A Degree from the UK or USA? Which one is harder/difficult to obtain?
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Pink Bullets
Who said anything about international students? And where did 35k come from?
Well only international students pay 10 k per year in UK..didn't you know that? I arrived at 35 k by subtracting 15 k from 50...
Pink Bullets
Funnily enough, some people value being educated in more than one subject. What a crazy thought. 
I guess this is the major difference. As they don't specialise as strongly. UK is probably better then for more specialised subjects, rather than for generalised education.
I'm going to be studying in America for my second year and what I have heard from students who have come back from their year abroad is that whilst there is more work, they don't go into as much depth and the actual work is easier.
I think that overall, they're pretty equal.. Obviously getting a degree from Yale is going to be significantly more difficult than getting one from the University, of say, Portsmouth, but when comparing institutions of similar standard I don't think there is much difference. I have heard that the first year of uni in America is supposed to be ridiculously easy and comparable to our a levels, due to the fact that high-school education is so variable.
I think that overall, they're pretty equal.. Obviously getting a degree from Yale is going to be significantly more difficult than getting one from the University, of say, Portsmouth, but when comparing institutions of similar standard I don't think there is much difference. I have heard that the first year of uni in America is supposed to be ridiculously easy and comparable to our a levels, due to the fact that high-school education is so variable.
accountingmaniac2010
Well only international students pay 10 k per year in UK..didn't you know that? I arrived at 35 k by subtracting 15 k from 50...
Err... you were talking about US financial aid when you mentioned international students. Who exactly are you talking about? Someone who's international to the US, UK, or both? That little fact drastically changes where they should go to get a cheaper education.
And 50k...? The link I posted said that the average four-year private college costs $26,273. And the average student at these colleges receives $14,400 a year in financial aid. At a college that costs more than average, it would be reasonable to assume that the students also receive a higher-than-average amount of financial aid, would it not?
Another interesting fact: the average student in the UK graduates with £23,000 in debt (source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8205539.stm).
In contrast, only 66.5% of students at US 4-year colleges graduate with debt, and the average debt among them is $22,656 (
£14,643.23) (source: http://www.finaid.org/loans/).
So, while US colleges have a higher price tag, UK students graduate with more debt, despite their courses being shorter.
Pink Bullets
Funnily enough, some people value being educated in more than one subject. What a crazy thought.
noo
the whole point of uni is that you start to become an expert in one area. It's pointless if you learn 2 modules worth of each of the 6 subject areas per year as opposed to 12 units of one subject area for each year. This is the point of high school/A-levels (general but basic learning) not universities.
Pheonixx
noo
the whole point of uni is that you start to become an expert in one area. It's pointless if you learn 2 modules worth of each of the 6 subject areas per year as opposed to 12 units of one subject area for each year. This is the point of high school/A-levels (general but basic learning) not universities.
the whole point of uni is that you start to become an expert in one area. It's pointless if you learn 2 modules worth of each of the 6 subject areas per year as opposed to 12 units of one subject area for each year. This is the point of high school/A-levels (general but basic learning) not universities.
Who are you to decide for everyone what 'the whole point' of university is? Was university your idea? No? Then don't you think that's a little presumptuous of you?
accountingmaniac2010
Well only international students pay 10 k per year in UK..didn't you know that? I arrived at 35 k by subtracting 15 k from 50...
I pay £13500 a year in the UK, and that is with a £1000 scholarship. If I'd gone to Imperial, I'd have been paying £18,000 or £19,000.
Pink Bullets
Who are you to decide for everyone what 'the whole point' of university is? Was university your idea? No? Then don't you think that's a little presumptuous of you?
.. Except that that is the point of university. When else are you going to specialise? PhD? Or should that be still diverse?
Mithra
.. Except that that is the point of university. When else are you going to specialise? PhD? Or should that be still diverse?
If there was only one universal 'point' of university, then why do different countries do it in different ways? It may be 'the point' in the UK, but the UK is not the world. I can't believe I'm having to explain this.
ok ive done my research so time to clarify certain things. first of all for me to study in the us insresd of the uk is more expensive by ten grand (dollars), but the gap is greater if your from the eu. second ive been told the uk for the most part is better for undergrad but that may because you apply to do a certain course whereas in the us you can decide when you get to uni
GodspeedGehenna
After spending over 5 years in the American education system, I can safely say that schooling to them is just a way of babysitting. About a quarter of my lessons were just "Ok, no class today. We're just going to watch Antz the film". The rest of the lessons were: Open your textbook to page x and outline the chapter. Done.
When I moved back to the UK, I had to work my ass off to catch up. I chose to enter the year below purely because I had so much to catch up on.
