<p>I go to Pomona College and am strongly considering a study abroad at UCL in the Molecular Biosciences. From my extensive research and reviewing of fellow student peer evaluations, here are some very clear differences:</p>
<p>1) UCL’s classes are gigantic- 150+ students even in upper level courses. Rare is a Pomona College course with over 30 students.
2) UCL’s lectures, especially in the sciences, are taught in multiple-lecturer style. On the one hand, you get multiple experiences and research interests amalgamated in an umbrella topic of biology. On the other, you can not connect with the faculty to the same extent, there may be redundancy, and there isn’t really a smooth flow to lectures. At Pomona, while usually only one lecturer teaches your course, you have a more consistent academic experience and ample individual time with them.
3) Classes at UCL usually only have one or two things determining your composite grade. At Pomona, most classes have homework, midterms, and lab component factored in the grade. It would seem that this makes UCL more rigorous, but most of our students have done just fine.
4) Biology courses at Pomona emphasize significant lab experience. UCL is more of a theoretical approach, with a long one time 2000 word essay in lieu of weekly lab reports.
5) Research is very difficult to find as an UCL undergraduate. At Pomona, it’s so easy to become connected due to lack of graduate students and a massive student endowment.
6) Residential experiences are not emphasized by UCL. You have to put in a determined effort to make friends and join societies. At Pomona and other LACs, the residential life is just as crucial to the experience as the in-class, academic one is.
7) UCL is in the heart of London, and going out is fundamental to the experience. Liberal art colleges form more of a bubble due to their residential experiences. Pomona is a little different due to its central location in the SoCal basin, but the LACs you mentioned are more isolated.
8) UCL emphasizes specialization. Pomona emphasizes flexibility and exploration. But at Pomona, you can specialize just as you would at UCL, so there are simply more options to take.
9) The faculty quality at Pomona seems to be a lot higher (in terms of where professors have earned their PhDs). However, UCL faculty have published more extensive research because that is the focus there.
10) On average, UCL is probably likely to be a lot cheaper than a US LAC. However, these LACs usually meet full demonstrated need, so cost is entirely situational. Also, London is ridiculously more expensive than pretty much anywhere in the continental USA. </p>
<p>They’re very different models and both yield successful students. It all depends on what you want. The nurturing nature of LACs can make it easy to fall behind or to not put in your best effort, while the British education always keeps you on your toes in the area of study that you want to be most involved with. At LACs, you could get both perspectives through study abroad. At UCL, studying abroad to an LAC is probably unheard of. </p>