Single mom from US looking for schools in UK!!!!

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>I am currently taking courses at my local community college in the US, and I currently have 53 units with a 3.72 GPA. I would love to transfer to a school in England or Scotland. I am very interested in University of Edinburgh, but I was wondering if all you wonderful people could give me some other recommendations! I understand a lot of my units may not transfer to UK schools, however, I was wondering what schools I would have a chance getting into with a 3.72 GPA. I do have a 6 year old daughter which means I also need to keep her in mind :) I am looking for a city that has good elementary schools, isn't extremely expensive, has a city life but also has outdoor activities (very important), and a city that has lots of culture (also important). I have been doing my own research, but it is always great to hear other peoples opinions!!! Anyway, shout out some good schools for me :)</p>

<p>One more question... out of all of the colleges I have researched there doesn't seem to be too much information regarding transferring from a US community college to a school in the UK. It seems like most people go to college right after HS, however, I had a horrible GPA in HS and even worse SAT scores! If you have any information regarding transferring that would be awesome. </p>

<p>THANK YOU!!!!!!</p>

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<p>You can’t transfer to an English university. The practice simply doesn’t exist here. Scotland has four year degrees instead of three like in England, so you might be able to skip the first year and enroll directly into year 2 (email universities and ask). I don’t know what your credits mean, are they equal to the first year of college?</p>

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<p>I have emailed six universities so far. I am hoping they will accept me with what classes I have so far… even if I have to start over in the UK. I just want to get into a college :slight_smile: All of this is so confusing, and I am hoping the universities will clear this up for me!</p>

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<p>There are a couple of underlying differences in the systems that you might not be aware of. For undergraduate admissions UK unis do not look at GPA- just standardized test scores, rec and personal statement. And you study one subject (course) <em>only</em>. You haven’t mentioned what you want to study, but you should look at the course pages carefully at whatever unis you are interested - there is typically not a lot of flexibilty (though there are choices within the subject area). </p>

<p>There are some unis that can cope with community college work, and it is possible that if the classes you have taken line up with their syllabus you could go into year 2. Most courses at the Universuty of Manchester, for example, are three years, and the classes march up there is the possibility that you could go straight into Year 2, and finish in just 2 years. See here: </p>

<p>[Information</a> for students from USA - entry requirements | The University of Manchester](<a href=“| Information for students from the US | The University of Manchester”>Entry requirements | Information for students from the US | The University of Manchester)</p>

<p>However, not to be negative, I would suggest assuming that they will use your community college credits in lieu of secondary school marks, and that you will have to start at the beginning. </p>

<p>Not to be presumptuous either, but you haven’t mentioned finances. Be aware that (unless you are an EU national) you will have to show that you have enough money in the bank to cover your expenses for the year to get your visa, and that UK unis get paid for the year in one lump sum at the beginning of the year (actually, I don’t know if that is true for all of them, but that’s how it is at the ones I am familiar with). I’m sure you’ve worked out the tuitions, and I hope you’ve done some cost of living estimates, but be aware that it varies a lot by region. See here: </p>

<p>[Plymouth</a> tops league table of cheapest university cities | Education | theguardian.com](<a href=“http://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/aug/04/students.studentfinance]Plymouth”>Plymouth tops league table of cheapest university cities | Students | The Guardian)</p>

<p>[Students</a>? city guide to cheapest housing ? and beer ? lists Durham as top destination - This Britain - UK - The Independent](<a href=“Students’ city guide to cheapest housing – and beer – lists Durham as top destination | The Independent | The Independent”>Students’ city guide to cheapest housing – and beer – lists Durham as top destination | The Independent | The Independent)</p>

<p>Bear in mind that students in the UK do not expect US-level housing, so the housing costs they list are pretty low-end. On the positive side, the public (national) primary schools tend to be pretty good, so except for uniforms and books, school costs shouldn’t be a concern!</p>

