Applying to US uni from UK

Hi, I've requested this thread be moved to the studying in North America forum

Re: scholarships - there are none, unless you're a good enough athlete to already know about them. The only way you're getting funded to study in the US is if you're a US citizen applying for FAFSA (and good luck anyway, FAFSA is like if they somehow made SFE even worse), or if you apply and are accepted to a need-blind college (which will pay the difference of what they calculate your "financial need" as).

So, the latter seems the way forward, however need-blind colleges are few and far inbetween. Essentially, they are Harvard, MIT, Stanford etc; as such you need to be better than the best in your school already realistically (unless you apply to Stanford on a partial sports scholarship). For context, Harvard's acceptance rate last year was 5%; Cambridge, averaged across all it's courses, was 20% (in fact the only courses that even came close to that low were architecture and graduate entry medicine).

You need outstanding extracurricular activities, to the extent where you are competing in whatever minimally at a county level or are being represented in major regional news for it (i.e. BBC South-West level regional news, not the local weekly paper). You will probably need to be at least of national repute in some area. You'll need pretty much all As and A*s for GCSE and A-level (they don't care what subjects you take though, by and large, with the exception of some engineering or business programmes where you apply directly to them; most of the time for the US you just apply to a university generally, rather than a particular degree programme as over here).

You'll also need to take the SAT or ACT, and possibly one or more SAT subject tests. The SAT covers broadly GCSE level content, although outside of the math section there is no specific required knowledge (the ACT is similar in both regards, except they cover slightly more advanced maths in their math section; notably this is normally covered in the UK in A-level FM due to how the syllabus is organised over here though. The topics in question are complex numbers and matrices; they aren't very complex questions but if you haven't ever studied it before you won't be able to answer those).

The SAT subject tests are sort of AS material, the content won't exactly match up but it's broadly advanced/post GCSE content. US History is a very specific exam designed for students who have studied US History in the US educational format; if you have studied at a US international school, don't take that one (taking the US options in A-level History is unlikely to be appropriate preparation for it). These aren't always required, and policies may have changed since I was looking into it nearly 10 years ago, but most of the need-blind colleges seemed to expect you to take two of these (often with at least one science/math one; I think MIT required a math and a science test).

If your parents are extremely wealth and can pay the cost of studying there, you have a wider range of options and you aren't going to need to be quite that extremely well qualified. However, it would certainly help, and realistically if your parents are wealthy enough to drop $50k a year out of pocket it probably doesn't matter where you get your degree from anyway.

Hi! I have recently been accepted to an Ivy League Institution from Wales and I really want other people from the UK to apply to the US!
When you go into Year 12, I STRONGLY consider you to research and apply to the Sutton Trust US Programme!!! Honestly this programme is absolutely amazing and will help you so much in getting into any amazing US institution. If you are eligible to apply for the programme, PLEASE DO SO! Don't just take my word for it, research it a bit and you will see how great the programme is and what you are able to achieve through it. This time last year I'd laugh at you if you told me I'd be going to a US university this autumn! Visit us.suttontrust.com to learn more about it!

It's great you are already showing interest in studying in the US, that's great!! Dedication and lots of research are definitely required for applications to the US.

I agree mostly with @artful_lounger with what he said above! Although there are merit-based scholarships!!! You will learn much more about these through the Sutton Trust US Programme and what they entail is full tuition for certain institutions that have such scholarships and access to a great alumni network - it's definitely worth a look! Some unis that do have merit-based scholarships are UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, UVA, and more! The Sutton trust is honestly a great resource for all this info.

There are also around 100 US universities that meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for International Students. This means that, after filling in the CSS profile which is your gateway to financial aid, 100 universities in the US will ensure that if they accept you, they will give you all the need you require based on your financial income! It's honestly awesome as it turns out cheaper than UK university most of the time! Again, the Sutton Trust Programme will talk about this much more in-depth. These aren't just the ivy leagues as well, these universities are great institutions you may not have heard of such as Amherst, Vanderbilt, Claremont McKenna, Northwestern, UChicago, Bowdoin, Tufts, just to name a few!! Honestly, US universities are so so affordable if you pick the ones who meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. A bit of research and you'd know all the ones that have this! Some universities are also need-blind so your financial need is NOT taken into consideration when accepting you to their college - it's great! In many of these Universities, 100% of students can graduate debt free and do so! Some big name unis like the UCs, for example, don't provide this so it's best to stay away from them if you know you won't be able to afford $70k a year..

Also, SAT Subject Test requirements have changed and they are basically no longer required by all but 4 universities if it puts you in financial hardship! They are recommended, but if you feel like you may struggle to pay to do them, you don't need to pay to do them! I did not do Subject Tests and I got into Harvard so there is no need to do them any more.

If you do get into the Sutton Trust US Programme, they actually pay for your ACT test so you get to do the test without having to pay for it!

If you have any other questions, please do ask! I really hope you get the chance to study in the states, it's one of the best experiences you can get!

Penn state uni or NYU is what I was thinking about although they seem a lot less likely now. Although I considered myself to have participated in many extra curriculars, I have never been a sporty person or have excelled to those standards in anything.

