Hello,
I’m Callum, 18 and from UK. It’s always been my dream to move to the USA and go to a successful college. Unfortunately, in high school, I spent more time partying than learning and came out with C & B’s. We finish high school at 15/16 in the UK, then have the option to peruse A levels and university or go college to train in an industry such as carpentry.
I went into a trade to become an electrician and finished my first year. Honestly, I hated it and knew I was capable of more and started to become interested in business. I spent the next few months studying the most successful entrepreneurs and reading countless books.
Over the last twelve months, I have started a successful ecommerce company and I’m currently generating $100,000 a month in revenue. I’m looking to move to America because it’s always been a dream of mine on top of expanding my business. However, I want to also become an undergraduate at a business school such as USC and later achieve a BSC to expand my knowledge. I have a friend online who has many friends in the ecommerce world and told me one of his buddies got accepted to UCLA with a bad GPA just because he was successful, I’m not sure if this is true or just bs.
What are my chances of getting into a undergraduate business school such as USC based of my business experience and grades?
IMO you are unlikely to get into a top business program since you have not proven you have the academic background needed to succeed with the coursework. But nobody here can predict admissions so if it is what you want then apply and see how things work out.
If you are making $100,000/monthly why not focus on your business full time?
It’s important for me to grow my business but honestly it’s just about scaling at this point. I own a supplement brand that sells in packets instead of the usual bottle form. I’m the only person involved, I work with the manufacturer and then place the ads myself. I’m looking to move to LA to work with influencers and expand my business there but I don’t plan on having this business forever and eventually I want to sell and work for a company and make private investments. I want to become educated and it’s been a dream of mine to go to a college like USC for a long time.
One, is that top colleges have a very rigorous curriculum and it is unlikely that you’d be accepted into undergrad without the pre-requisites. As far as I can understand from what you said, you left school after completing GCSEs so grades aside, you don’t have the minimum high school requirement for entrance to good colleges. You need A levels or equivalent.
Two, you can do a number of courses via online or part time education that can help you expand your knowledge. This could also be a route to proving that you can actually handle college: if you enrol in a couple of such courses and do well in those, you’ll have a better chance of showing other colleges that you can handle theIr courses. Relating back to point one, if you do these for credit (or sometimes even if you don’t) you may need to do a foundation course first to meet entrance requirements.
Three, studying full time undergrad (you’ll need to be full time to get a US student visa) means you won’t be able to pay much attention to your business. And no business runs itself for four years.
Four, some graduate programs give weight to real life experience as well as grades and that may be a better option for aiming at a top school, once you have an undergrad degree.
Fifth, not really relating to admissions, but you say you’re looking to move to LA to work with influencers - it will be very difficult for you to get an appropriate visa to do that.
The short version is that I think the opportunities to get an undergrad degree are going to be much easier, whatever route you take to gain admission, in the UK than in the US - you can do foundation, you can do part time without worrying about visa issues, etc - and once you have something in hand there, it may well be much easier to get onto a good MBA or other graduate program in the US.
If you have a UK passport, you don’t need a visa to visit the US. What about coming for the allowed 90 days, as a first step? You could see how you like it, then return to the UK and make your plans. But right now, with the pandemic, I would think that networking face to face would be difficult.
Well - there are various options, and you would need to look into whether you meet the entry requirements or whether you need to begin with a foundation course. As a uk citizen, Open University seems a good place to start http://www.open.ac.uk/ or check your local universities for what they offer part time. Another option is the University of London distance learning programs. They offer courses and BScs via a number of member universities, including LSE which might be a good one to test if you can handle a rigorous curriculum on. There are many options via UL, including “taster courses” which it’s probably a good idea to start with, so you may want to take your time looking through them. Undergrad business related courses here https://london.ac.uk/courses/subject/2/subject/70/international_type_of_study/14 , complete directory (it’s massive, you will need to filter) here https://london.ac.uk/courses
I’m not very familiar with credible US based online options, but I am sure there are a number and perhaps someone else can give the names of some colleges good in this area. I know ASU is a popular online one that Starbucks uses for its employees https://asuonline.asu.edu/
I’ve been before, this isn’t just a random idea, I’ve wanted to move there all my life. I wouldn’t go on a student visa either, I would be on an L1 or E2 visa through my business.
The pandemic has made planning for international movement somewhat challenging. A lot of foreign students are having to make different plans for the next year or two. @SJ2727 has provided excellent feedback thus far (especially post #3).
Question: how much is the goal of attending a school like USC a social one? Asking this because for the next (possible) year-and-a-half, the undergraduate school experience isn’t going to be as it was pre-pandemic. Being a student in a large American city like L.A. (or NYC) won’t be as exciting or fun or networkable due to business closures (many permanent) and state restrictions.
I’ve seen in passing that the experience for students in the UK isn’t ideal, either.
Can you untangle your specific goals in order to pivot in the face of current (border crossing) realities? From what you have stated you wish to: a) increase your formal level of education; b) attend a prestigious business school, preferably in America, notably California; c) sell your business in the future and move into private investment.
So you need to: a) earn your A levels equivalency (are there different ways to do this?); b) have a business plan that allows your business to run should you attend school full-time; c) look at realistic undergraduate options that are within the UK so you have a back-up plan; d) understand that admissions to US institutions are a crapshoot at this time so chancing you is nigh impossible; you’ll have to apply to get your answer; e) have the net profit from your business to support a cost of attendance that could run upwards of $70k USD per year to attend school abroad.
The dream you had pre-pandemic might have to be deferred, at a minimum, or significantly altered to fit current realities. Many students are in the same situation.
Can you afford paying full freight -- will be difficult to get financial aid as an international? This would be approx $70K USD or 55K GBP per year.
You actually have an interesting story. Many US colleges would be interested in someone like you. But you need to have some decent grades, otherwise you as seen as a risk. Take some local classes part time and show that you can do college level work. Then apply.
If you are willing to consider other cities besides LA, there are programs specifically for nontraditional students. Harvard Extension school is the most well known. It has open enrollment and does not require any test scores. Basically if you do well in three Harvard classes (B or higher) then you can apply for the bachelors degree program.
It’s been my dream to live in LA every since I went there. The main focus is to live there and move my business there. I wanted to see if I had a chance of getting into a school such as UCLA or USC because I want to become more educated on the subject and the social aspect is just an additional benefit. I’m in no rush to go there and I probably won’t move until there’s some sort of vaccine. I understand the full cost and what it entails. I want to move to LA as soon as it’s safe.