<p>I've just been looking into colleges as a HS student currently (that way I have a while to find one!) but the UK system is a tad confusing for me and my guidance counselor wasn't much help. For the record I'm a US student who would want to do 4 years somewhere- I understand why people transfer but I'd like to find one I really want. I'd also be going into the history of English and arts wherever I go.(:</p>
<p>1.) Colleges? I understand this is an odd and stupid question but on sites like oxford they have colleges listed. I know in other countries like Australia, where one of my friends is at, thats what High school is called- Is that the same? Or is it a branch of the university that you can attend at 18?</p>
<p>2.) St. Andrews- Any opinions? I'm interested in UK universities because of the cultural experiences. I want something different. Are Americans grouped together usually? By that I mean is it usually very mixed from wherever you are or is it like "those are the Americans." type of thing? I really don't want that, I'd rather be friends with locals and people who I plan on spending 4 years with- not just one year abroad students. Is the study of art fairly diverse? I've read international relations are the worse for diversity.</p>
<p>3.) I've read you love or hate it like there is no in between for UK universities. Some say it was hands down the best experiences of their life, others say fresh year is bad, and others just say its expensive and isolating. Is that correct? Also how job opportunities? UCAS I think it was that listed students employed and most were low.</p>
<p>Whats the overall application process like?
for example US its mostly taken care of by the school I go to- they pull strings for people. UK uni I'd be on my own. </p>
<p>Is getting a Visa hard?</p>
<p>--Sorry for all the questions. I made a list I want to find out before seriously applying and I was just getting frustrated looking for hours. If you can answer ANY of them that would be great!
Thanks!</p>
<p>My son just graduated from University College London with a B.A. in History and will matriculate at Cambridge this year to study for his M.Phil in Classics. My own experience at Trinity College Dublin is too far in the past, so I’ll base my comments on his experience.</p>
<p>The most important thing to understand is that you have to be certain of what you want to study before applying to a British university, especially one in England. Your degree program is specialized from the start. That is one reason that many degree programs in England take only three years. This can save a lot of money in tuition but doesn’t give a student flexibility to change ‘majors’.</p>
<p>Scottish degree programs are four-year programs, and the first year may include more general courses.</p>
<p>The universities of Oxford and Cambridge are composed of many individual colleges, some quite ancient. Candidates for admission apply to a specific college as well as the university.</p>
<p>St Andrew’s is quite popular among students from America and England, who together, I believe, outnumber the Scottish students. I know several American students who are very happy there.</p>
<p>To begin your search you should visit the UCAS website as well as looking at the Guardian and the Times higher education sections. Actually, I’d recommend that you read the Wikipedia articles about any of the UK universities as a place to start.</p>
<p>Thanks! I understand Majors are called courses there I believe, anyways thats one thing that I really liked with the system. I know what I’d like to do. I’ve looked at wikipedia and UCAS and both helped. I guess I’ll just keep looking.</p>
<p>If you want to do four years, then you’re looking at uni in Scotland unless you do a modern language course in England - these typically include one year abroad, bumping the standard three-year course up to four… Studentroom is a great resource but your best bet is understanding UCAS backwards and forwards, plus the websites of the unis that interest you - and emailing the relevant Admissions Officers directly with your questions.</p>
<p>Science and Maths courses in the UK are also either 3 or 4 years. In general you apply for 4 years, the 4th year is considerably harder so if you’re struggling you can opt to then switch to a 3 year degree. Modern languages are also 4 years with one year usually spent in the country that your language is spoken often teaching English. Most other degrees are 3 years in England, although Scotland I believe does offer 4 year degrees which are more similar to the US system.</p>
<p>A degree in the UK is much more focused. This can either be a blessing or a curse depending on the individual. If you are committed to a particular subject this is great and you will leave at a more advanced level. If you may wish to switch your major or cover a broad range of subjects this is a disadvantage.