Unfortunately, NYU and Penn State are unis that do not offer 100% of demonstrated financial aid

But there are many other great unis that do! Just keep researching!
And you don't need to be sporty! I'm not sporty in the slightest, honestly, if you have many extracurriculars, you are already halfway there!
Just keep working hard and refining your ECs and you should be set when it comes to applying in Year 13

Unfortunately, NYU and Penn State are unis that do not offer 100% of demonstrated financial aid

But there are many other great unis that do! Just keep researching!
And you don't need to be sporty! I'm not sporty in the slightest, honestly, if you have many extracurriculars, you are already halfway there!
Just keep working hard and refining your ECs and you should be set when it comes to applying in Year 13

I have done some research and it seems UPenn is a uni that I would consider however it is much more competitive but fortunately it is a school that offers 100% of demonstrated financial aid.

Hi, I've requested this thread be moved to the studying in North America forum

Re: scholarships - there are none, unless you're a good enough athlete to already know about them. The only way you're getting funded to study in the US is if you're a US citizen applying for FAFSA (and good luck anyway, FAFSA is like if they somehow made SFE even worse), or if you apply and are accepted to a need-blind college (which will pay the difference of what they calculate your "financial need" as).

So, the latter seems the way forward, however need-blind colleges are few and far inbetween. Essentially, they are Harvard, MIT, Stanford etc; as such you need to be better than the best in your school already realistically (unless you apply to Stanford on a partial sports scholarship). For context, Harvard's acceptance rate last year was 5%; Cambridge, averaged across all it's courses, was 20% (in fact the only courses that even came close to that low were architecture and graduate entry medicine).

You need outstanding extracurricular activities, to the extent where you are competing in whatever minimally at a county level or are being represented in major regional news for it (i.e. BBC South-West level regional news, not the local weekly paper). You will probably need to be at least of national repute in some area. You'll need pretty much all As and A*s for GCSE and A-level (they don't care what subjects you take though, by and large, with the exception of some engineering or business programmes where you apply directly to them; most of the time for the US you just apply to a university generally, rather than a particular degree programme as over here).

You'll also need to take the SAT or ACT, and possibly one or more SAT subject tests. The SAT covers broadly GCSE level content, although outside of the math section there is no specific required knowledge (the ACT is similar in both regards, except they cover slightly more advanced maths in their math section; notably this is normally covered in the UK in A-level FM due to how the syllabus is organised over here though. The topics in question are complex numbers and matrices; they aren't very complex questions but if you haven't ever studied it before you won't be able to answer those).

The SAT subject tests are sort of AS material, the content won't exactly match up but it's broadly advanced/post GCSE content. US History is a very specific exam designed for students who have studied US History in the US educational format; if you have studied at a US international school, don't take that one (taking the US options in A-level History is unlikely to be appropriate preparation for it). These aren't always required, and policies may have changed since I was looking into it nearly 10 years ago, but most of the need-blind colleges seemed to expect you to take two of these (often with at least one science/math one; I think MIT required a math and a science test).

If your parents are extremely wealth and can pay the cost of studying there, you have a wider range of options and you aren't going to need to be quite that extremely well qualified. However, it would certainly help, and realistically if your parents are wealthy enough to drop $50k a year out of pocket it probably doesn't matter where you get your degree from anyway.

Stanford is not needblind

Hi! I have recently been accepted to an Ivy League Institution from Wales and I really want other people from the UK to apply to the US!
When you go into Year 12, I STRONGLY consider you to research and apply to the Sutton Trust US Programme!!! Honestly this programme is absolutely amazing and will help you so much in getting into any amazing US institution. If you are eligible to apply for the programme, PLEASE DO SO! Don't just take my word for it, research it a bit and you will see how great the programme is and what you are able to achieve through it. This time last year I'd laugh at you if you told me I'd be going to a US university this autumn! Visit us.suttontrust.com to learn more about it!

It's great you are already showing interest in studying in the US, that's great!! Dedication and lots of research are definitely required for applications to the US.

I agree mostly with @artful_lounger with what he said above! Although there are merit-based scholarships!!! You will learn much more about these through the Sutton Trust US Programme and what they entail is full tuition for certain institutions that have such scholarships and access to a great alumni network - it's definitely worth a look! Some unis that do have merit-based scholarships are UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, UVA, and more! The Sutton trust is honestly a great resource for all this info.

There are also around 100 US universities that meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for International Students. This means that, after filling in the CSS profile which is your gateway to financial aid, 100 universities in the US will ensure that if they accept you, they will give you all the need you require based on your financial income! It's honestly awesome as it turns out cheaper than UK university most of the time! Again, the Sutton Trust Programme will talk about this much more in-depth. These aren't just the ivy leagues as well, these universities are great institutions you may not have heard of such as Amherst, Vanderbilt, Claremont McKenna, Northwestern, UChicago, Bowdoin, Tufts, just to name a few!! Honestly, US universities are so so affordable if you pick the ones who meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. A bit of research and you'd know all the ones that have this! Some universities are also need-blind so your financial need is NOT taken into consideration when accepting you to their college - it's great! In many of these Universities, 100% of students can graduate debt free and do so! Some big name unis like the UCs, for example, don't provide this so it's best to stay away from them if you know you won't be able to afford $70k a year..

