Help applying to American unis

I’m not a part of the Sutton trust so I’m doing this independently and I wanna apply to American unis so anyone who has experience in this or knows anyone who does, I’d like some help navigating this whole process

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

For most US colleges you apply directly to the university, although increasing numbers use the CommonApp which is sort of like UCAS. Generally US admissions focus much more on holistic matters so non-academic extracurriculars do matter a lot there. Note you generally apply to the university "in general" rather than to a specific degree programme. You then select your degree programme (major) after first or during second year. Note US degrees are 4 years long.

Bear in mind that you will not get Student Finance England/Wales/NI/SAAS funding for a degree in the US, and you also won't get funding from the US government through a FAFSA application. You will need to self fund or get funding from the university itself - most do not guarantee meeting all demonstrated financial need while also being need blind (i.e. admitting without considering your financial need), and even those that are need aware are often not able to commit to meeting all demonstrated financial need. You need to plan how you will fund your studies there.

Tuition fees are high (20-50k USD per year usually), and you also will normally be required to live on campus in campus accommodation (like halls, although often with shared rooms rather than individual rooms), which is also expensive. Scholarships are rare and substantial scholarships are primarily sporting ones rather than academic merit scholarships. Note also you won't be eligible for in-state tuition unless you are a long term resident in that state (usually more than 3 years) and often a US citizen as well.

Generally in most cases universities you can afford to study at in the US will be equal or worse than those you can study at in the UK. Unless you get into e.g. Harvard, MIT, Yale, etc, with a full financial aid package. These are the most competitive universities in the US and are statistically more competitive than Oxbridge. So realistically to consider that route, you already need to be a competitive applicant for Oxbridge, and realistically also need to have done a lot more extracurricular stuff on top of that.

Reply 2

hoixw

The short answer is I would not recommend it without the substantial support an institution like Sutton Trust provides. It's a complex process and incredibly difficult, and most people fail to get into the kinds of universities they want, with the financial aid they need when they're applying as a high-need (i.e. lots of scholarships/finaid) student as an international. Even with Sutton Trust's support, many of their students end up at UK unis!

The standards are also very high. ECs is where most struggle, top unis are generally looking for substantial success (e.g. international or national recognition) within ECs on top of Oxbridge-level academics. Not easy.

(edited 8 months ago)

Reply 3

Anonymous #2

I would look at what your dream university values in applicants

Does the admission person value:

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students who attended a feeder school,

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an internship at a prestigious firm,

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a letter or letters of recommendation from high status people, including the top of the hierarchy people at the prestigious firm, politicians, and celebrities,