The American students I met were so embarrasingly dim witted. "What language do you speak in England?" "Isn't the Eiffel tower Tower in England?" "Do you have hamburgers in England?" "Do you have pizza in England?" "Did you leave England because of the communists?". This was a consistent occurrence.
I pretty much slept every lesson in highschool and I got nothing but straight A's.
I've always been told that UK A-Levels are the equivalent of doing a degree in the US.
When I moved back to the UK, I had to work my ass off to catch up. I chose to enter the year below purely because I had so much to catch up on.
The American students I met were so embarrasingly dim witted. "What language do you speak in England?" "Isn't the Eiffel tower Tower in England?" "Do you have hamburgers in England?" "Do you have pizza in England?" "Did you leave England because of the communists?". This was a consistent occurrence.
I pretty much slept every lesson in highschool and I got nothing but straight A's.
I've always been told that UK A-Levels are the equivalent of doing a degree in the US.
Of all the ill-informed, and inaccurate posts on TSR, I think this one deserves to be one of the best.
I too have gone through 5 years of American education, and what I can say is this. For an individual who wants to learn, the American education system is far better than the British one (surprise, surprise) as classes are chosen at your pace. I studied in American education from Grade 8 to Grade 12. In grade 9 (age 14) my Alg & Trig II class covered mathematics in a much greater depth than what they do in GCSE.
In grade 10(age 15), the maths class I took was pre-calculus which covered a vast amount of AS-level mathematics. If you are a keen mathematician you can be doing what is known as AP-calculus BC which goes beyond A-level F.mathematics, in grade 12 (age 17).
As for your comment about A-levels being equivalent to having a degree in the U.S. you are just being spiteful.
OP: I suggest you ignore this poster's information, because in the end whatever he says about American people, they are the ones who have dragged the rest of the world into the modern technological era and will continue to do so because of their intelligent members of their population.
As for your question. I would say it is more difficult to obtain the best possible degree in the U.S. than it is in the UK.
The reasons are simple; in the U.S. the best degree means you have a GPA of 4.0 which is equivalent to an average of 90% in all modules (roughly, it varies slightly between universities, from 85% to 95%) in all 4 years of education. In the UK, the best degree is obtained by achieving over 70%.
Also, in the US the first year it is compulsory to take a variety of classes, such as a language, a science, a maths class etc. It is harder to achieve 90%+ in French, for example, if intuitively you are a mathematician.
In the UK, you have to choose your degree along with the university, and as a mathematician you don't have to sit modules in anything other than maths - which makes it relatively easier to achieve the best mark.
TI-84
The reasons are simple; in the U.S. the best degree means you have a GPA of 4.0 which is equivalent to an average of 90% in all modules (roughly, it varies slightly between universities, from 85% to 95%) in all 4 years of education. In the UK, the best degree is obtained by achieving over 70%.
The reasons are simple; in the U.S. the best degree means you have a GPA of 4.0 which is equivalent to an average of 90% in all modules (roughly, it varies slightly between universities, from 85% to 95%) in all 4 years of education. In the UK, the best degree is obtained by achieving over 70%.
I agree with everything else you've said, but this is not a fair point, since getting 70% in the UK is not the same as getting 70% in the US.
MyHeartLiesInU
If you had the change will you do a degree in the USA or stay here in the UK?
Which One do you thing is better? I know some may say it depends where you want to work but I did some research and UK employers dont mind hiring graduates with a USA degree.
Also which one do you think is harder to obtain? USA degrees take around 4 years minimum e.g. Business and it takes more years for subjects like Medicine and Law.
Also when I was looking in Google apparently UK degrees are easier to obtain because they say more and more people are obtaining higher grades in A levels and some people think is because A levels are too easy and thus applying the same to the degrees (I honesltly dont know why they say this, dont believe me go and have a look)
Which One do you thing is better? I know some may say it depends where you want to work but I did some research and UK employers dont mind hiring graduates with a USA degree.
Also which one do you think is harder to obtain? USA degrees take around 4 years minimum e.g. Business and it takes more years for subjects like Medicine and Law.
Also when I was looking in Google apparently UK degrees are easier to obtain because they say more and more people are obtaining higher grades in A levels and some people think is because A levels are too easy and thus applying the same to the degrees (I honesltly dont know why they say this, dont believe me go and have a look)
I would rather go to America for undegraduate studies because of the variety the course structure allows. However, I can't afford it and wouldn't want to be that far away from home.
Have no idea which would be harder though.
Pink Bullets
Err... you were talking about US financial aid when you mentioned international students. Who exactly are you talking about? Someone who's international to the US, UK, or both? That little fact drastically changes where they should go to get a cheaper education.
And 50k...? The link I posted said that the average four-year private college costs $26,273. And the average student at these colleges receives $14,400 a year in financial aid. At a college that costs more than average, it would be reasonable to assume that the students also receive a higher-than-average amount of financial aid, would it not?