Also there’s generally much less choice within a particular subject area of which particular courses you should take. I took physics for example and there was no choice in which classes I took until the 4th year of my degree.</p>
<p>Oxbridge is fairly unique so you might want to consider this separately. You are accepted to a particular college. You live in that college, each college has it’s own dining hall (generally students eat here at set times every night), library, entertainment committee, common room and bar. You go to university wide lectures but “tutorials” (a one hour class with one professor teaching two students at a time) are given within college. For me this system works really well because you have the advantage of a smaller intimate community with all the benefits of a large university. People tend to make most of their friends, at least initially within college.</p>
<p>Freshers week at most universities is quite alcohol heavy. Not everyone drinks themselves into oblivion, but certainly the loudest most noticeable people will be drinking a lot. You can certainly get by without drinking in the UK but a lot of socializing happens at the pub drinking alcohol isn’t at all compulsory there but if you were uncomfortable around alcohol it would probably be a hurdle socially.</p>
<p>Usually when you first come to university you’re housed in “halls”. These are single rooms all occupied by first year students. You can usually choose between catered or self catered. If you choose catered you won’t have your own kitchen but will eat at a dining hall close to your accommodation. Self catered usually consists of “flats” of 6 or so single bedrooms sharing a kitchen and communal space. In my experience Catered accommodation is more conducive to meeting more people, with less danger of mainly socializing only with people within your flat.</p>
<p>The UCAS system you will have to look into more closely your self but basically it is a centralized system, you make one application to all the UK universities you wish to apply to. You can only apply to Oxford or Cambridge (not both) and this require a separate application form in addition to the UCAS form which you can obtain from the admissions department. The UCAS form basically consists of an automatic form where you list your grades, write a personal statement (or essay) and have a teacher write a recommendation. When writing your personal statement remember you’re applying to a particular subject so it’s best to concentrate mainly on why you’re interested in that subject (specifying particular interests and any extra reading or research you’ve done). Try to back up as much as possible any statements you make (e.g. to illustrate a genuine interest in a subject you may say you’ve attended a lecture outside of school or read widely around a particular topic) and list any achievements beyond school grades.</p>
<p>If you apply to Oxbridge and you meet their entry requirements (these are listed on the website for international applicants) you will be invited first to take an exam (some subjects don’t have exams). This can be done at your school and sent off. These exams are then graded and the top 500 or so candidates (this varies depending on how many places are available) in each subject are invited for interview. You can have the interview over Skype or come in person (accommodation and board is provided). There will usually be 2 interviews at your first choice college and a further interview at one other college. The interviews concentrate on how you think, process information and form an argument rather than what you know. After this process it usually takes a week or two to either be accepted or not.</p>
<p>Science and Maths courses in the UK are also either 3 or 4 years. In general you apply for 4 years, the 4th year is considerably harder so if you’re struggling you can opt to then switch to a 3 year degree. Modern languages are also 4 years with one year usually spent in the country that your language is spoken often teaching English. Most other degrees are 3 years in England, although Scotland I believe does offer 4 year degrees which are more similar to the US system.</p>
<p>A degree in the UK is much more focused. This can either be a blessing or a curse depending on the individual. If you are committed to a particular subject this is great and you will leave at a more advanced level. If you may wish to switch your major or cover a broad range of subjects this is a disadvantage.
Also there’s generally much less choice within a particular subject area of which particular courses you should take. I took physics for example and there was no choice in which classes I took until the 4th year of my degree.</p>
<p>Oxbridge is fairly unique so you might want to consider this separately. You are accepted to a particular college. You live in that college, each college has it’s own dining hall (generally students eat here at set times every night), library, entertainment committee, common room and bar. You go to university wide lectures but “tutorials” (a one hour class with one professor teaching two students at a time) are given within college. For me this system works really well because you have the advantage of a smaller intimate community with all the benefits of a large university. People tend to make most of their friends, at least initially within college.</p>
<p>Freshers week at most universities is quite alcohol heavy. Not everyone drinks themselves into oblivion, but certainly the loudest most noticeable people will be drinking a lot. You can certainly get by without drinking in the UK but a lot of socializing happens at the pub drinking alcohol isn’t at all compulsory there but if you were uncomfortable around alcohol it would probably be a hurdle socially.</p>
<p>Usually when you first come to university you’re housed in “halls”. These are single rooms all occupied by first year students. You can usually choose between catered or self catered. If you choose catered you won’t have your own kitchen but will eat at a dining hall close to your accommodation. Self catered usually consists of “flats” of 6 or so single bedrooms sharing a kitchen and communal space. In my experience Catered accommodation is more conducive to meeting more people, with less danger of mainly socializing only with people within your flat.</p>
<p>The UCAS system you will have to look into more closely your self but basically it is a centralized system, you make one application to all the UK universities you wish to apply to. You can only apply to Oxford or Cambridge (not both) and this require a separate application form in addition to the UCAS form which you can obtain from the admissions department. The UCAS form basically consists of an automatic form where you list your grades, write a personal statement (or essay) and have a teacher write a recommendation. When writing your personal statement remember you’re applying to a particular subject so it’s best to concentrate mainly on why you’re interested in that subject (specifying particular interests and any extra reading or research you’ve done). Try to back up as much as possible any statements you make (e.g. to illustrate a genuine interest in a subject you may say you’ve attended a lecture outside of school or read widely around a particular topic) and list any achievements beyond school grades.</p>
<p>If you apply to Oxbridge and you meet their entry requirements (these are listed on the website for international applicants) you will be invited first to take an exam (some subjects don’t have exams). This can be done at your school and sent off. These exams are then graded and the top 500 or so candidates (this varies depending on how many places are available) in each subject are invited for interview. You can have the interview over Skype or come in person (accommodation and board is provided). There will usually be 2 interviews at your first choice college and a further interview at one other college. The interviews concentrate on how you think, process information and form an argument rather than what you know. After this process it usually takes a week or two to either be accepted or not.</p>
<p>Thanks! I’m going through the huge st. andrews thread on student room but my attention span gets the best of me since its several hundred pages I believe ( I just got out of it to come here.)</p>
<p>@samuck- Will do, Just found out I’m getting a new counselor for school. I think I’ll email her, see what she says, then directly email UCAS. @alwaysinawe- Really? I was always under the impression that you could apply to both oxford and cambridge. Shoot. Thanks for the longggg post- Its helpful! I’m looking at Art History as my “course” right now but I’d also be interested in an english class. From what I’ve read thats 4 years. Thanks for the link! I think I know what it is but I’ll check it out.</p>
<p>You can’t apply to both Oxford and Cambridge for undergraduate in the same year. There is an exception for organ scholars. However, I’ve never known anyone who plays the organ so I can’t tell you how that works.</p>