some non-intuitive rules and jargon that people on this site can help you with. Here is your first “heads-up” Cambridge has an application deadline of October 15 of your senior year - and you need everything about your application done (letter of recommendation, entry test sign-up) done before you can hit the “submit” button.
The visa is pretty easy to figure out especially if your parents can just open a bank account in your name and drop enough money in it to show you can pay for school and live for a year. A degree from the UK will be just fine in the US. Graduate schools will have first hand knowledge of the schools and professors. An employer who would have a problem with a UK degree is the same employer who would have a problem with a degree from Oberlin or Williams (they are not the same kinds of schools but they don’t have universal name recognition).
While your college counselor’s concerns can be debunked, don’t dismiss the actual differences between the American and UK systems out of hand. The differences cited by collegemom3717 amount to a pretty big deal.
You can only apply to 5, so beside Cambridge and Imperial, pick the last 3 carefully. I’d suggest Edinburgh, Bath, and Durham
What level of math and physics will you have reached by the time you graduate high school?
The visa will be straightforward as long as you can afford the course.
applying is easy, you can apply to 5 schools at once through UCAS (I think it’s £25 for all!) and you will know if you can get in based on your AP/SAT scores (check college website for your major). Just remember - English Universities are generally 3 years (thus, a bargain) and Scottish ones are 4 (closer to US school system but not as flexible)
Visa process is very straight forward and as long as you have the funds in hand for your university’s required financial declaration (in the case of Oxford, it was one year’s fees), there should be no issues coming from the US. No one helped us and it was very easy to figure out from the Oxford/Home Office websites.
Others above have pretty clearly spelled out the process is and what to look for when applying to UK schools. Here are some other issues to think about.
London is very expensive and not what I would call student friendly. Most of the international students tend to be very wealthy from the Far East with a smattering from continental Europe. Social life will revolve around halls of residences or sports teams, but after first year, friends could scatter all over London as they seek affordable housing. Many London students will live at home. From D1 and D2’s friends, many have done semester abroad in London and loved it, I would recommend that over full time. There is nothing academically in London you cannot find elsewhere in the UK.
Be aware of travelling logistics places like Durham and Bath can be a little tricky to get to. St Andrews although a distance from Edinburgh there are so many North Americans in attendance there is a well beaten path and the logistics are much easier with regular shuttle buses to and from EDI airport.
Name recognition when you get back to the US after graduation. Among the schools you have named there will be no issues with grad schools, it could be a different matter with some employers unless they are international in scale. I would say Oxford/Cambridge/LSE/Edinburgh/St Andrews are the best known and have the best US alumni networks.
If you are considering Maths/Physics, investigate Warwick.
Good luck.
My D applied to UK schools. While she received 3 offers (Durham, Edinburgh, St. Andrews) only one of them (St. Andrews) was unconditional. That meant that she was to wait for AP test this summer (post HS grad) to know if she actually had a place at the other two – big drawback
I think this is b/c she applied Biology and she’s taking AP Bio this year so didn’t have the score yet. [Actually, Edinburgh was going to let her use SAT II scores, now that I’m thinking about it, but she decided it was too big for her taste.]
St. Andrews has really figured out how to recruit US students and they instead asked for her first semester AP Bio grade (actually whole transcript) and then gave her unconditional offer in Feb or early March this year. It was tempting, esp. if she wanted to do marine bio b/c that’s their specialty, but she went a different direction.
If you’ve already taken AP Cal and Physics as a Junior, by chance, you may not run into this issue.
Student Room is a good UK version of CC to check out. And look at the various League tables to see how different courses (programs) rank.
All that said, the fact that she had (conditional) offers from Durham and Endinburgh in December of her Senior year was a great confidence boost!! 
I’m sure you know this but Scottish unis are 4 years; British are 3. And in the British system you only study your course – that was a turnoff for my D b/c she’s still interested in a lot of subjects.
Generally UK students are treated more like adults – fewer services, less hand holding and advising. Endiburgh, for example, pretty much only has dorms for 1st years from what I recall.
Finally, I think I may have read in the news some labor issues at UK universities and possible strikes? Might want to check into it.
Applying through UCAS was super easy and she loves that she explored the idea. (And her grandparents were super impressed with the St. Andrews acceptance, lol.) Their whole admissions process seems a LOT less stressful.
My D. is already thinking about Germany for (free?) grad school. Love this generation!
Scotland is part of Britain.
There are good rail connections to both Bath and Durham, so there should be no travel difficulties. The strikes are over.
@4mummy The rail links are indeed excellent but to say it is without difficulties is a little optimistic, there needs to be some planning. As far as Bath and Durham are concerned lots more to consider, where to fly into, what time of day , what time of week, would you even go by rail?
@elguapo1 Surely such planning is an integral part of travelling anywhere. The unis, the student room and possibly people on this site can all give advice. As always, a search will usually yield the air routes and the available transport from airports at the destination. Unless Cambridge and the London unis provide transport from the nearest international airport they are no easier. Travelling is part of the adventure.
Access to Bath or Durham should not be a determining factor in deciding whether to apply / attend. It is easy enough to fly into London & connect up to Newcastle for Durham or Bristol for Bath (or, if you live in a US city that is served by Aer Lingus, you can often get really good deals connecting through Dublin to either- still one stop, but connecting through Dublin instead of London). You can do a train/tube option for Cambridge, but the easiest is the direct coaches that run from LHR & LGW.