Help! Year Abroad in US Choices

College Search & Selection
1

Hey guys!

My first post here! I’m from London studying at UCL (University College London) and have the option of going abroad in my third year

I have quite a few options all over the world but mainly looking to apply to the american ones

so my choices are between Caltech (which is definitely my first choice), Johns Hopkins, University of Washington (seattle campus), university of Texas at Austin and a few others

I have other choices like university of toronto, melbourne, sydney, national university of singapore and the likes but i really want to go to the american ones

so my question is, i have three options - Caltech is deffo one of them but not sure about the others, JHU seems pretty good but any help would be appreciated

oh and btw i am studying Chemistry

Thank you

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Can you list all your options?
What do you want from your experience - campus, Greek life, football? Or ability to travel on weekends/breaks? Specific music scene? Do you have a preference for size (ie., Caltech has 900 students, UT 50,000 - and student; faculty ratios of 3:1 vs. 18:1…)

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The other options are just European universities, which would be great to go to but coming from London, I can just visit Europe whenever and there’s a language requirement

So here’s a list of all USA/Canadian unis
Caltech - which I really like inspite of the small size and they’re strong in the sciences
UW in Seattle - seems like a fun uni but that’s just from online research, sports etc.
JHU - strong at science research, so potentially pretty good considering I’m studying Chem but really worried about the social scene here
University of Toronto (St George’s) - like UW it seems like a good school, solid social life, massive uni, decent location but I don’t think it’s for me
UT Austin - I don’t think I’d like it here but I’m still considering it
University of Chicago - great city and great acdemics, really like it

Only problem is I would like to go to the UCs like Berkeley, UCLA etc but they’re reserved for biologists but if it’s possible would love to do a PhD at Berkeley

And yeah I want a campus with a great social scene and possibly sports - used to play some American football during my first year

I really like Caltech and JHU

What do you think??

Thank you and sorry for the long post

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So what are you looking for, again? Great social scene and sports? Other stuff? Caltech would have a geeky social scene (some people like that) and HS-level sports, for instance.

How would you rank/prioritize and why?

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yeah good social scene and sports/extracurriculars mainly

but if i was going to rank them,

Caltech would be first because it’s Caltech, they specialise in the sciences/engineering so i could compromise the social scene for great academics - plus if i were to do a phd i would probably want to do in the states, so going to caltech would be a great opportunity

Then next it would be between JHU, UW, U of Toronto - JHU because again, it’s got a sound reputation and strong at scientific research etc. only main thing is that JHU is mainly pre-med but not really sure how that would make a difference on the social life
UW and U of toronto seems like a good balance between academics and extracurriculars and social life but not feeling moving to Canada for a year

Universtiy of Chicago also seems like a good balance but i need to research more into it

But Caltech is definitely my first choice atm

I don’t know if this makes a difference but if i convert my first year results into the GPA system it comes out as a 4.0

thank you

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UW-Seattle and UT-Austin would have the big time sports and parties.

Caltech, UChicago, and JHU would share similarities (except that Caltech is much tinier, specialized, and in a safer suburban area rather than a urban neighborhood).

Caltech has a reputation for being intense (but from where you come from, you should be able to handle it).
The U of C has a reputation for being intellectual (“life of the mind” and all that).
JHU is definitely more than just pre-med (that seems like a perception held by high schoolers). Quite research-focused.

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And I meant how you would prioritize what you are looking for.

BTW, Caltech, UChicago, and JHU all have stellar reputations in the US. UW-Seattle, UT-Austin, and UToronto are some of the big publics known by those in the know to be research powerhouses. However, I’m not sure how much the reputation you study abroad for a year at matters.

Geographically and climate-wise, there are big differences between the schools.

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Based on what you’re saying, I’d go with Caltech, JHU, and either UWashington Seattle or UT Austin. (Among those two, both are really strong academically and are “traditional” colleges in great cities, the big difference would be that Seattle has mild rainy weather year round, whereas Austin would be hot and humid for 3 months + warm and pleasant for 6 months.)

UChicago isn’t a good “balance” in terms of sports and parties. Students there are proud not to know about games or their teams, and it’s not really a “party school” (euphemism). It’s a great school, but not “traditional American, sports, parties”.

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The thing is UCL allocate which year abroad unis we go to (not sure if this is how it’s done but seems quite stupid to me) but the only reason I get a shot at Caltech is because of my grades this year - my head of department was saying that even though Caltech is not guaranteed (but I have a decent chance) I should be guaranteed any other uni

So really it’s between Caltech and JHU (because of the research focus) but I’m a bit worried about JHU - what’s the social life like there? And what’s Baltimore as a city like?

If JHU has a not so great social life, I’ll definitely consider going for UW or UT Austin

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Every residential American uni would have a social life.

@MYOS1634, these days, UChicago would be quite close to JHU socially. Caltech would be the outlier in terms of sports (even worse than the U of C) and parties.

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Great social scene at Caltech? No, not really. Yes, it is in a California suburb. Eateries are a 10 minute walk to Lake Avenue. The beaches are a minimum of an hour by car.

