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Transferring from UK to US - any chance?

Dear all,

getting straight to the point, I am thinking about transfering to an American Ivy League Uni after my first year at UCL.

I am starting to read Business,Economics and Eastern European Studies this September, but would like to transfer to a Top Uni in the US.

I read some statistics on the chances of Transfer Students to Ivy League Schools, very discouraging.

I understand that I should score above 1400 in the SAT, give as much extra curricular evidence as possible, have excellent teacher recommendations and have tons of luck.

However, does anyone have first hand experience or useful information about Transfer Students to the US? How are the chances as a foreigner/UCL student? What other aspects do i have to take into account? How are the funding possibilities for foreigners?

And: Is there a Board just like the TSR, exclusively for US Unis?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

Jack

Reply 1

Craigy_Boy

4

It is quite common for students within the US to transfer between colleges after their first or second year of undergraduate (I know a guy who went from University of Texas to Georgetown in Washington). Of course, as you have presumably read, it is very difficult for them to transfer from a non-Ivy League college into one, though it is posssible (and not all Ivies are equal - it's probably easier to transfer into Cornell than Harvard, for example).

As I understand it, this is possible precisely because all US colleges operate a credit system (modules are weighted and each afforded a certain number of credits, and one graduates from college after obtaining a particular number of credits). As a universally recognised standard, these credits are then transferable between colleges, making the transition easier.

But British universities conduct their affairs on an entirely different basis and we have no no equivalent credit system here in the UK (not one that tranfers between colleges anyway). So I believe it would be difficult, if not impossible, for you to apply as a "transfer student" - certainly not like any other US educated person would, and you may just be treated like any other first time applicant (EDIT: ok that's not quite true, you'd still have one year of UCL education behind you, and I guess that would distinguish you from other applicants, I'm just saying it's not clear how they'd treat that). The best thing to do is to contact the undergraduate admissions office at a US college and explain, very precisely the exact nature of your situation and educational background, and see what they say.

Are you aware that as an international student, the opportunities for financial assistance from a US college are very limited, practically non-existent in some cases, and the costs of studying are vastly more than ours (like $30k per year in fees alone at Ivies)?

Also - why do you think you need to go from UCL to the US before you've even started your degree? Aren't you pre-judging the issue a bit? And your habit of putting entire sentences of your post in bold is quite annoying.

Reply 2

Not a Lawyer

jack.pott

And: Is there a Board just like the TSR, exclusively for US Unis?

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/

Go nuts. It is even worse than this place when it comes to people glorifying exam results.

Reply 3

an Siarach

15

Not a Lawyer

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/

Go nuts. It is even worse than this place when it comes to people glorifying exam results.

Indeed. Ive just spent the last week being mauled by a gang of nepalese students because i was slightly sceptical when one of them claimed to have achieved 13 A grades in his A-Levels.

Reply 4

saintjude

Oh I read that thread... right along side you with the scepticism thing. 13 As is ridiculous - I'll believe it when they post me his certificates.

Reply 5

<A-S-H-I-Q-U-E>

14

saintjude

Oh I read that thread... right along side you with the scepticism thing. 13 As is ridiculous - I'll believe it when they post me his certificates.

LOL

maybe 13 As were obtained from 5 years instead of normal 2 years. :p:

Reply 6

soonalvin

<A-S-H-I-Q-U-E>

LOL

maybe 13 As were obtained from 5 years instead of normal 2 years. :p:

How do you get 13As in 2 YEARS??? :eek:

Reply 7

<A-S-H-I-Q-U-E>

14

soonalvin

How do you get 13As in 2 YEARS??? :eek:

After completing GCSEs/O' levels/SSCs/equivalent school-leaving exams, one starts to study GCE A' levels in the beginning of Year11* or in the beginning of Year12**. Normally, one is expected to complete his/her A' levels at the end of Year12* or Year13**. This is why I tried to mean that it's impossible to get 13 'A's in A' levels from the two-year (normal) course and I assume that those grades might have been obtained by studying A' levels for five years. :biggrin:

*international students
**UK students

Reply 8

THE UNDERDOG

2

$30K is about £17+K in UK, which seems pretty standard

Reply 9

kalen

8

It is technically possible to transfer to an Ivy League college, although I can't really tell you anything about how hard or easy it could be to be accepted and whether they will ask you to start your degree all over again or not (the UK and US systems are quite different, I'm not sure how credits can be transferred, especially considering the fact that in a US college you need to take quite a few extra-major classes which you don't normally take in the UK).

I thought about transferring to Yale after my second year of undergrad study. You need to take the SAT's not later than December of 2005 (in your case) and prepare lots of reference letters and transcripts from your current university as well as high school teachers.

