The Student Room Group

Want to study at US Ivy League but already doing a degree (British student)...

I begin my degree at Sussex university in September this year and I'm really looking forward to it. I didn't apply to any universities outside Sussex and Brighton and sometimes this leaves me wondering "what if..." because I've achieved Distinction in every module of every unit so far.

If I was to study at Sussex and obtain a first (ambitious but intending to work my fingers to the bone over the next three years), what are the chances of being accepted by an Ivy League school in the US afterwards ?

I realise they're pretty much the same level but I'd like to study in a country different to my own. I also won't be able to afford it for a few years and so studying in the meantime seems like the best option. Thoughts ??

Scroll to see replies

Wait. do you want to go to America for grad school or a second bachelors?
Reply 2
Original post by karousel
I begin my degree at Sussex university in September this year and I'm really looking forward to it. I didn't apply to any universities outside Sussex and Brighton and sometimes this leaves me wondering "what if..." because I've achieved Distinction in every module of every unit so far.

If I was to study at Sussex and obtain a first (ambitious but intending to work my fingers to the bone over the next three years), what are the chances of being accepted by an Ivy League school in the US afterwards ?

I realise they're pretty much the same level but I'd like to study in a country different to my own. I also won't be able to afford it for a few years and so studying in the meantime seems like the best option. Thoughts ??


Some Ivies offer 'needs blind admission' for all students including internationals, look up on google which ones (if I remember Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth, maybe Princeton?). So cost shouldn't be a factor if you gained admission to them.

At undergrad level at least Ivies are much more into your extra curricular stuff than their UK equivalent, Oxbridge, as well as stellar academics, so have you got a 'hook'? Something which makes you stand out, whether that be lots of volunteering type stuff (probably the easiest to accrue quickly), sport at a high level, exceptional performing arts (music, drama, dance) ability or something else?

At post grad I'm not so sure, I know it's very expensive but if you get something like a Fulbright you can have a lot of costs covered http://fulbright.state.gov/participating-countries/europe-and-eurasia/united-kingdom.html
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by roh
Some Ivies offer 'needs blind admission' for all students including internationals, look up on google which ones (if I remember Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth, maybe Princeton?). So cost shouldn't be a factor if you gained admission to them.

At undergrad level at least Ivies are much more into your extra curricular stuff than their UK equivalent, Oxbridge, as well as stellar academics, so have you got a 'hook'? Something which makes you stand out, whether that be lots of volunteering type stuff (probably the easiest to accrue quickly), sport at a high level, exceptional performing arts (music, drama, dance) ability or something else?

At post grad I'm not so sure, I know it's very expensive but if you get something like a Fulbright you can have a lot of costs covered http://fulbright.state.gov/participating-countries/europe-and-eurasia/united-kingdom.html

That Fullbright scholarship looks really good! I'm thinking of doing postgrad in the US (though I haven't even started undergrad yet haha) and that could really help :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by swbp
That Fullbright scholarship looks really good! I'm thinking of doing postgrad in the US (though I haven't even started undergrad yet haha) and that could really help :smile:


Aim high :smile:

It seems to get it straight out of uni demands truly staggering academic credentials though, so might be worth doing a year building an orphanage in Nepal or something first :tongue:

Profiles of current scholars, predictably a lot of Oxbridge but a fair few other unis too: http://www.fulbright.co.uk/about/british-participants
Reply 5
Original post by roh
Some Ivies offer 'needs blind admission' for all students including internationals, look up on google which ones (if I remember Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth, maybe Princeton?). So cost shouldn't be a factor if you gained admission to them.

At undergrad level at least Ivies are much more into your extra curricular stuff than their UK equivalent, Oxbridge, as well as stellar academics, so have you got a 'hook'? Something which makes you stand out, whether that be lots of volunteering type stuff (probably the easiest to accrue quickly), sport at a high level, exceptional performing arts (music, drama, dance) ability or something else?

At post grad I'm not so sure, I know it's very expensive but if you get something like a Fulbright you can have a lot of costs covered http://fulbright.state.gov/participating-countries/europe-and-eurasia/united-kingdom.html


I do a lot of volunteer and campaigning work, which is relevant to my area of study - anthropology and international development, as eventually I wish to work in something to do with human rights.

