<p>I'm a senior living in Illinois looking at colleges. I hope to go into international relations or political science, and probably graduate school for law. My top choices as of now are Northwestern and Georgetown, but a recent discussion with a friend got me wondering if I should apply to a few schools in the UK. I was hoping to know some of the advantages and disadvantages of receiving an undergraduate degree at a quality school in the UK (I was looking at the London School of Economics and Political Science, I'm not sure what other universities across the pond are good for IR and political science). I've taken four AP classes and done well in all of them, and am completing another seven this year. Are the universities more difficult, will it be harder to find a job in the US (although I'd be willing to stay in the UK if I found quality work there), etc. Thanks!!</p>
<p>My d is an American at Cambridge and loves it. As she has Irish nationality, she applied as an EU citizen and it will cost 1/4 what it would in the US at a similar institution.</p>
<p>The biggest difference is that you start with a specialty, i.e. you know your major and even what you plan to do as a graduate student and in very few cases can you take an “elective” in an unrelated subject. For example, you go directly into law, even medicine. </p>
<p>There is a common applic for 5 institutions. Good luck.</p>
<p>Alciblade you are incorrect. Your D gets to pay EU fees because you or her other parent have paid EU taxes for at least three years before she enrolled. Nationality is irrelevant to this equation. British citizens resident abroad actually have to pay full international fees (unless working for the UK government). The OP will have to pay full international fees and be aware there is almost no meaning ful (i.e.excluding £100 book grants and the like) financial aid for overseas undergraduates in the UK.</p>
<p>Are you sure about that, cake? She applied as Irish and no one questioned how long we had been paying taxes in France, where we reside. For Intn students, I know the fee depends on the discipline, but my point was, it would have cost her 4x more to go to Brown.</p>
<p>I am 100% sure. Feel free to check. If you have not paid taxes in the EU (or been resident and receipt of benefits and some other exceptions) then you are committing fraud. If this rule did not exist UK universities would be flooded with applicants trying to get a cheap deal.</p>
<p>It’s actually the combination of both citizenship and residency which allows the lower fees to be paid.</p>
<p>Back to the OP:</p>
<p>What’s a plus for some and a minus for others is that there’s less flexibility in the UK system , so if you find you don’t like your subject after all you can’t easily change your mind as you could in the US. You’ll generally speaking be studying one subject only, no gen ed requirements.</p>
<p>I didn’t see anything about the taxes part of cupcake’s statement, but she is correct about nationality and residence. </p>
<p>Conformist is correct about UK inflexibility. You must know what you want to do and, in the case of the better unis, be passionate about it because of the work requirements. It isn’t for everyone, but for people at a specific stage of their development.</p>
<p>I’m applying to the UK this year
The UK system is unlike the US. You have to apply through UCAS and you can only apply to five universities. I’m unsure about AP requirements, they vary by university, I think it’s 5 APs in approved subjects for LSE though. But if you do not meet the AP requirements they will automatically reject you-UK students tend to have a very clear idea of where to apply because of the entry requirements.
LSE is very good for International Relations. I think St Andrews is good as well, and so are Kings College and UCL. After that it’s upto you. Keep in mind that LSE KCL and UCL are very very expensive. And LSE is something like the most competitive university in the UK applications/places wise.</p>
<p>In all honesty LSE and Sciences Po are both extremely difficult for any foreign students. I finished high school in America with 64 uni credits with a 4.0 and still didn’t get into LSE for IR (although I did get into Sciences Po). What I would do in your place is when you apply through UCAS, also include some safer schools like Queen Mary or perhaps Warwick and hope for the best.</p>
<p>The main thing to take into account when choosing to study over here is that degrees are generally very specialised, and most degree courses/programs have very little opportunity for taking modules in interdisciplinary fields. Because of this specialistion BA/BSc/BEng courses only last 3 years.</p>
<p>UK Unis also care a lot less about extracurriculars activities unrelated to your chosen degree subject - there is a lot more focus in the admissions process on any reading around your subject you have done, things like academic awards, or just anything you have done that shows you are truly interested in and passionate about your subject. Academic entry requirements are also a lot more specific.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ucas.com”>http://www.ucas.com</a> - the admissions service you’ll apply through, with information about the admissions process and every course available</p>
<p>It won’t let me post the link, so Google ‘TSR’ - UK equivalent of College Confidential, really really useful if you do decide to come here</p>
<p>UK is a good option for IR and political Science and infact LSE is very well known for these programs.As far as a comparison b/w UK and US is concerned i believe US offers more flexible degrees and another major difference is the time period,in UK its generally a 3 years program unlike US where it is 4 years.Job opportunities are abundant in both UK and US and largely depend on n how u perform in your program and how open you are to explore the opportunities </p>