<p>having just got back from a summer vacation in europe, and spending quite a bit of time around (almost) strictly europeans made me realize how much more i was like them than to a majority of americans. and since im a senior in hs now, i figured, hey, why not look at schools across the pond too? but then i realized that most of the world comes TO america for school, not leaves..</p>
<p>would it be worth it to go to a school in England rather than here in the us? i really know nothing about universities over there other than the 6 or so famous ones. if i went to england rather than the US would i be hurting myself in terms of getting an education, or are most americans just sheltered to the fact that we don't have the best of the best of everything here anymore?</p>
<p>and when i say look at schools in europe i mean england because i don't speak enough of any language to go to school anywhere else, and i like england (specifically SE england near London) best for being for extended periods of time</p>
<p>Hi
It is interesting that you are looking to the Uk for university, my daughter is looking the other way, but is also looking at the Uk too.
There are considerations for an American in the Uk, the cost of a college education is not that cheap and there are no scholarships available, however the tuition is not as high as OOS in the US or a private school. The biggest thing to remember is the actual type of teaching, you would have to chose what you wanted to study before you apply, the SATS have very little impact there and ECs are virtually unheard of. You have to write a personal statement instead a lot of BS that we didn’t have in my day, thank god!
If you are serious have a look at the UCAS website, this is the main site for all unis in the UK. You can search by area or major. I hope this gives you some ideas.</p>
<p>It’s not like Oxford, Cambridge, and LSE suddenly became incredible schools and used to be crap. The suggestion usually is to go to college in the country in which you want to work, so if that’s England, go there. </p>
<p>The question here is, can you actually get into one of those schools? The four undergraduate famous ones I can think of are Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, and UCL. They’re not going to be easy to get into for an American. If not one of those schools, what were you thinking?</p>
<p>Well, in England there’s Oxford and Cambridge of course, and probably many great universities I’m not familiar with. So, no you will not be hurting yourself in terms of education. But you should realize that America does have the best colleges and universities in the world.</p>
<p>nah i definitely can’t get into oxford, cambridge, lse or ucl. i’m not exactly sure what the other good schools in SE england are, i know bristol is good and kcl too but i’m not sure if i could get in. if anyone has any input towards this it’d be very well received, and if it helps i’d be studying physics or engineering</p>
<p>another question though, how different is life at a university in England than here in the US? is it identical minus the awesomeness that is NCAA sports? or is it completely different? i’ve always been the one who considered going to the opposite coast for college, but never really looked outside the US besides McGill and I doubt I could get in there, but going to another Continent for school is still slightly daunting… But I do like everything about England and the rest of Europe better tbh… And yes, I am thoroughly considering living there when I’m older</p>
<p>Actually, internationals have a great hook when applying to top Unis in the UK - internationals are what these Unis rely on to pay huge sums of money for tuition. 3k pounds for a citizen of the UK vs. 25k pounds an international (rough numbers here) makes a big difference…</p>
<p>^It’s hard for Americans because we don’t do A-Levels and such, and instead do mostly APs. The system is different. They have plenty of people who can pay from countries which use the British system.</p>
<p>If you want to study in Britain I don’t think you should limit yourself to just the south east corner of England. If you do plan on returning to the US after college then I think you should aim for places like Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL, St Andrews, Edinburgh, Durham and Warwick; just because these are the names Americans are most likely to have heard of. Useful websites:</p>
<p>well, my reasoning for wanting to be in the southeast of england is synonymous to my reasoning for not looking in the middle region of the US- i want to be near (in) a big city, and for England, that would be London. Well, if i were to apply to an English uni, are there any other tests that one would need to take, such as SATs for american colleges? and when you say internationals have a hook, how much of a hook would that be? I don’t have the grades for oxford/imperial/cambridge etc. to my knowledge so yeah…</p>
<p>You can get into a European university. Perhaps not a top one, but there is always one that will accept you.</p>
<p>The better question is- can you AFFORD it? </p>
<p>Also- if you decide that you want to live in Europe rather than America, then I would simply start the process to immigrate. Different countries have different rules for immigrants in universities.</p>
<p>^It’s cheaper than you’d expect to pay at a private university here, but more expensive than you’d pay for instate tuition. But I believe you will then be expected to pay that, without aid.</p>
<p>Generally the universities are cheaper, but the cost of living in Europe is higher. Plus you are limited by your visa to how much you can work. Plus, I believe, to even get your visa, you have to demonstrate that you can pay all costs.</p>
<p>I’m also an American looking at unis in England and Scotland. One big advantage is that in English (not Scottish) colleges you graduate in three years. I’m thinking of applying to University of St. Andrews, University of Essex, and University of Warwick. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>^^ Warwick is a very good school for engineering and math. Or perhaps I should say maths ;). Ian Stewart is there.</p>
<p>The three-year graduation system only works because English universities expect you to know your field of study, stick with it, and take little else. That works well if you have a comprehensive high school curriculum in line with what is common in the UK but may be awkward coming from the US.</p>