Hello all I am an international student from the United Kingdom, we have very small guidance on which US universities to apply to, so here it is. I really want to study computer science in a top US universities(for comp sci) and funding is not an issue.
My grades (Like GPA) -
GCSEs: 5A, 3A and 2B
A levels: something like A/A/C
My SAT score: 1420 (770 Maths and 650 English no essay), and other attempt 1360 with 6/6/6 essay
Activities: “Varisity” Rugby player for 3 years now.
Student council president
Lots of volunteering eg charity work/fundraising/mentoring/tutoring maths and english to younger kids.
As for essays for the universities, they will be superb as I have a great support network for writing
Why do you want to study in the US?
Have your contacts at Cisco recommended any particular places for you to study here?
How much can you afford to pay?
There are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of respectable US universities that would probably accept you with a 1420, but they would probably be mid-range state and private schools, not “top” schools like MIT, Stanford, or Berkeley. So depending on what you mean by “top US universities” your chances may or may not be good.
If those mid-range schools are acceptable to you, tell us more about your qualifications, what you are looking for in a school, what sort of a town and climate you want, and, most importantly, how much you can afford to pay, and we can suggest some names.
@happymomof1 I want to study in the US because it is easier to find a job in there once you are already in the education system I heard, and the US looks like an amazing place to live. No the Cisco workers have not, but one guy at another work experience (engineering for first Doha metro) told me to look at University of Arizona. I can afford to pay around 200k dollars for the whole 4 year experience of college. Thanks
@Scipio To be completely honest with you these climate and town things do not really bother me and I am very open to any university, however I do like a quite relaxed environment, where people are open to talk (not like London…). My main concern is to find a university which will have many connections with the tech sector (google, Microsoft, apple, Facebook etc) so I can take these opportunities. For budget I will have around 200k dollars for the whole 4 year college experience. And as for my qualifications my GCSE results put me at around the top 10 of my class, and am currently awaiting my A level results.
Well, a 1420 would be a little low for the the big tech colleges in the Bay Area (Stanford and Berkeley), so maybe an alternative strategy would be to go to some of the other colleges in or near Silicon Valley. They are bound to have many more connections to the companies you are interested in than say a comparable school located 1500 miles away in the South or Midwest. So take a look at colleges like Univ. of Santa Clara and San Jose State. They both have respectable computer science departments and are located right in the heart of Silicon Valley.
I think US schools would be a compromise vs the UK options you might have. The UK higher ed climate has unis desperate to fill places, your stats mean you are not going to get into top US schools IMO. UK schools might give you your degree in 3 yrs or 4 with a masters included? For 12K UK pounds a year. I would take that and run. Apply to work in the US when you are holding a desirable degree. The US is full of brits with degrees and work permits and green cards etc. The good news will be the democrats will be back in power when you finish your degree.
I think you have a decent shot (though no guarantee) at everywhere (besides the schools with super-low admit rates). Including Cal (Berkeley) and a bunch of publics who are top 10 in CS (look at US News CS rankings). Cal also has a top rugby program (for the US).
“Stats” would include A-Levels in his case, and they’re pretty impressive.
However, I also think that if you are 100% sure you want to study CS, undergrad in the UK (you have a shot at Oxbridge and, IMO, are a shoo-in for Imperial and Edinburgh) followed by a masters in the US is a far more economical plan and would work out just as well. In fact, you may be recruited to the US straight from UK undergrad.
Congratulations on your hard work and success! Santa Clara is a good recommendation, though you would need some aid to bring the cost down to $50k per year. It is in Silicon Valley. San Jose State is not generally ranked as a “top” school (say Top 100), though it’s a very good school. It does put a lot of people into tech.
The University of Wisconsin is a top public university with very strong programs in tech/science/math. It looks like full cost for an international student is just over $50k a year for everything right now. It’s large and very cold. Campus is on a nice lake and pretty integrated with Madison, the state capitol.
