My chances of applying to US universities from UK?

Grades are only part of a US application. Extracurriculars, volunteer and essays also matter. I think you have a shot with 3 A* predicted grades though. Do bear in mind though, acceptances do have some element of randomness, and academic merit isn't the only factors. I'd be happy to answer any other questions.

Hi, I've moved your thread to the Studying in North America forum. As above, applying to college in the US is more than just academics (unlike in the UK where they tend to be the overriding concern). However, they will consider your GCSEs holistically with your A-level grades and having weaker GCSEs definitely will hurt your application (whereas most UK universities don't really care about them if you have passes in maths and English at GCSE).

I think no matter what you should consider applying to the US a lottery ticket, and not really expect anything from it and consider it a bonus if you do get an admittance.

Yeah that makes sense. from what I have researched, US unis are much more expensive than UK, would you say there are enough benefits from going to US that would outweigh these increases costs or am I better off just applying to UK only? (especially considering that just applying to US unis comes with a cost too)
thank a lot for the reply btw

Yeah I agree. would you say I should aim for the higher unis or not bother due to my GCSE grades?
thanks a bunch for replying.

Hmm, that's hard to say. You can apply for financial aid, but not all top unis offer need-blind admissions for international students, and it would still be much more expensive than a UK uni. What subject would you want to major in? Is being able to study multiple subjects important to you? The culture is also a bit different: independence is much less emphasized; you'll have a roommate for minimum your first year, and food is at mealtimes in a dining hall. As I understand, the stereotypes about the American college experience are pretty true. I would say first figure out if the price is affordable with a financial aid calculator (you'll find it on the uni's financial aid page) and then weigh the benefits of the alternate education style. Would you likely be accepted to a top UK uni? (Also, check out which UK unis might have a study abroad program with a top US uni, if you'd be interested in that.)

I mean unless your parents are oil barons with half a million pounds lying around to pay the fees you kind of have to aim for the "elite" colleges because they are the only ones you have any hope of getting a good (i.e. full or near full) financial aid package from. This is the other part of the equation you may have neglected to consider - you do not get any funding from SFE to study in the US, and you are not eligible for the US equivalent federal funding.

So you are entirely relying on the college you apply to meeting your financial need, and only the "top" colleges commit to meeting all demonstrated financial need (and of those even fewer are need blind i.e. make admissions decisions not considering your financial need). So you could apply to a lower ranked US college but chances are you will not get a good financial aid package and will be unable to afford studying at that offering college anyway and thus be forced to decline the offer...

I want to major in Economics and potentially study management on the side too. Im fairly confident that I can get into some UK universities ( Warwick, Bath, LSE) but I've heard US unis provide a much bigger scope of employment in the financial sector so thats why i was interested. I will definitely look at the financial calculators and the study abroad option. Thank you very much for taking the time to help me out, I really appreciate it.

Happy to help. I'm not familiar with US/UK financial employment prospects. Try asking on CollegeConfidential, a US site (but ignore the function it has to calculate your chances at acceptance; it really doesn't mean anything). Also, sometimes slightly smaller US unis have better recruitment for business firms (off the top of my head, I think UMichigan and Wake Forest are among them), so you might look into that. Best of luck.

Hi there,

I am a second-year sixth form student in the UK and was thinking of applying to a few top unis from the US (Princeton, Yale, Stanford etc)
My GCSE are a bit disappointing as I only have 2A*, 6A 1B, and 1D, however, I'm on track to get 3A* for my a levels.
Do you guys think I have any decent shot at applying for these unis when I take a gap year or is it a dead end?

Thank you.

It'a zero mate.

I've been to America. I understand America universities very well, it's a totally wack system!!

Do a four year course in a uk university which should include a year abroad. The year abroad could be in an american university. Go for that route

I'm deciding between UK unis and a top-20 US university right now. What do you mean by the US system being wack? Did you attend a US uni, and what was your experience?

I'm deciding between UK unis and a top-20 US university right now. What do you mean by the US system being wack? Did you attend a US uni, and what was your experience?

hmm I didnt know that, Thanks for the information. I guess I would have to apply to the top unis and hope for the best.

Different grading system. I have never been to an american university. I spent a summer in america in 2018 and i stayed in a college-like dorm. The americans are way different to us in terms of everything. I was working in an hotel where i shared with students who were doing an equivalent american apprenticeship as part their own modules in a nearby university.

I was nearly going to apply for a masters in 2019 in america, and i realised it just wouldn't be the same. You could try scottish or welsh or even an european university. The americans are very anti immigrant and i went during Trump's Presidency!!!

Different grading system. I have never been to an american university. I spent a summer in america in 2018 and i stayed in a college-like dorm. The americans are way different to us in terms of everything. I was working in an hotel where i shared with students who were doing an equivalent american apprenticeship as part their own modules in a nearby university.

I was nearly going to apply for a masters in 2019 in america, and i realised it just wouldn't be the same. You could try scottish or welsh or even an european university. The americans are very anti immigrant and i went during Trump's Presidency!!!

Different grading system. I have never been to an american university. I spent a summer in america in 2018 and i stayed in a college-like dorm. The americans are way different to us in terms of everything. I was working in an hotel where i shared with students who were doing an equivalent american apprenticeship as part their own modules in a nearby university.

I was nearly going to apply for a masters in 2019 in america, and i realised it just wouldn't be the same. You could try scottish or welsh or even an european university. The americans are very anti immigrant and i went during Trump's Presidency!!!