To add on, Caltech is really a research institute with a few undergrads. It’s about as far from the typical American college experience as you can get in the US.
UW-Seattle and UT-Austin would give you the typical big-school big-sports college experience.
UChicago and JHU would give you the elite Ivy/equivalent rich private experience.
If I had those choices, I would pick Chicago. It sounds like the academic side is important to you and Chicago is top notch across the board. The residential campus is lovely and if you like American football, it has that too. It has a functional public transportation system, both light rail and bus, and Chicago has all the urban amenities - museums, restaurants, clubs, sports, etc. It also has two airports, one a very large international airport (O’Hare), so getting to and from England wouldn’t be that complicated. Downside - winters can be long and COLD!
Baltimore is smaller than Chicago and a bit harder to access as the airport is some miles away and is not a huge hub, so fewer flight options. You could fly into DC, but that’s a good bit farther away. The city is alright, some consider it a bit sketchy/seedy, but I found it quite reasonable back in the early 90s when I attended JHU (not pre-med!) You don’t need a car to get around.
Caltech - I don’t know much about it personally, but it wouldn’t be for me because I don’t like being dependent on a car and the traffic in Southern California can be horrendous. Weather is warm (sometimes hot!) and dry and the landscape tends towards brown rather than green.
Large public state universities can be more challenging to navigate with respect to course registration, class size, administration and the like. If cost is not a significant factor, I’d go someplace where you are likely to get more personalized attention and smaller classes.
That said, the UW campus is stunning. Seattle is a great place for young people, lots to do, is close to outdoor recreation if you enjoy that, and the public transportation system is very good. You can easily get from the SEATAC international airport to campus. As mentioned earlier, the climate is temperate without major extremes of heat/cold.
UChicago may have football, but in the sense that a church league (or British uni) may have soccer players and crowds. They would be nothing like League One soccer players playing in front of Wembley-size crowds (which is what big-time college football in the States is like).
Thank you guys so much for all your help/advice, sorry for the delay in reading these messages - I don’t use this site that often
Yeah I really want a university where academics is important yet there’s still a great social scene - for example UCL has pretty good academics and yet there’s still so much to do as in parties etc. But what it seems like these universities, with maybe the exception of UChicago, don’t offer that same academic/social compromise that I’m looking for
I really like UW Seattle, after researching it quite a bit over the last few weeks. And I don’t really think that university prestige is majorly important on a year abroad but I still have time to make up my mind
I wasn’t really considering going to other countries, but while I’m here, do any of you guys know much about U of Toronto (St George’s campus) and University of Melbourne?
But I really want to go somewhere in the states, as I’ve never been to America before
Thank you all again for your help
And I’m using my phone and don’t know how to tag people but thank you prezbucky, PurpleTitan and mamaedefamilia for your detailed answers - it’s good to get a first hand experience rather than just reading what you see on the internet
UChicago and JHU probably would both fit that criteria. Maybe UToronto as well.
UToronto and (especially) Melbourne are probably similar to UW-Seattle and UT-Austin in being big urban publics but without bigtime college sports and are probably more spread out (so more like UCL in that regard). UToronto does have a semi-collegiate structure.
UWashington Seattle is considered quite prestigious - it’s probably on par in the US with UCL in the UK in terms of quality and prestige.
I don’t think of Uchicago is what you’re looking for in terms of parties, unless you love parties where favorite fonts are a theme. 
Just kidding (sorta). But in the US, UChic has the reputation of being “where the fun goes to die”. More a stereotype than anything, but it’s not “traditionally” social for sure. UWashington would be a better compromise in terms of top academics and good social life.
Sidenote: how old will you be when you’re in the US?
Yeah I know what you mean, from my understanding US universities are generally better in most senses than UK ones - Really only Oxford and Cambridge can compete with US top unis
And yeah I agree with, UW Seattle seems like a good compromise
I would be 21 why do you ask?
You may legally drink alcohol at 21 in the US.
I would put UCL at the level of UMich/NYU/UCLA, but many STEM programs at UW-Seattle and UT-Austin (and well as business and accounting at UT-Austin) would be at that level as well.
Because if you weren’t 21 it’d limit some of the places you could go to.