I'm also good at art, graphic design and enjoy participating in sport, though I'm not a member of any official 'groups' relating to these things so that may not be relevant. I did really well in them at school and college but that may not be enough ?

It'd be undergraduate level I'd be aiming for. The Ivy League universities in the US look incredible and appear to be more diverse than the equivalent here. Thank you so much for your help by the way :smile:
Reply 6
Original post by lifeisgood.
Wait. do you want to go to America for grad school or a second bachelors?


I'd like to do a second bachelors :smile:
Original post by karousel
I'd like to do a second bachelors :smile:


Completely pointless. Why would you want a second bachelors?
Reply 8
Original post by karousel
I do a lot of volunteer and campaigning work, which is relevant to my area of study - anthropology and international development, as eventually I wish to work in something to do with human rights.

I'm also good at art, graphic design and enjoy participating in sport, though I'm not a member of any official 'groups' relating to these things so that may not be relevant. I did really well in them at school and college but that may not be enough ?

It'd be undergraduate level I'd be aiming for. The Ivy League universities in the US look incredible and appear to be more diverse than the equivalent here. Thank you so much for your help by the way :smile:


If you were a member of a college team which was reasonably successful it could count for something, though American High School and collegiate sport is on a totally different level to most UK schools and unis barring the likes of Millfield and Loghborough. Not sure what their attitude to art is, can't hurt anyway.

Could you not defer a year to apply America rather than accumulating a load of debt studying in the UK first?

You'd love some of my lecturers then (University of Strasbourg)!

It's not just the Ivies, places like Stanford and Berkley are world class unis too.
Reply 9
Original post by ritchie888
Completely pointless. Why would you want a second bachelors?


Because I enjoy studying and would like to do so in another country. Just because it's not something you would do, doesn't render it pointless...
Reply 10
Original post by karousel
I begin my degree at Sussex university in September this year and I'm really looking forward to it. I didn't apply to any universities outside Sussex and Brighton and sometimes this leaves me wondering "what if..." because I've achieved Distinction in every module of every unit so far.

If I was to study at Sussex and obtain a first (ambitious but intending to work my fingers to the bone over the next three years), what are the chances of being accepted by an Ivy League school in the US afterwards ?

I realise they're pretty much the same level but I'd like to study in a country different to my own. I also won't be able to afford it for a few years and so studying in the meantime seems like the best option. Thoughts ??


Sussex do offer a semester abroad in the USA if you want to take one - i'm starting my BA Geography degree in September and hoping to spend my semester there :smile: They have some really good links too - Pennsylvania (which is an Ivy) as well as some other really academic institutions like UC Berkeley, Georgetown and Washington University at St Louis :smile:
Original post by karousel
Because I enjoy studying and would like to do so in another country. Just because it's not something you would do, doesn't render it pointless...


No. Not at all. No, it's not something I would do, it's not something anyone should do, because it's completely redundant. You wouldn't do another 10 GCSE's or A levels, would you?

Basically, you want to study in America. I get that. But two Bachelors is just plain stupid and no one is going to understand why you did the first bachelors in the first place. Not to mention the financial nightmare it will be to fund it.

By all means, go to the states when you finish your bachelors, just do a post graduate course and don't waste your time. If you're certain on doing a bachelors there then don't go to Sussex and reapply for the states next year.
Original post by ritchie888
Completely pointless. Why would you want a second bachelors?


In general, American universities do not even allow one to apply as a freshman if they already hold a bachelor's degree. In any case, I agree that it would idiotic, unless one has a change of heart and badly wants to do something else and cannot enrol in the corresponding Master's program directly.

Since you'd like to study there, you should check out this website:
www.infousa.state.gov/teaching

Start there and then do your own research on what schools offer financial aid to international students. For the top schools, if your income bracket is less than 60k, your expected family contribution towards tuition, room and board is zero. Some others offering aid to international students, for example, can only cover a fraction of the total cost. Some can also just award tuition scholarships/aid and it is up to the student to pay for room and board. So, look into what schools offer need-based aid to international students and apply to those. Note that application fees are quite expensive.

