transferring out of oxford UK

Transfer Students
1

<p>(this is not the person that just posted about tisch... but her boyfriend... she likes this site, thought i'd give it a try) </p>

<p>I'm a fresher at New College Oxford, majoring in French and Philosophy (looking to drop the French most likely if I get to the states) We dont really get grades here, we get evaluations and the test scores wouldn't even be out by the time I've (hopefully) been accepted to a US school. So far I've been given Excellent in Philsophy and Very Good in French. </p>

<p>Stats:
12 GCSE's with 8 A* and 4 A's
4 A Levels all with 4 A's </p>

<p>Took a gap year, did archaeology work in germany, then went to the States to study at a competitive boarding school with a scholarship program called the English Speaking Union, graduated cum laude from there, then I went and travelled throughout china teaching chinese for about two months. Worked in Inner Mongolia at an orphanage for two months. </p>

<p>Im looking to do Philosophy and either Chinese or Arabic (both of which I have academic experience in)</p>

<p>I'm thinking:
Harvard
Yale
Columbia
Stanford
Upenn </p>

<p>I'm also conscientious about financial aid, which I know is need blind for international students only at Harvard and Yale.</p>

<p>Also if anyone knows anything about scholarships that I could apply for to study in the US, that information would be really helpful. </p>

<p>But for the most part those are the schools I'm interested. Is there anywhere else I should think about? </p>

<p>Also, I'm sitting the SAT's because I have to. I'm 20, how important is SAT level math (i'm fine with reading and writing)... I've been working on it, but I haven't done this stuff since GCSE (and I did ace it at some point...) I know the idea is to aim high, but come on... I mean right now I'm taking exams and heavy work for Oxford and I don't have much time to take to study 10th grade math. </p>

<p>alright, thanks!</p>

2

<p>Well,I know that your not allowed to transfer into Oxford.I think that my dad transfered out to a college in the US.I would recommend you e-mail the colleges you want.Also you could talk to te study abroad department to see what colleges oxford corresponds with.</p>

3

<p>bumpity bump</p>

4

<p>Sorry dude but it's very unlikely that anyone here has sufficient experience with transferring from a school from Oxford. The few internationals we have on here usually are already in the US and have been going to a CC or something. Given that the vast majority on here are US citizens it's unlikely that many even know what GCSE's even are(I only know the name).</p>

<p>My only advice is that your list of schools looks like you're only applying to the most prestigious ones you've heard of; if I'm off base then my apologies. Your reason for transferring is going to be one of the most important issues in your application, is there any reason you are applying to the top 5(arguably) US schools other than you just want to go to a prestigious American university?</p>

<p>Try checking out other slightly less prestigious but top-notch schools like UChicago--which I know I've read somewhere regularly accepts students from the UK. Find out as much as you can about each school so you can write in your essay what you expect to get there that you can't get at Oxford.</p>

<p>Also: contacting the schools individually would yield better results than what you would likely find on here.</p>

5

<p>Also, transferring internationally is exceedingly difficult. Harvard, etc. needs a basis for comparison, and English colleges are vastly different from American ones. They look for an "American style college" system, and like stoneimmaculate says, your reasons for transfer are VERY important. By the way, your list of schools is exactly the same as mine, haha.</p>

6

<p>Harvard and Yale only accept like 3% of transfer students a year. So even as you may be qualified, it'll be hard to get in.</p>

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<p>Why do you want to transfer from Ox? Is your degree Philosophy and French or Philosophy with French? If it's the former, don't you do a language year abroad in France or a French speaking country- does your college allow you to go to Montreal? That way you may be able to sample the North American tertiary education waters without incurring to great an expense. Aid is tremendously hard to get regardless. Also, aid may well be loans or substantially loan based. If it's your girlfriend you want to be with, Ox only has 8 week terms after all. Sorry if this last is personal.
As to the SAT, it's insulting for somone of your intellectual calibre, not to speak of your degree subject, to be having to revise GCSE maths...</p>

8

<p>I agree that the reason is a key part in your application. I'm curious why you want to transfer out of oxford when it is possibly the best school for those majors you listed? If you want to go to the states, I would highly recommend looking at schools that would be a good fit for you, not because of prestige.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

