American Uni's

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>Hey everyone. Right, I'm going to try and make this all make sense, sorry it it's not clear.</p>

<p>Okay, I'm 16 and I'm from London. I have just started my AS levels (Year 12) I'm already thinking of going to university in the USA. I think it would be a good move but it's not definate yet. I may end up staying at home. :p I'm not entirely sure what I want to do. Maybe some sort of History degree because teaching History has crossed my mind but again, this isn't 100% decided.</p>

<p>I know it probably sounds that I'm thinking about this early but I want an idea before next year. </p>

<p>So I have a few questions:</p>

<p>1) Do English students have a good chance of getting into American universities??
2) I've heard something about S.A.T.S? Would someone explain, please?
3) Do American uni's look at A level grades? and possibly GCSE's? Or not. :s</p>

<p>Eh, this probably sounds really jumbled up and I'm sorry but I would be very grateful if someone would explain.</p>

<p>The AS levels I'm taking are: Sociology, Psychology, English Literature and History. </p>

<p>Help?! Thankees.</p>

<p>Karen :)</p>

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<p>SATs: standardized tests for hs students:... try collegeboard.com for more info</p>

<p>And american colleges do look at your A level grades and GCSEs. </p>

<p>As for English students having a good chance... i don't think being English is any advantageous but i dunno</p>

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<p>"English students ";;;;;what do u mean student speaking english and reading in english medium school or students who are English by race.....???????
and u seem to be lacking in basic us app info.....do some research first......</p>

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<p>I know I don't know hardly anything about this. Hence why I made this thread.</p>

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<p>it's ok, Karen. most intls don't know much when they first start out..</p>

<p>anyway, i copy-pasted this from carolyn's thread:</p>

<p>
[quote]
The U.S. Government has an excellent resource for international students thinking about attending a U.S. college or university. The site below offers information about (1) the admissions process, (2) information about paying for college here, including financial aid and scholarships (4) visa requirements and (4) a good explanation of how the US education system differs from other countries.
I highly recommend this as a first stop for ALL international students thinking about coming to the U.S.: <a href="http://educationusa.state.gov/undergrad.htm%5B/url%5D%5B/quote%5D"&gt;http://educationusa.state.gov/undergrad.htm

[/quote]
</a></p>

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<p>Make sure you are well aware of how much American Unis cost and how hard it is for international students to get financial assistance.</p>

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<p>Depending on where you want to go you'd need pretty good grades. Like for the top few you need good scores, recs, ec's, etc etc. The question really is where are you looking to go to?</p>

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<p>These are my opinions being an international student in the UK who attended a variety of UK and US high schools. (so NOT a definitive guide!)</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
Okay, I'm 16 and I'm from London. I have just started my AS levels (Year 12) I'm already thinking of going to university in the USA.

[/QUOTE]

If anyone asks, compared to US High schools you're in year 11. Since year 1 in the UK is known as kindergarten in the US the school years are out of sync. eg the final year is year 13 in UK, year 12 in US. But it's still age 18. Just so you know for your applications.</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
I think it would be a good move but it's not definate yet. I may end up staying at home. I'm not entirely sure what I want to do. Maybe some sort of History degree because teaching History has crossed my mind but again, this isn't 100% decided.

[/QUOTE]

So the big BIG difference I find between UK and US colleges is that the US has a much more flexible system. You have to take general courses (inc maths and sciences even if you're an arts student. So beware if you hated maths GCSE. you wouldn't have to do this in the UK) and can easily change majors. As you know already, in the UK you apply for one specific subject and it's hard to change.</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
I know it probably sounds that I'm thinking about this early but I want an idea before next year.

[/QUOTE]

No, no! I think it's great that you're so pro-active. You will benefit from having the time to do research. You might need to research financial aid available to internationals as well. It can cost a LOT compared to the UK.</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
1) Do English students have a good chance of getting into American universities??

