<p>Hello! I am a rising senior in HS and I'm thinking about going to college in the UK! I'm really excited about this idea but I don't really know anything about schools there. I've never been there either. I was wondering if I could get some help with a list of schools that might be good for me? I have a 3.9 GPA and above 2250 on the SAT, if that helps. I heard about some people in my school going to Scotland (Univ. of Edinburgh, St. Andrews). How are those schools? How do all these schools in the UK compare to schools in the US? Thanks so much!</p>
<p>My daughter is entering her second year at the University of Edinburgh and is having the time of her life, both academically (she is studying history), socially, and especially with the experience of living abroad and making friends from all around the world. The Univ of Edinburgh is one of the leading universities in the world, and has both a strong intellectual and a strong social environment. It has produced several Prime Ministers, great writers (Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, EM Barrie of Peter Pan fame; Phillipa Gregory, “The Other Boleyn Girl”); great scientists and inventors (Alexander Graham Bell, Peter Higgs - as in the Higgs Boson particle); actor Robbie Coltrane (you know him as Haggred); and probably the greatest philosopher to write in the English Language, David Hume. The University was chartered by James IV of Scotland (who later became James I of England, as in the King James version of the Bible), so its been around for a while. Lots of old buildings (which inspired JK Rowling who wrote a lost of the first volume of HP in a coffee house a block from campus). The city center, just a 1/4 mile from the main campus, is a well preserved medieval city, with Edinburgh castle towering over everything. A a first year, my daughter had a private room with a private bath in a new dorm with breakfast and dinner for 7,000 pounds- about $11,500 - thousands less that NYU charges for a shared room without meals. This year she and her “mates” are renting a “flat” of their own in a converted townhouse - this is what almost all returning students do. (Tuition by the way is $20,000 for US students, less than half of a private university in the US). She has learned and grown so much this year. About a third of the students are international; she spent easter break at a friend’s house in Istanbul. Don’t go to St Andrews- its full of rich snotty English “poshes” or “rahs” (rich a… h…) the Tory club there burned President Obama in effigy last year. I am not exaggerating, St A’s has the highest average student family income of any uni in the UK. My daughter turned down an offer from St A’s. She also considered attending Kings College London, on the banks of the Thames. You graduate from uni is England in three years, not four, but you basically only take courses in your major. Scottish Unis are four year, and you can take courses outside your major in the first and second year. However, in England most unis expect US applicants to have four APs at a 4 or 5 since English students who attend uni actually have an additional year of high school (“A levels”) comparable to first year US college level. Kings College London is an exception. Finally, I want to point out that it is much easier to gain entry to a UK university of comparable quality to a US university because they dont really place any (or very very little) weight on ECs, etc. If you are academically qualified and from overseas, you will likely be offered admission. Also, with your grades and scores, you would also be a good candidate for Cambridge or Oxford or, in the alternative, University College London, which is every bit as highly regarded academically (you can look it up). If you are a scientist and like London, look at Imperial College London, sort of their version of MIT. Everything school I mentioned is Ivy comparable, but mere mortals can actually gain admission.</p>
<p>I think this will get you started!</p>
<p>My brief experience of visiting St Andrews was that it was full of American students and hardly any Brits at all.</p>
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<p>Agreed. Many Americans seem to think they are doing something daring and original by going to one of the major Scottish universities. But it’s a standard thing to do - Edinburgh and St Andrew’s are swarming with Americans.</p>
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<p>Sorry, but no.</p>
<p>Hi I am Kate and I am studying in the most international school in the world Hult International Business School in London and getting an American degree. </p>
<p>Would you like to get an American or British education? Do you think you would like to study in the private college in Oxford?</p>
<p>You’re not fooling anybody justkate, go advertise somewhere else. Anyone reading her post know this: Hult International Business School is a business not a school, they want your money and in return they give you a worthless degree.</p>
<p>Hey, I wasn’t advertising Hult! I AM STUDYING AT HULT! so I know whether it’s international or not.
second of all, I wasn’t going to offer her to study at Hult and wanted to advise her to check our the other school in oxford called Magna Carta College. I was browsing the net and saw their video on yt: [Get</a> an Oxford BA (Hons) in 2 years - YouTube](<a href=“Magna Carta College, get a BA (Hons) in 2 years - YouTube”>Magna Carta College, get a BA (Hons) in 2 years - YouTube)
That’s why I asked whether she was interested in studying in oxford!</p>
<p>It was very rude of you to write a comment about me as I am not trying to fool anyone.</p>
<p>I have never heard of it, it sounds bogus to me - it is certainly NOT part of Oxford University. I’ll add more to this post later, going out now.</p>
<p>@Diony, I don’t know whether it’s bogus or not. I just wanted to give a suggestion.