Another interesting fact: the average student in the UK graduates with £23,000 in debt (source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8205539.stm).
In contrast, only 66.5% of students at US 4-year colleges graduate with debt, and the average debt among them is $22,656 (
£14,643.23) (source: http://www.finaid.org/loans/).
So, while US colleges have a higher price tag, UK students graduate with more debt, despite their courses being shorter.
And 50k...? The link I posted said that the average four-year private college costs $26,273. And the average student at these colleges receives $14,400 a year in financial aid. At a college that costs more than average, it would be reasonable to assume that the students also receive a higher-than-average amount of financial aid, would it not?
Another interesting fact: the average student in the UK graduates with £23,000 in debt (source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8205539.stm).
In contrast, only 66.5% of students at US 4-year colleges graduate with debt, and the average debt among them is $22,656 (
£14,643.23) (source: http://www.finaid.org/loans/).
So, while US colleges have a higher price tag, UK students graduate with more debt, despite their courses being shorter.
If the US colleges have a higher price tag, and yet UK students end up with more debt, this just tells us that on average people in america who go to university are richer
TI-84
As for your question. I would say it is more difficult to obtain the best possible degree in the U.S. than it is in the UK.
The reasons are simple; in the U.S. the best degree means you have a GPA of 4.0 which is equivalent to an average of 90% in all modules (roughly, it varies slightly between universities, from 85% to 95%) in all 4 years of education. In the UK, the best degree is obtained by achieving over 70%.
Also, in the US the first year it is compulsory to take a variety of classes, such as a language, a science, a maths class etc. It is harder to achieve 90%+ in French, for example, if intuitively you are a mathematician.
In the UK, you have to choose your degree along with the university, and as a mathematician you don't have to sit modules in anything other than maths - which makes it relatively easier to achieve the best mark.
As for your question. I would say it is more difficult to obtain the best possible degree in the U.S. than it is in the UK.
The reasons are simple; in the U.S. the best degree means you have a GPA of 4.0 which is equivalent to an average of 90% in all modules (roughly, it varies slightly between universities, from 85% to 95%) in all 4 years of education. In the UK, the best degree is obtained by achieving over 70%.
Also, in the US the first year it is compulsory to take a variety of classes, such as a language, a science, a maths class etc. It is harder to achieve 90%+ in French, for example, if intuitively you are a mathematician.
In the UK, you have to choose your degree along with the university, and as a mathematician you don't have to sit modules in anything other than maths - which makes it relatively easier to achieve the best mark.
Clearly you don't take stats. There is no reason why a 90% in america is any harder to obtain than a first in England. There's a reason its 70% and it's not so that everyone gets firsts.
Why should being bad at french make it harder to obtain the best degree in maths? You specialise in what you're good at and the degree, if it is called a maths degree, should reflect your ability in maths. This doesn't make it 'easier' to achieve the best mark, it just means that the best mark actually means something.
As for your disparaging remarks towards Gehanna's experiences, why are they any less valid than yours? You seem to be pretty american biased with your "dragged the rest of the world into modern times" ******** so why should we trust you?
Pink Bullets
Who are you to decide for everyone what 'the whole point' of university is? Was university your idea? No? Then don't you think that's a little presumptuous of you?
Its pretty clear at least from the UK view what I said holds true, that's why the vast majority of degree courses in UK focus on one subject area for the assessed parts of the degree.
TI-84
I too have gone through 5 years of American education, and what I can say is this. For an individual who wants to learn, the American education system is far better than the English one (surprise, surprise) as classes are chosen at your pace. I studied in American education from Grade 8 to Grade 12. In grade 9 (age 14) my Alg & Trig II class covered mathematics in a much greater depth than what they do in GCSE.
But isn't GCSE just maths (covering more topics generally), while in the US you can just pick certain parts like Algebra and Trig so it isn't a surprise then that it is in more depth if you specialise in one area?
Did you even do GCSE Maths?
I have heard that a degree from the UK is harder (plus, a post on the first page confirms this), plus it is extremely expensive. I know of someone who studied at Harvard and came back to the UK 4 years later in £250,000 debt. No joke :/
I was thinking of going to the USA to study, but the financial aspects and the supposed quality of teaching put me off. x
I was thinking of going to the USA to study, but the financial aspects and the supposed quality of teaching put me off. x
Rubgish
If the US colleges have a higher price tag, and yet UK students end up with more debt, this just tells us that on average people in america who go to university are richer
...Either that, or that there is more financial aid available in the US, which I have shown to be true.
Pheonixx
Its pretty clear at least from the UK view what I said holds true, that's why the vast majority of degree courses in UK focus on one subject area for the assessed parts of the degree.
I did not deny that. But that does not prove that the American system is 'wrong', as many British people would insist.
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