Going to College Abroad

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello,
I couldn't find anything related to this on the forums, but feel free to redirect me to any relevant posts. Also I hope this is allowed :).</p>

<p>I am very curious about studying abroad, but rather than a one year abroad type of program, I wanted to know about going to college abroad. I am a US citizen, and I do realize there are so many great colleges here (which I will be applying to) but I was wondering if anyone could tell me about actually attending a full (4 year?) university in another place (spec. England).
Is it worth it? And will I be hard pressed finding a job (in the US) after that? Also are there any major differences in education? Will the degrees be different? Also can anyone recommend me worthwhile universities to look at?
I am completely clueless and eager for information, so feel free to pile it on.
Thanks!! :D.</p>

2

<p>In two weeks, I am moving to Scotland to do my entire degree over there. I think it will be worth it. The system is basically the same, but you specialise earlier over there. For instance, you apply to a specific course (i.e. chemistry, German, history) and then you take classes just in that subject area. In Scotland, things are a bit more broad-based and more similar to the US, because you can take some classes outside of your subject area for the first one or two years.</p>

<p>St Andrews is a popular school for Americans (about 1/7 of the students there are American). Edinburgh, Durham, York, Cardiff, Manchester, LSE, Imperial, and UCL are all good schools as well.</p>

<p>The Student Room (google it) can provide a lot of useful information for studying in the UK.</p>

3

<p>

your first lesson of the day is that most degree courses are 3 years in England.</p>

<p>

In this economy you will probably be hard pressed to find a job whatever. There must surely be thousands, if not millions of people in the US who were educated overseas. If you think it won’t be of benefit to you, don’t go. I think in some limited areas (most notably medicine and law) it would be a disadvantage because US training is quite different. If in doubt, see if you can speak to people who have jobs which interest you, and ask them. The downside is when in the UK the careers advice will be mainly geared towards getting a job here. This especially applies to internships and vacation work. Your vacations won;t match up with US ones anyway (no Thanks Giving holiday for you, but plenty of random days off in May).</p>

<p>

erm, yes…
I have made millions of posts about this, but in brief (without the details and exceptions to the rules)</p>

<p>1 common app at [UCAS</a> Homepage](<a href=“http://www.ucas.com%5DUCAS”>http://www.ucas.com)</p>

<p>ECs are irrelevant to your application (exception if they are involved in your course of study - see below. eg if you are applying for drama and acted in a play).</p>

<p>The application fee is only £17</p>

<p>You can apply to a maximum of 5 universities (the word “school” is reserved for educational establishments for the under 18s).</p>

<p>Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) application deadline is 15th October 2009 for entry October 2010. Everywhere else is rolling admissions with a January deadline (exceptions: medicine and some other medical courses)</p>

<p>You can only apply for Oxford or Camrbridge, not both in one year.</p>

<p>Medicine, law, phramacy and many other which are graduate studies in the US are undergraduate courses in the UK.</p>

<p>You have to choose a course of study or subject (effectivly a major) when you apply. No minors (except at a few in Enagldn and all in Scotland). It is extremely difficult to change you subject. In most cases people have to drop out and re-apply to start in the first year to do this. The UK is best suited to students who are focussed on studying one particular subject.</p>

<p>There is basically zero financial aid for overseas undergraduates. Most get some kind of scholarship from their home country or their parents pay.</p>

<p>

see above</p>

<p>

There are a million league tables if you google them, most notably in the Times newspaper.
It is more important a university is good for your course (remember, you can’t change) that being good overall.</p>

4

<p>You might check out [AustraLearn:</a> Study in Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific ? providing semester and year abroad, internship, summer, and degree programs abroad](<a href=“http://australearn.org/]AustraLearn:”>http://australearn.org/) unless you are dead set on going to England.</p>

5

<p>Hey, </p>

<p>Here is a question that is similar to yours and has 17 answers: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/study-abroad/737625-possible-study-abroad-all-four-years.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/study-abroad/737625-possible-study-abroad-all-four-years.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Regarding the job chances, I have to agree with the previous comment. It depends on the profession, but I would also include certain “artistic” jobs as well. If you are going for a design or even a marketing degree in Europe, there will be a whole different perspective than in the US (A friend of mine did it the other way around: she is German is now studying design in the US). But even for these cases, you could offer a great combination that is exactely right for certain companies. However, you will never be “mainstream” afterwards. In most cases, would really go for the study abroad option! I did it myself and I loved it. It can give you a different perspective on many things and you will not only learn, but also grow as a person. </p>

<p>Good luck with your decision!</p>

<p>Maria</p>

6

<p>There’s an organization called Across the Pond- website StudyAcrossThePond*com that recruits US students for UK schools. They represent about 19 UK schools who especially welcome US grads. They made a presentation at my D’s school and several kids from her school have done it. One to Scotland started last year, and one to England this year. They help you navigate the UK system. It’s worth contacting them with your questions, they are very nice.</p>