No one pushed back on this factoid which was delivered in an admissions session.
I have known a number of students who attend/have attended Williams. The perception is that the tutorials are demanding and intense (which is notable in the well known academically intense environment of Williams). I know a couple of students who didn’t take one for those reasons.
I assume that this reputation is accurate/deserved, or I would expect to see a larger proportion of students taking at least one tutorial, and a larger proportion of students taking multiple tutorials. But…that is just my speculation, my sample size is small.
If you’re intent on Britain - this despite the fact it’s highly unlikely to be affordable but if your kids already wrote the personal statement and paid the US fee for 5 unis = Your best odds of scholarships may be StA (they like Americans but are super competitive), Strathclyde, Stirling, Aberdeen – they’re based on test results, typically – so your kids could qualify, but typically no more than 3-5K- BUT they DO have competitive full tuition scholarships for internationals, so read the International applicant/scholarships page at each uni). *
You could pick Aberdeen Edinburgh and 1 of the above then add Queen’s Belfast which is very welcoming to Americans too, very good programs in Political science/conflict resolution or Liberal arts.
What are the “courses” they’d be applying for?
If the Tutorial system appeals to them, more likely and more affordable would be the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University. Excellent merit.
NCF also works with tutorials but you need to be very self directed to “survive” and it’s a very “unique” environment, try to read up on it, it’s not for everyone. Hampshire may, too; same issue as with NCF in terms of environments. Hampshire meets need (run the NPC) and NCF has good scholarships.
Excelsior is funded and sent directly to the university where your student enrolls, I believe, so that you may not have seen it being disbursed. It’s a “last dollar” scholarship though.
SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Bing Honors would both be obvious, plus either Albany (Business&Social science), Buffalo (Engineering), or Stony Brook (Science) depending on what major they’re thinking of.
*There’s whole background story to the “scholarship budget” thing wrt England v.Scotland: Scottish Unis had planned on keeping special fees for European students even after Brexit, but Westminster made it impossible, so that the Scottish Parliament had to vote to switch Europeans to international in late November, upending admission strategies and making it impossible for universities to create scholarships for them. As a result, European applications dropped by 50% then came covid - American apps about held steady at StA but that’s about it. The 4 ancient ones are older than any British Uni save for Cambridge and Oxford, it’s a national point of pride that as poor as they were they had an early education system 200 years before England which is why they were “allowed” to keep it when Great Britain was created; in addition, the “internationalisation of universities” was a major arm of Scottish soft power strategy among policymakers… so you’d see why there’d be some ill feelings there and why there’d be some action on that front that English unis didn’t feel a need for.)
Hi thorsmom,
We really like a lot of these schools, but fear not getting in. They look really great, and we’d be fortunate if our kids were accepted at any one of them.
Kelly
Hi Myos1634,
Courses:
DS22: computer science
DD22: psychology
She would be happy doing a number of related things (anthropology, linguistics, ancient history) but also business (she wants to start her own company). He would be happiest majoring in computer science, but may also take classes in math, stats, physics, economics, and creative writing. He also likes linguistics, strangely enough, and is currently trying to tie in computer languages with natural languages, like ancient Mayan and Aztec languages.
DS already applied to Cambridge, Bristol, Durham, and StAs, so there is one spot open. I think he could even switch them still . . .
We like the Scottish unis but were skittish about spending extra money for 4 years vs. 3 for the English/Welsh unis. Scholarships would make a big difference.
Hi Myos1634,
I have scoured the websites for St A’s, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, and see no “full tuition” scholarships, except for the ONE ambassador scholarship for St. It’s too bad that the EU applicants got shut out.
-Kelly
Silver lining-- based on how broad your kids interests are, they may be better served at a US university, where they don’t need to specialize immediately, have the option of a double major or a minor, can do as much inter-disciplinary work as they manage to schedule.
Their academic interests sound more “American” than UK to me…
The fear of not getting in is applicable to any highly selective school (including Oxford & Cambridge). That is why it is important to cast a wide net. Your kids should be in at several schools where they will be candidates for significant auto merit awards (Alabama etc)-- these can be your safeties (both in terms of admission & financially). I think your kids would make interesting candidates at NESCAC schools because they have a unique background - ECs don’t have to be school sponsored - if there are activities they have participated in - either on their own or through outside organizations, they can talk about those. I can see the appeal of the UK since they focus mainly on grades/scores, but if it is financially unfeasible (and would leave your kids with a mountain of debt) you need other options.
Hi Blossom,
Strange I meant to say “psychology” - which is her main interest and what she put down for UCAS. But you’re right - they are potentially broader and could benefit from the lack of immediate specialization in US undergrad programs. She really, really liked ASNC (anglo-saxon norse and celtic studies), but figured with that degree that she’d get only a job counseling people who to get into Oxbridge.
Kelly
Absolutely, I agree with you. We are picking geographically diverse areas, too, but mostly rural or semi-rural, smallish places. The few big public schools seem to have smaller honors programs within them, which is nice. They insist that they’ll be fine separated, even though they’ve never been apart, so that will be an interesting part of this whole process, too. So if one goes to Alabama and the other to Colby, that will be strange, at least for my DH and me!
-Kelly
I got some emails about them but can’t find them either. There were I think 5 for all undergraduate internationals at one university, some major-specific, and no specific number at others. They may either be “by invitation only”, be reserved to admitted students, or have been cancelled. (I don’t have time to root through the website).
Most scholarships are 3-5K so unlikely to make any UK university affordable, but based on their broad interests your children are likely better served at US colleges anyway.