[AnotherMemory]

I have recently found that I may be able to study for my higher education over in the US which would be FREAKING AMAZING!
However, I feel I am looking at this through rose tinted glasses and need a MASSIVE dose of reality
And this is where you all come in!
If anyone has done/is doing this or knows someone would you let me know how it went and the best and worst bits?

[brendayissel]

what university would you be applying to?

[The Polymath]

(Original post by AnotherMemory)
I have recently found that I may be able to study for my higher education over in the US which would be FREAKING AMAZING!
However, I feel I am looking at this through rose tinted glasses and need a MASSIVE dose of reality
And this is where you all come in!
If anyone has done/is doing this or knows someone would you let me know how it went and the best and worst bits?

Cons:
The cost - woooowwww it's absolutely *loads*. I think around £25,000 a year depending on the uni, which is ridiculous *apparently* Americans save up for years and years to send their children to college. Unless you're going to Harvard it's really not worth it, and if you think you can go to Harvard you should just stick with Cambridge here for 1/5 the price

The application - applying from the UK is effort - you have to do SATs and other exams, 2 personal statements and it's a lot of fuss and bother alongside your UK UCAS application. The time spent applying to Harvard and Cambridge simultaneously could see you screw up both applications.

The country - are you really going to fit in? Just consider it, I'm not saying you won't.

The Subjective
Liberal Arts education - the US courses are broad and flexible. Whereas here you might apply for Maths, specialise in Pure Maths in year 2 and then do a dissertation and research project on Topology in year 3; the Americans often don't even apply for a specific course.
You turn up at the uni and sign up for courses e.g. beginner's Spanish, advanced Maths, remedial French etc. In the second year you then choose your 'major' but you can still do loads of other stuff alongside that. For example, a guy I know who went to Yale did Economics and Psychology alongside a few other cheeky modules here and there.

Pros:
Recognition - The US dominates world league tables, and so whereas in the UK only Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL and LSE are known worldwide, in the US you have loads - Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Caltech, Berkeley etc. That said, as I said before if you can make one of the top US unis you can make one of the top UK unis.

[kka25]

this thread.

[brendayissel]

(Original post by Junaid96)
Pros:
Liberal Arts education - the US courses are broad and flexible. Whereas here you might apply for Maths, specialise in Pure Maths in year 2 and then do a dissertation and research project on Topology in year 3; the Americans often don't even apply for a specific course.
You turn up at the uni and sign up for courses e.g. beginner's Spanish, advanced Maths, remedial French etc. In the second year you then choose your 'major' but you can still do loads of other stuff alongside that. For example, a guy I know who went to Yale did Economics and Psychology alongside a few other cheeky modules here and there.

Recognition - The US dominates world league tables, and so whereas in the UK only Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL and LSE are known worldwide, in the US you have loads - Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Caltech, Berkeley etc. That said, as I said before if you can make one of the top US unis you can make one of the top UK unis.


Cons:
The cost - woooowwww it's absolutely *loads*. I think around £25,000 a year depending on the uni, which is ridiculous *apparently* Americans save up for years and years to send their children to college. Unless you're going to Harvard it's really not worth it, and if you think you can go to Harvard you should just stick with Cambridge here for 1/5 the price

The application - applying from the UK is effort - you have to do SATs and other exams, 2 personal statements and it's a lot of fuss and bother alongside your UK UCAS application. The time spent applying to Harvard and Cambridge simultaneously could see you screw up both applications.

The country - are you really going to fit in? Just consider it, I'm not saying you won't.

the costs of colleges are about $45,000 a year, and most of the time that excludes living and accommodations costs. but depending on where you're from as well as your financial background, you can get extensive financial aid, especially if you're an international student.

[The Polymath]

(Original post by brendayissel)
the costs of colleges are about $45,000 a year, and most of the time that excludes living and accommodations costs. but depending on where you're from as well as your financial background, you can get extensive financial aid, especially if you're an international student.

It's still expensive though, right? Living abroad, flying to and from uni etc. and even with the aid won't the fees still be high? Also I thought the financial aid depends on the university. Places like Harvard, Yale etc. have loads more money to fund them, but some smaller ones won't, and as we've got Oxbridge/London here in the UK anyway there's no point applying to top Ivy League US institutions.

Correct me if I'm wrong, these are just my thoughts.

[alexs2602]

(Original post by Junaid96)
Pros:
Liberal Arts education - the US courses are broad and flexible. Whereas here you might apply for Maths, specialise in Pure Maths in year 2 and then do a dissertation and research project on Topology in year 3; the Americans often don't even apply for a specific course.
You turn up at the uni and sign up for courses e.g. beginner's Spanish, advanced Maths, remedial French etc. In the second year you then choose your 'major' but you can still do loads of other stuff alongside that. For example, a guy I know who went to Yale did Economics and Psychology alongside a few other cheeky modules here and there.

Recognition - The US dominates world league tables, and so whereas in the UK only Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL and LSE are known worldwide, in the US you have loads - Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Caltech, Berkeley etc. That said, as I said before if you can make one of the top US unis you can make one of the top UK unis.