9

<p>hmm i guess its hard to explain
for one, not many schools offer international financial aid, its really only harvard and yale that are need blind.
also, financing an education in the UK is a lot cheaper than the states, and it will be very very very hard to explain to parents who are footing the bill why they should pay (assuming i get in) whatever financial aid is given. basically to convince my folks for me to go, I have to aim for the Ivies or its a no anyway.</p>

<p>I mainly want to do philosophy but at oxford you can't do philosophy straight and i'm feeling kinda stuck in a major thats basically 50-75% french and the rest philosophy. I had no clue at the time of applying this would be the case. </p>

<p>and my recommendations from teachers as to where had the strongest philosophy programs gave me basically harvard and yale... uchicago's great too, but no financial aid for internationals...</p>

<p>well. its fine. i just was shooting in the dark to see if anyone had any experience. really oxford is great, I can't complain about it as a school. plus 8 week term, 6 week breaks, anyone can bear that. I just know that I'll be happier in the states, (and there are personal reasons in this i suppose), then the UK. hopefully the essay will show that.</p>

10

<p>Yeah, I think if you can convey your reasons for wanting to transfer--and they are real and significant--you have a good shot.</p>

<p>Worst case scenario is you have to finish up your bachelors at Oxford which is equal to(if not better) than Harvard or Yale. </p>

<p>good luck mate</p>

11

<p>Never thought I'd see someone want to transfer out of Oxford. Then again people transfer out of Harvard. Sorry I don't have any specific advice, but I'd say coming from a school like that you would probably be one of the first choices for acceptance.</p>

12

<p>Rice also gives financial aid to internationals. It's close in level to the Ivies.</p>

<p>Princeton Reviews rates selectivity of all schools and rates Rice as a 98--here are the Ivy ratings:</p>

<p>Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford (not an Ivy, but on your list)--99
Dartmouth, Columbia, Penn, Brown--98
Cornell--97</p>

<p>Also, consider Washington University at St. Louis, which ranks as a 99--but I don't know if they give aid to internationals--they might since they give good aid to US students.</p>

<p>P.S. I'm sure that Oxford would be ranked either a 99 or a 100. Other than Cambridge, I'm not familiar with any other colleges on the same level. (MIT, Franklin Olin, Caltech, and Coopers Union come to mind--but these are all primarily scientific colleges similiar to Imperial College in the UK).</p>

13

<p>
[QUOTE]
I mainly want to do philosophy but at oxford you can't do philosophy straight and i'm feeling kinda stuck in a major thats basically 50-75% french and the rest philosophy. I had no clue at the time of applying this would be the case.

[/QUOTE]

You know that at a US college you would have general requirements to take? You wouldn't be able to just do philosophy alone (though perhaps you just don't want to do French, and are not bothered about taking other subjects?).</p>

14

<p>yep.
I completely understand that... and kinda want it, I want the "liberal arts education" but too bad the LAC don't offer financial aid for transfers...
again... </p>

<p>I made a decision to apply to oxbridge when I was much different person (almost... 4 years ago) and I didn't give almost any thought as to what I wanted from a school. transferring within the UK to a different college isn't as easy, or rather common or accepted, as a US student deciding to transfer to another US school, so theres a pressure to look abroad because what I want to do (switch majors, maybe take some classes outside of it) isn't how its done here. </p>

<p>thanks for all these comments! all of this is really helpful, i think the questions that are being raised are ones that any college counselor will have in reviewing my application, and this is all stuff i have to keep in mind and make sure to address in some way</p>

15

<p>reed, grinnel, bard are 3 LACs that i know that give aid to internationals</p>

16

<p>ooo thanks i'll give a look!</p>

17

<p>OP, why don't you want to go to another UK university to study just Philosophy? I know you've said that transferring isn't very common in the UK (which I definitely agree with), but as you know, most Philo degrees in the UK will only be 3 years long anyway. You're on a 4-year course now, so as a fresher, if you just re-apply for somewhere else for September entry, you would end up finishing at the same time anyway. </p>

<p>I don't really understand why you want to transfer, to be honest. You say that the problem with Ox is that they won't let you study straight Philo, but then you also say that you want to study liberal arts. That doesn't make sense - either you want straight Philo, or you don't. </p>

<p>It seems like what you're actually saying is that you don't want to study French anymore. If I were you, I would go and talk to your tutor about what you dislike, and why. If you have their support in re-applying to another university, it may be easier.</p>