There are also six colleges - namely: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, MIT and Amherst - which are need-blind for every applicant and capable of offering full-aid to every admitted student. One should note that their chances at these schools, as an international applicant, are very, very low. Not because one is particularly stupid or because one sucks BUT because the odds are against everyone. No one, other than the admissions committee, can evaluate your application and tell you whether you have a higher or lower chance than usual. (except for the obvious part of everybody having a low chance! :P) For all you know, *you* could be the one unique person that one of those schools was looking for and you get in. The odds are that you and some 30000 (Harvard had about that many applicants for the class of 2016) other students won't be though! Remember that these colleges, i.e the ones with lots of money available in the form of international aid, are usually the more selective ones and what they want, more often than not, is to build a community. If you're the kind of person they'd like, awesome things can happen. (for you)

By all means, work hard on your application and apply. You may or may not get in but do give it your best shot.

Good luck.
Original post by ThatPerson
You are thinking of degree's as a means to an end: a job. It seems to me that TC enjoys learning just for learnings' sake. It could be that he is interested in lots of different area's, e.g. say he just got a degree in pure maths, and he decided to pursue a degree in economics or physics because he wanted to learn those subjects.

It's not stupid for wanting to do another degree, I don't see why it's "wasting your time"?


Oh good, another retard.

You know in The Sims where you'd enter a code and you'd get additional cash and you wouldn't have to get a job? Yeah, we don't live in The Sims, we live in the real world.

Let's do some math. With the current student fees for undergraduate studies you're looking at £9,000 a year, lets say you're doing a bachelors, so £27,000 student loan, plus whatever they give you per year for accommodation, let's add another £3,000pa for that, you're looking at £35,000 student loans for your first degree.

But it's ok, because the world we live in is made of chocolate and rainbows, **** it, let's do another degree just because we just love studying. YAY!

Math again, quick Google tells me that 'American University Washington' charges $18,777 per semester. I'm not going to lie and tell you I know how many semesters there are in a year, I'd gamble at three. So, excluding living costs this time as I couldn't even guess, you're looking at another $225,324 for a four year course, as I believe American degrees are slightly longer. In English that's £140,626.50 at today rate, add that to our current £35k, that's a grand total of £175,626.50 just because we love studying so much.

You know what I like? Travelling.
You know what I'm not doing constantly because I 'enjoy travelling just for travellings sake'? Travelling. Because I'm a grown up in the real world.

Don't post a load of **** about how it's ok to study several bachelor level degrees just because it's fun and what you enjoy. I too enjoy studying. That's why I did a masters following my bachelors, and now a PhD. You know why I didn't do another bachelors? Because it's stupid, as I originally said. People need to take responsibility and do what's right; not what's fun.
Reply 14
Original post by Lilium
In general, American universities do not even allow one to apply as a freshman if they already hold a bachelor's degree. In any case, I agree that it would idiotic, unless one has a change of heart and badly wants to do something else and cannot enrol in the corresponding Master's program directly.

Since you'd like to study there, you should check out this website:
www.infousa.state.gov/teaching


Thank you ! I've been researching fees and funding in the US all through today and this has helped a lot.


Original post by ritchie888
No. Not at all. No, it's not something I would do, it's not something anyone should do, because it's completely redundant. You wouldn't do another 10 GCSE's or A levels, would you?

Basically, you want to study in America. I get that. But two Bachelors is just plain stupid and no one is going to understand why you did the first bachelors in the first place. Not to mention the financial nightmare it will be to fund it.

By all means, go to the states when you finish your bachelors, just do a post graduate course and don't waste your time. If you're certain on doing a bachelors there then don't go to Sussex and reapply for the states next year.


Ahhhh okay - sorry for the misunderstanding, I just thought you were being negative for the sake of it as has often been the case with other people when I've asked a question on the forums here. At the time of writing my original post I was just looking for a rough guide from anyone that may have done the same thing. If it didn't seem very well thought out at that point that's because it wasn't. I'm still in 'options' mode but have now completely disregarded the idea of doing a second bachelors as I see what you mean when you said it was stupid - thanks for taking the time to answer




& thank you to everyone that has responded to this thread, I appreciate it.