Is there any particular reason why you would like to transfer?

Reply 10

sugarwhirl89

1

I don't know a lot about transferring, but I've been looking at how to apply for undergrad studies in the US and I know that most of the top universities want you to take the new SAT1, and to get into a really good university, apparently it would be best to have a score 2200-2400 (out of 2400). Although 2000 is still good.
If any of my information is incorrect, I apologise, but this is what I've been told by several people who have already taken SATs and are in Uni already, or are about to take them...

Reply 11

shady lane

16

CraigyBoy, you are unfairly discouraging him!

I go to Stanford (ranked 4 in the US) and I know many transfers. Off the top of my head they came from:
Brown University
University of Southern California
University of California-Santa Cruz
New York University
Colby College
American University in Cairo
community colleges (2 year colleges that lead to a lesser degree)

There is a VERY wide range. If you are applying from UCL you'll have a decent chance, as long as you had good A levels. Contact the schools and ask them what they require.
You should consider Stanford...I love it :smile:

Reply 12

Craigy_Boy

4

shady lane

CraigyBoy, you are unfairly discouraging him!

I go to Stanford (ranked 4 in the US) and I know many transfers. Off the top of my head they came from:
Brown University
University of Southern California
University of California-Santa Cruz
New York University
Colby College
American University in Cairo
community colleges (2 year colleges that lead to a lesser degree)

There is a VERY wide range. If you are applying from UCL you'll have a decent chance, as long as you had good A levels. Contact the schools and ask them what they require.
You should consider Stanford...I love it :smile:

What are you talking about? Did you even read my post? I told the OP that it is hard to predict how, if at all even, credits could be transferred as a UK student, precisely because in the UK we do not operate a credit system that is in any way similar to the US system. This is not in dispute - the two systems are not comparable and I urged the OP to seek advice from the university admissions office who will be able to deal with his/her particulars. And then I brought up the thorny issue of funding - and simply pointed out that it may be difficult, as an international in particular, to gain access to financial aid.

Reply 13

shady lane

16

Craigy_Boy

Of course, as you have presumably read, it is very difficult for them to transfer from a non-Ivy League college into one, though it is posssible (and not all Ivies are equal - it's probably easier to transfer into Cornell than Harvard, for example).

I was responding to that statement. And I wasn't trying to be confrontational...I was trying to give the guy a little hope :smile:

Reply 14

mumphalee

i have to agree with craigy_boy. the credit system in the us is very different from the one in the uk (and europe), so getting retroactive credit for your studies at ucl might only be possible after consulting with an admissions person at "your" american university. however, the chances for that are almost non existent. in a worst case scenario, they won't accredit any of your ucl modules.
as for funding, as a german citizen, i wasn't able to get any help while in the us, and of course being on a student visa, you're only allowed to work on uni premises and no more than 20 hours a week or 40 hours during vacation.
finally, being an international student there, you may have to put up with SEVIS issues such as checking in with an adviser on a weekly basis. very many american universities have "security measures" in place to better "track" foreign students at their instituions.
http://www.ice.gov/graphics/sevis/

Reply 15

Earlham

1

And if you're looking for somewhere that doesn't, try Earlham College.

We were one of very few schools to tell the FBI to piss off when they asked every college/university for lists of international students post-9/11. And with international students making up nearly 15% of the incoming class, the admissions office is very good at dealing with international students (there's an admissions officer solely devoted to them). Internationals also tended to get generous financial aid packages.

Of course, I'm biased. :smile:

Reply 16

jingojames

Hi guys, I'm in kind of the same boat. I'm currently at the University of Glasgow studying Business and Management. I am English originally, but i was living in the US for the past 8 years, and went through the High School system and such. I thought I would come back to the UK to see where i wanted to spend the rest of my life, but even though I'm having fun, I feel like i'm just too far away from home and was thinking about transferring at the end of the year. I'm not really going for ivy league schools, more schools like boston university, case western, UConn, Miami of Ohio, NYU, etc. I know schools in Scotland work a little differently from the ones in England, in that you study more subjects in your first year rather than just one. I read on a lot of the University sites that for international trasnfer students they usually look at what your taking and make a decision on credits. Do you think my chances of transferring into the second year are any good in the US?

Reply 17

SlyPie

12

Second year? Unsure. Most transfers are for the third year, as in "junior" transfers.

To transfer they mainly look at your GPA and how you did in your first years at university. They also take into account your SAT scores, and recommendation letters I presume.

Reply 18

fonzievision

14

A guy I know was at Edinburgh and went to UPenn on an exchange year and sweet talked them into letting him continue there and get his degree from Penn instead..

Reply 19

clouds

How did he do that?!That remarkable!

Transferring from UK to US - any chance?

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