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<p>Thank you for all your information! First of all I am aware of the cost of living as well as having a large amount of money in my account when it comes to a visa :slight_smile: I have done hours upon hours of research, but I am finding some information harder to find! I do have one questions for you. I am currently starting my application, but if I am not sending them my High School Transcripts and they don’t look at my college GPA… how will they know I am a good student? Do community college students need to take a test before being admitted into a UK school? I am pretty confused about this.</p>

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<p>There is no test for community college students- and many of the individuals you will deal with will not even know what a CC is, or how it fits into the educational process- they don’t exist in the UK. You are going to be a relatively unusual for most of the universities, which means you helping them through the process, not vice-versa.</p>

<p>Guessing that you are over 21 (presuming again- apologies) you are technically a ‘mature student’ in UK terms, and there is a lot of information available in those sections which might be helpful- ‘mature’ students often have atypical applications. You can start here: [How</a> to Apply To University As A Mature Student | UCAS | Going to Uni As a Mature Student](<a href=“http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/mature-students/applying-university-or-college]How”>http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/mature-students/applying-university-or-college) There is a search tool which might help you find unis that are better prepared to work with non-traditional qualifications.</p>

<p>I will say that in our experience the people in the universities are lovely but they are really not used to hand-holding at any stage of the process, and they typically run very very lean operations (which is fair enough if you consider that the vast majority of the people they deal with come from the UK academic system). If you can get a person on the phone that is probably the best way to get information for an unusual situation. </p>

<p>As to what you can send, it is your college courses and marks that they will have to use (as they do with graduate students). On the UCAS form there is a place for university level classes that you have taken, which is where you will put your CC classes. Do you know what course you want to do, and do you have relevant courses on your CC transcript? That will help a lot: for many courses in the UK students are required to have taken specific courses in secondary school- again, check out the requirements for the course you are applying to. It is both to be sure you have the underlying knowledge necessary and that you know enough about the subject to know that you are really interested in it - and able for it.</p>

<p>Also, gather information on your CC, particularly accreditation. If your state has an automatic entry to the state university for AA graduates with a given average, make sure that is clear. For example, UMd and UVa both accept an AA from an instate CC as equivalent to the first 2 years of undergrad and guarantee acceptance if you have a B average. What that says to a UK uni is that it is university level work that you have done.</p>

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<p>also, sorry for using courses to mean both the subject and the specific classes within the course as if they were synonymous!</p>

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<p>THANK YOU so much for all of your useful info!!! I have learned a lot! Do you know anything about the following colleges: Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Durham, Manchester, and Bristols?? I have done research but you are so helpful I thought I would ask. I would love to find a college that has a city but also has outdoor activities. Thank you again for all your help… it means a lot!!! :)</p>

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<p>When it comes up, you might find this useful . . .</p>

<p>My family are all American citizens, but we often lived in the UK. When it was time for us kids to start primary (elementary) school in the UK, my mother didn’t follow any proper procedures, didn’t fill out any paperwork, anything like that. She just put us in acceptable clothes (remember almost all British children’s schools have school uniforms), and walked us to the school, and asked to see the headmaster. Then just explained “these are my kids, we are from the U.S. but because of my husband’s job we are living in the UK this year, our UK home is just around the corner, yadda yadda yadda.” It always worked, the school could see we were real people and not horrible kids or something.</p>

<p>I heard of other families who would contact the “school authority” or the “board of governors” or whatever, and they couldn’t get permission to let their kids go to school. But my mom’s method always worked.</p>

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<p>Durham is much smaller than the other cities you have listed (it’s really tiny in fact. This is where I did A-levels because I went to high school in the UK for two years) and the university is ancient and Oxbridge-like (made up of a group of smaller colleges). The other places you have selected are much bigger with more modern universities.</p>

<p>You really need to decide on the subject (course) you wish to apply for before you choose a university though. How good a particular course is is a lot more important for most students than the strength of the uni as a whole. </p>