You’re just doing a study abroad, not getting your degree there, so the degree of prestige of the university doesn’t make any difference, really. You just need to consider:
Personally, I’d pick either Chicago or UT-Austin. Chicago has top-notch academics, though it is high pressure (not as much as Caltech though). UT-Austin is also tops in STEM and has great research, but will have much more of a social scene, and Austin is a great city to spend a year as a student.
Since you want more than just high pressure study, I’d drop Caltech. As for JHU, you really want to spend a year in Baltimore?
If you can afford a car and can drive on the correct side of the road, pick Caltech. A year in Southern California is preferable to a year in Chicago, Baltimore and just about any other city in North America. You can always visit USC or UCLA if you want a large campus experience (football). The beach is close by, as is skiing in the mountains.
If you are stuck without a car, then UT Austin or UChicago.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing, it’s a year abroad so prestige and all that aren’t all that important
But yeah UW, UT and UChicago seem like good bets and by the sounds of things Baltimore seems like a dead place to stay for a year
And about the car, i was thinking the same thing - I’m pretty experienced at drving so yeah driving on the right shouldn’t be a problem
Thank youu
Prestige should not matter much, but the experience should, and the experience at a mid-sized private Ivy-equivalent that draws from all over like UChicago/JHU (or tiny Caltech) would be pretty different from that at a giant public with mostly in-state students and big time sports like UT-Austin and UW-Seattle.
For what it’s worth, UW and UT are not in the same academic category as JHU, Cal Tech or Chicago. As in, not remotely close. They are altogether different academic environments. The undergradute selectivity of UW and UT in each case is not in the same league as the others.
You really are looking at apples and oranges.
I’ll let someone else comment on Toronto.
This is a semester abroad and you are coming from dreary England. So long as you can afford a beater car, living in Pasadena and spending your time in the Los Angeles area for a semester would be pretty nice. Weather in California is as good as it gets. Chicago is comparatively a cold, hot, humid hell hole. Its murder rate is historic and its weather is horrible. It is also hard to get around without a care. The Baltimore area, I don’t know. Nobody writes songs about Baltimore. All are at the very top academically so why not enjoy the experience? Outside of education, if you asked the average American would you like to spend 6 months in LA, Chicago, or Baltimore the answer would be simple.
You would be miserably hot most of the year in Austin, TX. Seattle has the climate most similar to England.
Austin is not Houston. The weather in Austin is actually very pleasant most of the year - just gets very hot in the summer (but so can SoCal).
It’s true that LA has the best weather, and if you want to be around some of the smartest STEM students in the US, look no further than Caltech. But while LA has some nice places like Santa Monica, plus you could go to USC or UCLA campuses for a social life, but bear in mind you have to fight your way down the 110 or the 405 to get there. When it comes to college students, Austin is a much better city than LA (if you’re out in Pasadena). And while the student body on average at UT-A won’t be of the same caliber of CalTech, the quality of education and instruction is still very high. It depends on what you want to get most out of your study abroad time.
I really like Baltimore, particularly the Hopkins area, Camden Yards, Little Italy, Harbour Place, etc. I think that The Wire has given it a bit of a bad rap. Most of the older East Coast cities have bad areas that are best to avoid at night. However, if I was the OP, I would probably go to CalTech.
@MiddleburyDad2, depends on what you consider “academic category”. Their faculty would be in the same league and when it comes to undergrads, on average, yes, they are not, though it’s harder to say when it comes to various STEM fields. I certainly expect the top students in STEM fields at UT-Austin and UW-Seattle to match up well with anyone.
In any case, it all depends on what the OP wants to experience in a study abroad year. As I had mentioned, UChicago & JHU would give him the elite Ivy-equivalent private experience. The 2 state schools would give him the (more typical) giant state school big-time sports experience.
^ The top students in every field at UT-Austin and UW-Seattle (and similar flagships) match up well with anyone.
Thank you all for your help/advice
It’s like everytime I decide, somebody always says something which sways my decision
And it’s for the whole year, not just a semester, so I don’t want to get bored etc
UW Seattle was my first choice but now somebody said that the acedmics there aren’t so great, well not as great as Caltech and JHU
But the social life seems pretty dead there tbh, and yeah the general consensus is that Baltimore is pretty boring
I got a 4.0 gpa if I convert to the American system, so I want an academic challenge