Good luck.</p>
<p>Magna Carta College isn’t bogus - but it’s not part of the University of Oxford. According to its website, it’s a private college located in Oxford with degrees validated by the University of Wales.</p>
<p>It is bogus in the sense it is not a proper college, its degrees are not respected at all. I looked up one of the colleges admission tutors, her last job was in pizza hut - that must give you a hint as to the type of place it is.</p>
<p>I’m sure there was a scandal recently surrounding the University of Wales and its practices of validating every college who pays them, regardless of quality. That is presumably one of the reason the university is being dismantled.</p>
<p>Oh, I totally agree. I didn’t mean to suggest it was a respected college, just that it does offer degrees! Apologies if that didn’t come across. </p>
<p>I’m frankly amazed they would still offer degrees validated by UoW though (and publicise this as a positive on their website!). Last year UoW were filmed literally selling degree certificates.</p>
<p>Edinfan has solid information about Edinburgh, but I think the opinions on St Andrews are a bit harsh. There are many Americans in both schools, but there are also Brits and other internationals, too. I think there are quite a few Germans. No, it is not as brave and scary as attending some school in a non-English speaking country, but it is still a great international experience plus there is the opportunity to connect with people from all over Europe, potentially visit them in their home country etc. It’s a great opportunity for international exposure.</p>
<p>I know of many kids who have attended St Andrews, many for the medical school program and I am not thinking they are any more posh than the kids I know who attended Edinburgh, in each case the tuition is around $20,000 US/CD.</p>
<p>Edinburgh is in the city, St Andrews is in a small town, both have all sorts of history. If you apply to both, perhaps a visit will help you determine which one is a fit for you.</p>
<p>Dear UnicornRainbow, I am relatively new to this forum. I do have a very happy son at the University of Edinburgh who went to one of the finest prep schools in the US. He could have attended the best in the US but specifically choose to study in Edinburgh. He is in his 2nd year and studies Biological Studies (pre-med). There is so much to say and I just don’t have the time to type out everything. I am a mom and we live in Washington, DC. I wish you the best. Senior year is stressful but, you can apply to (I believe) 5 UK schools using the UCAS application. We heard from all 5 in under 2 weeks! So my son knew that he was accepted to his 1st choices and without a commitment which really made his senior year fabulous.</p>
<p>Dear BethesdaMD- sounds like we have the same experience with our children at U of Edinburgh - we live in ChChase and our daughter went to a prep school in DC and was also a 2011 grad (but not the same school since only one other classmate, a young woman, who went to U of E). Our d is having a great second year also, has a flat with 2 mates just off the Meadows, and as soon as she came home last summer she wanted to go back (she in fact went back a month early to catch the Fringe Festival and visit a friend she made in school at their summer house in Spain). We are going over to meet her in London for a weekend in two weeks, and then on to Paris with some of the $ we saved by her going abroad! I just paid her tuition for this year - $20,000 - which is $25K less than if she went to a private uni in the US - and put it on a credit card that gets 2% cash back and just got a check for $400. Try that at a US school! I want to write a book about how and why to study abroad for all four years, and have asked my d to co-author- but she insists that I do no such thing because she doesnt want anyone to find out what a great opportunity this is. She is already planning grad school in the UK. My d got her acceptance in early December as well, and probably was the first in her class to get accepted anywhere.</p>
<p>Hi, Edinfan and/or others. I received a conditional acceptance at Edinburgh today for Fall 2013 (need to get a 4+ in AP Calc, which I’m pretty sure I can do). I’m curious about the tuition cost of 20K that Edinfan posted. When I checked the U of E website and the exchange rate, I see a tuition of 28K. This is for Informatics. Was the 20K taking a scholarship into account? I’m also wondering if I should apply for one of the scholarships that are for International students.</p>
<p>$27,000 USD would be a roughly 17,000 pound tuition rate. That’s incredibly high. Most international students in the UK (for an undergrad degree) pay in the range of 11,000-14,000 pounds. Are you adding living costs onto tuition to get the 17,000 pound rate?</p>
<p>Hi NYU, Nope this was only tuition. I looked at this page, link below. Several courses have a tuition rate (for 2012-13) of 16,650 pounds. </p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> Fees](<a href=“http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/fees/undergraduate_2012-2013.cfm]Undergraduate”>Undergraduate Fees)</p>
<p>Believe me, I would love to have been wrong!</p>
<p>Universities will bump up their fees if (a) the course is popular and/or (b) the course costs more to deliver. That’s why science courses often attract higher fees than arts/humanities courses. This is pretty standard across UK universities and you’ll see it almost everywhere. </p>
<p>Unfortunately olmost, it looks like Informatics fits the above criteria!</p>
<p>Just curious - S has applied to several UK schools, and while he gained rapid acceptance to St. Andrews he has yet to hear from Edinburgh, UCL, and Oxford (they inform folks if an interview is granted in December). </p>
<p>Should he be concerned if he’s not yet heard from Edinburgh or UCL, or is it normal for them to be much slower to respond than St. Andrews?</p>