Also, SAT Subject Test requirements have changed and they are basically no longer required by all but 4 universities if it puts you in financial hardship! They are recommended, but if you feel like you may struggle to pay to do them, you don't need to pay to do them! I did not do Subject Tests and I got into Harvard so there is no need to do them any more.

If you do get into the Sutton Trust US Programme, they actually pay for your ACT test so you get to do the test without having to pay for it!

If you have any other questions, please do ask! I really hope you get the chance to study in the states, it's one of the best experiences you can get!

Congratulations for your successful application to Harvard!
I have a few questions with regard to application if you don't mind me asking.
1) What subject are you reading there?
2) When did you begin your application?
3) Are you currently in Year 13 in the UK?
4) What GCSE grades are Harvard looking for?
5) Do you need to meet any predicted A level grades or just been offered an unconditional offer based on GCSE & SAT?
5) SAT score & SAT Subject score require?
6) Did you apply to universities in the UK?

Many thanks in advance and congratulations again.

Hey! Thank you! Yeah sure I'm more than happy to help
1) I'm looking to concentrate (major) in Computer Science with a secondary field (minor) in Politics but because it's Liberal Arts, it might all change!
2) I started drafting my application last summer so around 3 months before the Early Deadline. On the Sutton Trust Programme3) they helped me through this stage.
3) I'm currently in Year 13 doing my A levels
4) Harvard and all the other great American universities are holistic and so they don't rely too heavily on your GCSE grades but as long as they're still somewhat top standard and you have great ECs and essays to back your application up, you're good to go!
5) American universities acceptances are technically unconditional in the sense that they don't mind what your A level grades are, but if they are DRASTICALLY different to your predicted A level grades (for example you started slacking in class and didn't achieve anywhere near your predicted) you can get your offer of admission rescinded. So, as long as you still keep up on your A levels you'll be fine no matter what, just don't forget about your A levels.
6) I got roughly around an average SAT score for Harvard but you can apply with any SAT score with great ECs, Essays, and grades. Your SAT score won't define you so as long as you make each university's 50% range, you'll be fine to apply. The 50% ranges can be easily found online. Most Universities no longer require SAT subject scores if they put you in financial hardship so I did not take them but they are recommended so try taking some if you can but no bother if you can't.
7) Yes, I applied through UCAS to Cardiff, Imperial, Manchester, Warwick and Cambridge but once I received my Harvard offer I withdrew all my UCAS applications. UCAS was a sort-of back up for me in case the American dream didn't quite work out and I'd still have a chance to go to university but definitely apply UCAS along with your American apps!!!

I hope this helps you!

hi im so confused, is the SAT a online test or is there a centre?
if so do you know where they are based?

hi im so confused, is the SAT a online test or is there a centre?
if so do you know where they are based?

Just like Ivymaybe said, the SAT is currently still paper-based and have test centres all across the UK. Just head to their website and search for a test centre nearest to you. If you were to take the ACT instead of the SAT, it is online on computers however it must also be done at a test centre near you in exam conditions. Just search for a test centre nearest to you on their websites.

And yes! You can always apply to the US without the Sutton Trust US Programme if you are not eligible. The US-UK Fulbright Commission Website has great resources to help people with their application and I definitely recommend you check it out!

Hey! Thank you! Yeah sure I'm more than happy to help
1) I'm looking to concentrate (major) in Computer Science with a secondary field (minor) in Politics but because it's Liberal Arts, it might all change!
2) I started drafting my application last summer so around 3 months before the Early Deadline. On the Sutton Trust Programme3) they helped me through this stage.
3) I'm currently in Year 13 doing my A levels
4) Harvard and all the other great American universities are holistic and so they don't rely too heavily on your GCSE grades but as long as they're still somewhat top standard and you have great ECs and essays to back your application up, you're good to go!
5) American universities acceptances are technically unconditional in the sense that they don't mind what your A level grades are, but if they are DRASTICALLY different to your predicted A level grades (for example you started slacking in class and didn't achieve anywhere near your predicted) you can get your offer of admission rescinded. So, as long as you still keep up on your A levels you'll be fine no matter what, just don't forget about your A levels.
6) I got roughly around an average SAT score for Harvard but you can apply with any SAT score with great ECs, Essays, and grades. Your SAT score won't define you so as long as you make each university's 50% range, you'll be fine to apply. The 50% ranges can be easily found online. Most Universities no longer require SAT subject scores if they put you in financial hardship so I did not take them but they are recommended so try taking some if you can but no bother if you can't.
7) Yes, I applied through UCAS to Cardiff, Imperial, Manchester, Warwick and Cambridge but once I received my Harvard offer I withdrew all my UCAS applications. UCAS was a sort-of back up for me in case the American dream didn't quite work out and I'd still have a chance to go to university but definitely apply UCAS along with your American apps!!!

I hope this helps you!

I'm a Sutton Trust brit at Columbia university. Hit me up for tips n any questions. Or ask here