Other options might be the Universities of Oregon and Washington. Oregon is in Eugene, a terrific college town. UW is in Seattle, just a short light rail trip to downtown. Only a few students are directly admitted into the Comp Sci program; most have to apply for the program after they start studying there. I believe they have recently increased the number of available spots, but admission to the program is competitive. The school itself probably has the most competitive admissions of all the state schools I’ve listed. It might be more expensive too.
One private school we really like is Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). It has a very hands-on, project-oriented approach and has very close ties to New England tech companies. Students make some of the highest starting salaries of any school. Campus is beautiful and in a nice part of the city. It has a large majority of male students (like most science/tech schools). You’d need aid to bring the cost down to $50k. Maybe the University of Rochester too, you’d also need aid there too.
In general, the state “flagships” like Universities of Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Iowa, or Ohio State University and Virginia Tech might be your best bet. All will have strong programs. Maryland is near DC, just inside the Beltway. Nebraska and Iowa are in cities, though the states are rural. Massachusetts is part of a five-college consortium with four smaller LACs, two of them all-female. Cost will generally be around $50k full price (with room and board) for an international student, sometimes a little more. Private universities cost more. They do give more aid, but it’s harder for International students to get it. Good luck!
OP is in no way a shoo in for imp, just as he isn't a likely for an Ivy/UCB/GT in the USA, but the listed US schools here (as above for the flagships) are in no way worth paying full pay for over good UK schools. The UK is begging for students to matriculate, OP could leverage that as next year might be worse than this year. Arizona? full pay international for CS in Arizona? That seems horribly misguided.
What A levels are you taking BTW? Which one is the likely C?
I would second UMass, the state flagship which is great for computer science. Affordable for you at 45.7k and I bet you get a merit scholarship from them. I bet your final cost ends up in the 38 - 40k range. The key to getting merit money is to apply early in October/November.
Maybe UConn also. The New England schools would seem more like home if that’s what you want also. UMass is in a great town, Amherst. And plenty of tech opportunities in the Boston area (Boston is a fun city).
And I would choose RPI over WPI because RPI has a better national reputation though I really love WPI.
Are you thinking computer science, computer engineering, cyber security???
@asmaster24 Also to continue with the Massachusetts theme. Add a Boston university like Northeastern which includes coop opportunities. FYI Boston is the second largest tech hub behind Silicon Valley. https://www.digitalrealty.com/blog/bostons-technology-corridor/ If you think you might stay in Massachusetts, put WPI back on your list.
So for New England/New York - UMass Amherst, RPI, WPI, Northeastern, and maybe UConn. MIT as a long shot possibly.
If you apply to a university with a coop program, make certain to verify that you indeed will be able to participate in coops. Get a list of places where students like you have had their coop experiences. Many companies do not offer coops to international students.
If you are attempting CS, you are studying in an impacted major at many colleges. As an international candidate, you may find an internship, but getting a job, without being a citizen, will be tough. Immigration rules are strict. US companies have to state to the government, that there are no viable US candidates available for an open position. Sponsorship is expensive in time and money. If there is a security concern, as a non-citizen you won’t be able to get a clearance.
Assume you are getting your degree to work in the UK.
@Sybylla: Whoops, I missed that they were GCSE’s, not A-Levels.
Still, while I typically prefer the more hands-on CS curriculum at top American schools for CS (or top American schools in general) over the much more theoretical British CS curriculum, if the OP can get in to a good UK uni, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to pay a ton more for American undergrad, especially since the OP hasn’t stated that a big factor is the much greater flexibility of an American-style curriculum or a small LAC experience or anything about the American undergrad college experience.
And as per Aunt Bea, he is misguided about getting PR/citizenship from just being a student, which seemed to be his motivation for a US school. I wonder about how difficult CS is in the UK as I read it has a very high dropout rate by UK standards. And those A level subjects are the most important factor here.
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