Cons:
The cost - woooowwww it's absolutely *loads*. I think around £25,000 a year depending on the uni, which is ridiculous *apparently* Americans save up for years and years to send their children to college. Unless you're going to Harvard it's really not worth it, and if you think you can go to Harvard you should just stick with Cambridge here for 1/5 the price

The application - applying from the UK is effort - you have to do SATs and other exams, 2 personal statements and it's a lot of fuss and bother alongside your UK UCAS application. The time spent applying to Harvard and Cambridge simultaneously could see you screw up both applications.

The country - are you really going to fit in? Just consider it, I'm not saying you won't.

Just a small note, this is subjective. I would say the liberal arts education or general ed as I would call it is a disadvantage as it doesn't allow you to specialise early on.

[The Polymath]

(Original post by alexs2602)
Just a small note, this is subjective. I would say the liberal arts education or general ed as I would call it is a disadvantage as it doesn't allow you to specialise early on.

I deliberately didn't comment on anything but the facts about the liberal arts. I didn't say it was better. Personally I agree - our secondary schools should be broad and flexible, then our universities should specialise.

[lolipanda]

Cons: being crushed under the massive horrifying debts, high suicide rates, travelling all the way there and feeling alone in a new country

Pros: the best universities across the pond are SO highly regarded, an excellent education and job is practically GUARANTEED...

[alexs2602]

(Original post by Junaid96)
I deliberately didn't comment on anything but the facts about the liberal arts. I didn't say it was better. Personally I agree - our secondary schools should be broad and flexible, then our universities should specialise.

You put it as a pro, that's commenting on whether it's good or bad. It very much depends on the person.

[The Polymath]

(Original post by alexs2602)
You put it as a pro, that's commenting on whether it's good or bad. It very much depends on the person.

Oops didn't mean to Here comes the edit

[cl_steele]

Pros: top rate education [depending on college], very flexible courses with the ability to take very varied modules in different subjects, explore a different life style and people
cons: the price ... bloody hell!, very little access in the way of grants, no student loans and your education is entirely privately funded, missing friends/family back home

[brendayissel]

(Original post by Junaid96)
It's still expensive though, right? Living abroad, flying to and from uni etc. and even with the aid won't the fees still be high? Also I thought the financial aid depends on the university. Places like Harvard, Yale etc. have loads more money to fund them, but some smaller ones won't, and as we've got Oxbridge/London here in the UK anyway there's no point applying to top Ivy League US institutions.

Correct me if I'm wrong, these are just my thoughts.

lol it depends, but some smaller schools tuitions aren't as high. in any case, im applying to a university in the UK.

[The Polymath]

(Original post by brendayissel)
lol it depends, but some smaller schools tuitions aren't as high. in any case, im applying to a university in the UK.

That's probably the same though? You pay high fees as an international student, and it'll cost you more to live abroad too. Why the UK? And which universities, may I ask?

[brendayissel]

(Original post by Junaid96)
That's probably the same though? You pay high fees as an international student, and it'll cost you more to live abroad too. Why the UK? And which universities, may I ask?

actually, i found it alot cheaper. because although i would pay more as an international student, the overall cost would still be less than the cost here. i think the UK is better in terms of education, and i'd like to live in a completely different environment than what im accustomed to. so far i've been looking at durham, cardiff, exeter, essex, kent or royal holloway.

[brendayissel]

(Original post by lolipanda)
Cons: being crushed under the massive horrifying debts, high suicide rates, travelling all the way there and feeling alone in a new country

Pros: the best universities across the pond are SO highly regarded, an excellent education and job is practically GUARANTEED...

lol your cons seem a little extreme..

[The Polymath]

(Original post by brendayissel)
actually, i found it alot cheaper. because although i would pay more as an international student, the overall cost would still be less than the cost here. i think the UK is better in terms of education, and i'd like to live in a completely different environment than what im accustomed to. so far i've been looking at durham, cardiff, exeter, essex, kent or royal holloway.

Well out of those Durham is by far the best, followed by Exeter, just so you know

[brendayissel]

(Original post by Junaid96)
Well out of those Durham is by far the best, followed by Exeter, just so you know

lol yeah. durham's standards for an international student are scary high. but im an ib student, so hopefully i can pull off a high enough grade on my exams.

[LuisSuarez7]

(Original post by Junaid96)
It's still expensive though, right? Living abroad, flying to and from uni etc. and even with the aid won't the fees still be high? Also I thought the financial aid depends on the university. Places like Harvard, Yale etc. have loads more money to fund them, but some smaller ones won't, and as we've got Oxbridge/London here in the UK anyway there's no point applying to top Ivy League US institutions.

Correct me if I'm wrong, these are just my thoughts.

I think I'm right in saying that at Harvard if your household income is less than $45,000, you are exempt from paying fees. Now I'm not too sure if this applies to international students but it would considerably lower the costs if it did. No idea if other US colleges offer this sort of exemption or even reduced fees.

[The Polymath]

(Original post by brendayissel)
lol yeah. durham's standards for an international student are scary high. but im an ib student, so hopefully i can pull off a high enough grade on my exams.

Maybe I'll see you there then You'll (hopefully ) be going in Sept 2013 yeah? What are you applying for? I'll probably go for Combined Honours (not sure if Arts or SocSci though)