(I don’t know how long public transport would take, an, we have poor public transportation in southern California. The car is KING in SoCal.)
Here’s the thing, it is a very intense school, studying is the priority; so, you should be okay, going in, if you know that the academics are the priority. The school is quiet on the weekends possibly because it is in a large residential area of Pasadena.
If you are thinking that it is a typical US “university” experience, no, it is not.
(The priority IS studying. My son has had the small school experience there).

It is a NICE, QUIET, SMALL beautiful campus. The students have an honor code and are very respectful of that.
Because it is so small, each house does their own social thing within their house. Sports are individual teams cheering for themselves.

If you want to go to Caltech, and it is your first choice, you should go.
If you want big time sports, you will need to go visit USC and UCLA down the 210.

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Can’t you rank them and ask for several (ie., JHU if you don’t get Caltech, UT if you don’t get JHU…?)
I don’t know why you’d think the social life might be bad a JHU. If understood in its traditional sense (parties) it’s certainly better than at Caltech. :slight_smile:

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@maverick96 I have a number of friends whose kids are in the same situation as you and looking where to spendnext year in the US. Most of them are looking for an equal mix of strong academics (that will look good on their CV) and US type campus experience. Needless to say, schools like Georgetown and Berkeley end up being popular choices, although I know 2 kids that have gone to Chicago as Chicago is a great town for bars, nightlife, professional sports.etc. Therefore, If I were you, I would probably go to UTexas or UWashington for a good mix of everything.

JHU is a bit like Chicago in that it more intellectual than social. It is also in an improving neighborhood in Baltimore that you need to be aware of. I really like Baltimore, but it is not everybody’s cup of tea.

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Thank you all for you help, I really have a tough choice

Yeah I understand that Caltech has a poor social life but it’s Caltech, and I would compromise social life tbh

But looking back at UW and UT do have a good balance between everything - sports/academics/extracurriculars

If I had any choice, I would definitely be choosing Berkeley - i think i mentioned it before that Berkeley is reserved for Biologist, which I don’t understand why
But hopefully if i do a PhD, hopefully I get a chance doing it at Berkley

That’s actually one reason for going abroad, because I would want to do a PhD in america

Thank you all for your help - appreciate it :slight_smile:

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Yes, UW and UT do have the best balance of what you’re seeking. And they’re certainly located in better cities than Baltimore.

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Baltimore is pretty close to DC, however, and DC is a great place to visit.

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Caltech is an incredible place, but it really has no college life at all. Its a small science institute with only 900 total students.

I would choose UChicago or JHU myself. Both are in the highest tier of academic quality and prestige, but would provide more of a complete campus experience than Caltech. Probably UChicago. UChicago has one of the best chemistry departments in the world, affiliated with a bunch of Nobel Prizes in Chemistry over the years. I think plutonium was first isolated there. JHU is more renowed for medicine and biology. Moreover, Chicago is a much more interesting city than Baltimore.

UWashington and UTexas are much larger public universities, both very good but a big step down in prestige from UChicago, Caltech and JHU. Classes will be much larger, and personal attention from professors will be much less.

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Social life is largely what you make of it in college, given the time you are allowed after you take care of your first priority, your studies.

UChicago and Caltech are particularly academically rigorous, and Johns Hopkins can be. If learning is your top priority, I think those three are your best bet. There is plenty of fun to be had, and culture to be experienced, in Los Angeles, Chicago and Baltimore. And yes, they all field varsity sports teams, just not at the highest level of competition (though still probably fun to watch).

Washington and Texas can be rigorous if you want them to be, but these are more the traditional large public universities with solid academics, huge sports and party scenes. The learning environment is not as intimate as it is at the three aforementioned private powerhouses: classes will tend to be larger at Washington and Texas, individual meetings with a professor will be more difficult to obtain, etc. Austin and Seattle also offer plenty of fun and culture.

Weather:
UChicago and JHU are temperate: four seasons, featuring a mix of sunshine and precipitation, warm and cold weather.

Caltech features the California climate: warm but not often too hot, sunny the vast majority of the time, dry, not much rain. It is nice, but I would find it monotonous.

UW-Seattle’s weather is probably similar to London’s: lots of rain, some snow, but it rarely is too hot or too cold. (at least, not nearly as cold as some of the weather you’d see in the Midwest or Northeast US).

UT-Austin’s weather is a fair mix of sun and precipitation. Summers are characterized by very hot, humid weather – some find that uncomfortable. During the school year, temps are mostly pleasant – not too hot, not too cold.

I think if you are primarily interested in a rigorous, nurturing academic environment, in a four-seasons climate, your best bets are UChicago and JHU.

If you want that academic rigor but in a California climate, it’s Caltech all the way.

If you want the traditional large public university featuring an active party scene and big-time sports, with slightly less of a focus on academics, choose: Washington, if you prefer cooler temps and more rain; or Texas, if you prefer hotter temps and less rain.

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JHU does have top-level lacrosse, but otherwise, sports at all 3 of Caltech/JHU/UChicago would be at the HS/recreational level. Nothing at all like big-time American college sports. Certainly nothing like the RRR game or even Apple Cup.

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UW Seattle has a strong chemistry program.