<p>I don’t think you need to worry about being close to outdoor activities. The UK is not that big. Even if you lived in central London you could be in the countryside (or beach. Nowhere is more than 70 miles from the sea) in less than an hour. The question is will you want to when it is freezing, raining and dark by 4pm? That’s what it is like November till February. </p>

<p>Regarding accommodation, some UK unis do have family accommodation (I went to Cambridge and they definitely do) which will be houses or flats rather than halls (dorms). The problem is they may not give you much info on this before you are accepted. </p>

<p>Most UK students live in privately rented accommodation after their first year. It is not culturally acceptable to share a bedroom with a stranger so no room mates (that students share rooms in the US horrifys people in the UK). Most unis have some kind of housing office who will help you find suitable accommodation.</p>

<p>You will definitely need to explain what a CC is. Some high schools in the UK are called X-Community College so they might think it is a high school. For some courses mature students may be required to take a one year access course before they begin as well. Depends on the uni and course.</p>

<p>Goodluck</p>

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<p>Durham is a top-tier uni (just behind the likes of Oxford/Cambridge), and a lovely small town. Edinburgh is a great uni in a great college town/city. Bristol and Manchester are strong unis, but I don’t know enough about what they are like to live in to give advice, and I don’t know anything at all about Aberdeen. You might check out this guide: [Search</a> & explore universities & colleges - Which? University](<a href=“http://university.which.co.uk/search/institution]Search”>Search & explore universities & colleges - The Uni Guide). Also, the people at the student room, a UK website are very helpful, though most are (unsurprisingly) very young and have different selection criteria than you.</p>

<p>You have referenced outdoor activities a couple of times, but it really matters what you mean by that- can you say more? Most UK cities are pretty compact, and you can be in the countryside pretty quickly, but what’s there when you get there varies.</p>

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<p>Thank you for that website! It is really helpful.</p>

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<p>As you are interested in primary(elementary) schools also you may wish to look at the Ofsted site for inspection reports on schools in areas of interest. Many local authority British schools are VC (Voluntary Controlled) and affiliated to the Church of England. In practice it means that parents have a choice over religious education, and that the school will accept any child from its catchment area. Voluntary Aided (VA) schools, I think, set their own admission criteria, are fewer, and tend to be affiliated to other denominations or religions. Of course, the majority are local authority community schools which also usually have catchment areas.</p>

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<p>(In other words, some of the free, government funded schools (what we would call in the USA “public” schools, but in England that word has a different meaning) have religious affiliations. Because the UK doesn’t have the same separation of church and state as the USA does. Church of England is basically the same as Episcopalian.)</p>

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<p>US public school = UK state school which the government pays for (the “state” being the government. The word “state” is used a lot in this context. Commonly the “nanny state”).</p>

<p>UK public school = a particular type of private school that educates less than 1% of the population and costs about £20,000 a year at least. You are unlikely to have to worry about them.</p>

<p>US private school = same as UK private school. You pay for it.</p>

<p>Contrary to popular belief, hardly anyone in UK attends any type of private school. It’s something like 5%.</p>

<p>The word “school” means an educational establishment for children. Universities are not referred to as schools. When American adults tell British people they are in school, British people think they must be in some kind of remedial class or maybe high school lasts till age 25 or something.</p>

<p>For a six year old you are looking for a primary school, as someone mentioned above. This is ages 4/5-11. In some areas this is split into two schools called infants and juniors (note the words freshman, sophomore, junior and senior as used in the context of US education have no meaning in the UK, and if anyone does understand them their concept of this will be based on movies like Legally Blonde or Clueless. Actually that is what most people outside the US base their entire knowledge of the US educational system on!).</p>

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<p>Sorry I meant to say you don’t need to worry about UK public schools unless you have had your child on a waiting list since birth. As I understand it, that is the way most of them operate.</p>

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<p>Since the phrase “public school” has such hugely different meanings in the USA and UK, I think it might be easier if we just stopped using it.</p>

<p>Anyway, if you have enough money you can probably get into even one of the most prestigious private boarding schools, even without having been on a waiting list.</p>