This is just an idea at the moment, nothing more and isn't solid in any way so all the answers contribute to my decision. I wrote this within the first few days of even considering studying in the US and so my research at that point was minimal. I understand those that think it'd be stupid to do a second bachelors degree, my reasoning for wanting to do another was to build on the knowledge I will have gained from my degree in a way that'd enable to me venture into other areas if I wanted to... however, after researching Masters degrees in the US it appears I'll be able to 'branch out' with the skills obtained through my current degree.

In case anyone is interested, I'm studying Anthropology and International Development at Sussex.
Original post by karousel
Thank you ! I've been researching fees and funding in the US all through today and this has helped a lot.




Ahhhh okay - sorry for the misunderstanding, I just thought you were being negative for the sake of it as has often been the case with other people when I've asked a question on the forums here. At the time of writing my original post I was just looking for a rough guide from anyone that may have done the same thing. If it didn't seem very well thought out at that point that's because it wasn't. I'm still in 'options' mode but have now completely disregarded the idea of doing a second bachelors as I see what you mean when you said it was stupid - thanks for taking the time to answer




& thank you to everyone that has responded to this thread, I appreciate it.

This is just an idea at the moment, nothing more and isn't solid in any way so all the answers contribute to my decision. I wrote this within the first few days of even considering studying in the US and so my research at that point was minimal. I understand those that think it'd be stupid to do a second bachelors degree, my reasoning for wanting to do another was to build on the knowledge I will have gained from my degree in a way that'd enable to me venture into other areas if I wanted to... however, after researching Masters degrees in the US it appears I'll be able to 'branch out' with the skills obtained through my current degree.

In case anyone is interested, I'm studying Anthropology and International Development at Sussex.


I get that you want to study in America. Just do a masters, that's all. You're wasting 3/4 years of your life doing another bachelors to be right back in the same situation you were in before. You don't need a piece of paper to show you enjoy learning. Do it in your spare time, go to the library or research online topics you like.

I think a masters in the US is a great idea, something I had looked slightly into, but found the cost, difficulties getting there, length of course, and difficulty of getting in, all made it unsuitable for me; the cons outweighed the pros.

Good luck.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 16
Original post by ritchie888
I get that you want to study in America. Just do a masters, that's all. You're wasting 3/4 years of your life doing another bachelors to be right back in the same situation you were in before. You don't need a piece of paper to show you enjoy learning. Do it in your spare time, go to the library or research online topics you like.

I think a masters in the US is a great idea, something I had looked slightly into, but found the cost, difficulties getting there, length of course, and difficulty of getting in, all made it unsuitable for me; the cons outweighed the pros.

Good luck.


Thank you :smile: and the same to you, whatever you're doing/doing next.

Do you mind if I ask what you've studied/whether the routes you took with your degree, then your masters and now your PhD have been varied (and what they were)?

Apologies if that's too personal a question, I'm just interested.
Original post by karousel
Thank you :smile: and the same to you, whatever you're doing/doing next.

Do you mind if I ask what you've studied/whether the routes you took with your degree, then your masters and now your PhD have been varied (and what they were)?

Apologies if that's too personal a question, I'm just interested.


Nah, it's cool.

Bachelors in cybernetics and control engineering at Reading. Year out and started my own company, contracted as a software engineer to get money for my masters. Masters at Imperial in biomedical engineering. PhD (in first year now) in biomechatronics (basically biomedical engineering again, but more targeted).

Started at a broad subject, and have gotten more specialist as I've gone down.

(I'm 23 now, if that's the next question!)
Reply 18
Original post by ritchie888
Nah, it's cool.

Bachelors in cybernetics and control engineering at Reading. Year out and started my own company, contracted as a software engineer to get money for my masters. Masters at Imperial in biomedical engineering. PhD (in first year now) in biomechatronics (basically biomedical engineering again, but more targeted).

Started at a broad subject, and have gotten more specialist as I've gone down.

(I'm 23 now, if that's the next question!)


Masters from Imperial? You Sir are an achiever :smile:
Original post by swbp
Masters from Imperial? You Sir are an achiever :smile:


Oh stop, you!

You can do it too. So, do it!

Quick Reply