<p>I wanna do a quarter abroad at a place like Imperial College London or National University of Singapore, but since they are among the best and the toughest schools in the world, will it be difficult to do well there and earn a good GPA?
I wanna go abroad but I still wanna go to grad school.</p>
<p>1st, why do you want to go to the hard schools? You know it doesn’t really matter where you go, studying abroad looks good no matter what. It will probably be better to go to a less prestigious place and get a good gpa, and still have a good time and explore the world. 2nd, it most likely will be difficult to get a good grade. Going abroad is about the experience of going to a different country. Hopefully this wasn’t harsh but it’ll look much better to a grad school admissions board (I assume, obviously) that you went and explored a culture, instead of just worried about gpa and studied like you will in America. Good luck!</p>
<p>My understanding is that when you study at a places like those, you get the credits but they don’t factor into your UC GPA. Just like for a transfer student there GPA at their previous school doesn’t factor into their UC GPA.</p>
<p>True, but it will show up on your transcript for grad schools. They’ll see it, and a big discrepancy in gpa (because you partied and got drunk in London knowing it wont factor into your gpa–not that I’m saying you will, but it happens!) is going to look bad! If you want to go the research/prestige route, try just as hard as you do here. </p>
<p>I’m going to study abroad, and this is stuff I have been told from the counselors there.</p>
<p>Nah dudes, the only reason studying abroad appeals to anyone is experiencing something new! A new country, a new culture, new people, and new places. For no reason should you travel to a foreign country to do the SAME thing you’re doing in the US… studying your ass off to get a good GPA. Yes, go to party in London, have some good times, get some credit, and have it look good on your transcript. No, don’t pay extra money to live in a different country just to hit the books 24/7…</p>