<p>You may wish to look at Combined Studies on the UCAS web page- Exeter, Durham and Herriot-Watt plus others all do them with differing degrees of flexibility. UCL has a multidisciplinary Arts and Sciences degree with high entry requirements. I have not checked the others. As a general rule English and Welsh Bachelors degrees (without a year abroad) take 3 years, Scottish degrees 4.
Incidentally, British youngsters take broad courses until the age of 16. Real specialisation begins after that, usually down to 4 subjects though a few manage 5, and then often to 3 for year 13. It is not as brutal as it sounds!</p>
<p>“The bigger strike against her – from what collegemom has written – is her lack of finding that single subject or field of study. She has always excelled at math and science, but she loves IR, Govt. and is trying a Pre-Med (& IR) summer programme. Will she return with a single direction? Possibly, but I highly doubt it. Probably her biggest strength is her well-roundedness, which might have some advantages in the states but a deal killer at Oxbridge (maybe less so with UCL or Imperial College?)”</p>
<p>This rings some serious alarm bells for me. At all UK universities, you apply for a subject (or two subjects, where it’s a joint honours course), and then you study that for three (or four) years. Switching is difficult and discouraged, and often requires you to restart the degree from scratch. Scottish degrees are a bit more flexible, but not to the extent of a US degrees. </p>
<p>Specialisation is much more of a natural thing for a UK student, because you study ~10 subjects from age 14-16, then 4 to age 17, and then three to age 18. To then go and study one or two subjects at university is not such an unnatural leap, following the gradual - but relatively early - specialisation of education. </p>
<p>UK universities generally can’t give a rat’s behind about well roundedness. They expect you to study one / two subjects for three years, so they want to know that you are dedicated to those subjects - 80% of the personal statement should be about why you want to study your subject, with the other 20% about ECs (directly related to the subject, where possible). </p>
<p>Pre-med doesn’t exist in the UK either, because medicine is an undergraduate degree. The closest that you’ll get is the various life science degrees, including biomedical sciences.</p>
<p>PS I’d suggest a look at The Student Room, which is like the UK version of CC.</p>