I’m looking into UK universities, my intended major is computer science. Unfortunately I do not have enough 5’s on AP tests to get into Universities such as Oxford or Imperial. Is it still worth looking at other universities? Or would I just be hurting myself in terms of job prospects later?
Where do you want to work? Are you a US citizen? Why are you looking at British Universities?
Check out Heriot-Watt, Manchester, Leeds, Bath, Newcastle, Lancaster, Glasgow, Warwick, Durham (the last 2 pretty hard to get into)
Edinburgh as well (they call it Informatics). Look at entrance criteria. May not be as difficult.
Google is definitely my target job in mind. I am looking into British universities because I am very passionate about travel and thought it would be a good experience.
Is it not a good idea to go to British universities over ones like Stanford and Berkeley in the US?
Very different system. At English unis, you will be studying solely CS for 3 years. At Scottish unis, it would be something like 80-90 percent CS for 4 years and your grade will be mostly determined by how you do on tests at the end of the year at both.
Also no fin aid, though they may be cheaper than full-pay at an American private.
You can also study abroad at American unis.
I don’t see why people who want to work at Google would go to Oxford over Stanford or Berkeley.
‘I am very passionate about travel and thought it would be a good experience.’ A reason, a more convincing one, that some Americans choose to study at a British university is the focus on one subject as opposed to lingering in different classes from different disciplines for four years. Now this difference between the academic systems is very huge, and it would be very important for you to see what is more suitable. Also, note that British universities are not nearly as interested in continuous assessment like American universities are; a lot rests on the final exams you take at the end of the year. Coming from a system that prepared one for this kind of academics, I must say that it isn’t for everyone, especially when one comes from the American system.
You can always choose to study abroad in the UK. There are some excellent study abroad programs, and even getting into Oxford exchange programs is much easier than getting in as an undergraduate.
You can do a gap year abroad after graduating High School (deferring your admission by a year, which most private universities allow). I would advise you study in a country where you speak the language a little but not necessarily an English-speaking country, so that you can add “bilingual” to your list of skills. 
Then you attend college and can return for a one-year abroad as a junior.
If that’s of interest, you could check which universities have year-long study abroad programs in your field. Dickinson does with Aberdeen, St Olaf with Lancaster, Sheffield, and UEast Anglia; not in the UK, but Macalester allows you to study at NTU in Singapore, and I’m sure other universities have partnerships too. Georgia Tech has Gtech-only (in English) and immersion programs in many countries, including France and China, plus exchanges with Sheffield, Strathclyde, Imperial…
Everybody has study-abroad programs everywhere. UIUC runs study centers in Japan and Spain and exchange programs with a ton of UK unis, for instance.
Well, some universities are more specialized in study abroad than others, offer more support than others, and have a “culture of going abroad” that other universities don’t have. St Olaf and Dickinson are especially strong in that area and make sure all majors, including science majors, can easily go, including for a year. So for a student who wants to study abroad, these would be good choices. UIUC is a huge university so it obviously has study centers and exchange programs, but the percentage of science majors who can participate is likely much lower than at universities where that’s a defining characteristics. On the other hand, there are few universities with such excellent programs in CS as UIUC, if OP lives in Illinois or if his/her parents have the financial means to pay full costs there.
@MYOS1634, it’s best not to make assumptions without investigating. I agree that schools differ in how much and what quality of study abroad options are available, but UIUC Engineering even has its own (big) study-abroad program along with university-wide ones and compared to even other large publics, UIUC seems to have one of the most programs and students studying abroad, and I heard that the university encourages all its students to do so (Ag school, Media school, and Business school as well as Engineering all have their own study-abroad programs where students may take classes in their major abroad, for instance).
^ Not an assumption, just a difference in college culture. UIUC, like GTech, does have a great study-abroad program, but there’s a difference between a large public university encouraging students to do so, and a LAC where the explicit mission includes study abroad and which many students choose for that reason, because it is the norm for all students. Fewer than 20% science students study abroad, when about 70% science students at Dickinson do so (according to professional literature). Both numbers are excellent but don’t cover the same reality.
UIUC sends a smaller percentage of a larger number of students, Dickinson sends a higher percentage of its students but the overall student body is smaller, creating an expectation that all will study abroad (it’s not just offered, but required for business majors, for example). Both approaches are fine, and one may appeal to OP more than the other, or both may be appealing. Like in post 8, I agree UIUC would be a great choice for CS (and is determined to study abroad) if the OP lives in Illinois or his/her parents have the means to pay OOS tuition, although I’m not sure CS majors can spend a year in the UK - OP would have to investigate more precisely.
@furiously: what are your stats? where do you live? Can you envision spending a post-graduation year studying in a high school abroad (which would be very different from what you know right now)?
@MYOS1634, yes, but, looking through the study-abroad programs, at UIUC, a CS major could actually take courses in his/her major in a study abroad program in the UK while at Dickinson, they could only take gen ed courses. There’s something to be said for study abroad at a uni where the engineering school specifically organizes study-abroad and has exchange arrangements with a ton of foreign unis.
If you want to spend all your time travelling (and usually doing as little studying as possible) I would advise enroling on a summer program or a study abroad program through a US school. If you direct enrol in a UK uni you won’t be spending all your time travelling. You will actually have to study (and take exams etc).