<p>My daughter wants to spend a year in the UK or Scottland. There are 3 schools that are of interest to her: Oxford, Cambridge, and University of Edinburg. Looking at the study abroad program at her school, it seems that it's cheaper to graduate in 3 years and spend one year doing a Master degree in UK. Is the tuition fee between 11,000-13,000 pounds per year the right amount for a humanities major? I know there are other costs involved, I just don't want to overlook a major expense. How hard is it to apply to these schools? ie what undergraduate GPA is competitive? Any info is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>That would be about right for the tuition fee according to Oxford’s website. [Postgraduate</a> Taught Tuition Fee Rates](<a href=“http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk//studentfunding/fees/fees_0910/new/0910pgt.shtml]Postgraduate”>http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk//studentfunding/fees/fees_0910/new/0910pgt.shtml)</p>
<p>The other major expense is living costs - housing in Oxford in particular is very expensive, almost as expensive as London. </p>
<p>It’s easy to apply to Oxford and Cambridge, as they both have online applications (although last year Cambridge did require people to post transcripts and references). I don’t know about Edinburgh. But generally all applications will require transcripts, at least 2 references and a personal statement/research proposal.</p>
<p>Thank you for the info. Living costs is around 11,000-13,000 pounds. I hope the exchange rate stays the same.</p>
<p>If your daughter enrols in the UK masters course she will actually have to study, particularly at Oxbridge. In my experience most study abroad students, especially Americans, have no intention of spenting anything other than the minimum amount of time possible studying in order not to be thrown off their program, and want to spend all their time abroad travelling and/or drinking. If this is the case for your D, do undergraduate study abroad. UK masters courses are not meant to be a holiday (having said that, my experience of doing a masters course in the north of England was that half the students could barely speak English, but because they paid full fees they passed. Anyone could get on the course if they paid and they actively recuited overseas students who on the whole did no studying whatsoever. It depends where you go. There are definitely some places like this).</p>
<p>There is a UK board similar to this at <a href=“http://www”>www</a>. the student room .co uk
remove the spaces for the link to work.</p>
<p>She does want to study and not just partying. She is even studying hard even at a partying school. However, her undergraduate major requires a lot of courses to be taken at her college so she may not have time to do a study abroad program. She’s heard from a friend that Cambridge is a party school and Oxford is not. Is this accurate information?</p>
<p>I am a little confused: does she want to spend only one year in grad school in the UK or does she also want to pursue undergrad studies there? </p>
<p>If she is looking at grad school at Oxbridge, she needs a college GPA between of at least 3.5-3.7 depending on the course. When they state a minimum GPA, they tend to mean business, i.e. people with lower GPAs need not apply. If she is looking to do undergrad studies she would have to apply through UCAS in the fall (earliest time she can do this is next year). For undergrad admissions they only look at AP/IB scores. Transferring from an undergrad program in the U.S. to OXbridge will not work. She would have to start over.</p>
<p>Btw, I am going to grad school in the UK next year with a U.S. BA. Feel free to PM if you have any specific questions about the process as will most likely lose track of this thread.</p>
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erm no, very far from it. Cambridge is a very small and quiet place. Oxford is only slightly bigger but much busier, more crowded and noisy. This is the main reason I chose Cambridge over Oxford when I applied as an undergraduate (I have just submitted my PhD thesis at Oxford but I was a Cambridge undergraduate).</p>
<p>I would not describe either as “party schools”, but some people in the US would describe every single UK university as a party school just because you can drink aged 18. In fact there is often wine provided with the evening meal in Oxbridge colleges. It is just no big deal. Some people do drink/party to excess, but a minority at Oxbridge. You have to study, or get kicked out. For a party school choose Manchester, Leeds or Newcastle.</p>
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<p>Not for undergraduate. She is trying to save money and go there for a master degree. If she does the Study Abroad program for undergrad, she has to pay full tuition and $10K on top of full tuition to study in England/Scottland/Paris and University of Oxford is not even on the list. That is her dream school.</p>
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<p>Thank you for your offer. She is only a freshman so she has time to plan ahead.</p>
<p>Is how hard is it to get into Cambridge’s graduate school? I’d like to study English there.</p>