[/QUOTE]

Sometimes US colleges try to recruit foreign nationals who are under-represented. However, unless you are aiming for really unknown colleges with a low number of foreign students, that's unlikely to be the case if you're British. It's just my observation that there are quite a lot of UK students in the US.</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
2) I've heard something about S.A.T.S? Would someone explain, please?

[/QUOTE]

Standardised tests. See replies above. You will have to arrange to take them (and pay for them!) at a recognised test centre in the UK. They are mostly multiple choice tests in English(verbal) and maths. there is a new writing section which i didn't take so i don't know much about it. My experience is that because UK students have a more specialised education early on they tend to do well in one subject and not the other. In other words since you are an arts A-level student you'll probably do really well on the English test and really badly on the maths since you dropped it at GCSC. sciences student (like me!) get the reverse. there are lots of books to help you study for these tests and past papers online. I'd recommend you look some up. You can take the SATs as many times as you like so you could take them now and re-take next year.</p>

<p>There are also SATII tests which are subject specific. I'd guess you might like to do the history test.</p>

<p>None of these tests are compulsory to get into a US college, especially for an international student. However, I do think it would help you to take them as they enable you to be compared more easily to other students. If you read other posts on this board you can see the kind of SAT scores which the students here have (bear in mind that high achieving students are over-represented here) to get into certain colleges. this will give you an idea of the scores to aim for. </p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
3) Do American uni's look at A level grades? and possibly GCSE's? Or not. :s

[/QUOTE]

A-levels, yes. If you are applying to colleges with a large number of foreign students/foreign applicants they will know what A-levels are. You may be able to get college credit (and get out of some of the 1st year classes) for having A-levels. It depends on the college.</p>

<p>A word of warning. it's much more complicated applying to US colleges than the UK. there is no nice friendly UCAS form to co-ordinate everything. You have to apply to each college individually and pay an application fee (some colleges use a common application form but not many of the top ones). Each application will require essays and other submitted work. not just one personal statment for all like the UK. Also, a very important part of the application process are extracurricular activities, commonly known as ECs on this board. Do you take part in any sports? Do you do any volunteering work? can you play a musical instrument? Do you have any leadership roles? Such things an inconsequental to a UK application but a major part of US applications.</p>

<p>I'd advise you to start by browsing this board for the stats of other international applicants.</p>

<p>look at the link provided by aaron above</p>

<p>Hope this helps.
cupcake</p>

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<p><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/zine/lambkinpie/me/howto.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.angelfire.com/zine/lambkinpie/me/howto.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p></p>

<p>It's a bit out of date, since AS Levels, three part SATs and so on were all before my time, but it might be helpful to read someone else's experiences, and I'm too lazy to dredge them all up in a more contemporary format.</p>

<p>By the way, you're definitely not thinking about this too early, you're just about right.</p>

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<p>ghosh that posts was way too long for a normal thread.,.......</p>

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<p>Standardised tests. See replies above. You will have to arrange to take them (and pay for them!) at a recognised test centre in the UK. They are mostly multiple choice tests in English(verbal) and maths. there is a new writing section which i didn't take so i don't know much about it. My experience is that because UK students have a more specialised education early on they tend to do well in one subject and not the other.</p>

<p>In other words since you are an arts A-level student you'll probably do really well on the English test and really badly on the maths since you dropped it at GCSC. </p>

<p>The Maths at GCSEs goes up to Algebra II or Pre-Calc and you can also do Stats at GCSEs. A-level Maths goes up AP Calculus BC and Stats can be taken as a saperate (sp) course. Your right about the fact Kazzeh will do well on English part.</p>

<p>sciences student (like me!) get the reverse. there are lots of books to help you study for these tests and past papers online. I'd recommend you look some up. You can take the SATs as many times as you like so you could take them now and re-take next year.</p>

<p>There are also SATII tests which are subject specific. I'd guess you might like to do the history test.</p>