Dear reader,
I can only guess you are reading this as you are one of my many (2) members of my blog, that look forward to reading my blog as you do your birthday(joking) and for that I thank you or you may be looking to find out about the US College system and have come to me, and for that I also thank you!
This is basically the introduction where I will explain the pros and cons of Studying in the US....
So without further ado.. enjoy!!
Within the last few years the US has become an increasingly popular place for UK and international students to study at university
This can be for
- undergraduate study*
- Post Grad study*
- Short term (year study abroad program)*
- etc etc etc.....
For UK students it may for a variety of different reasons:
- Risings fees in our own universities
- Not enough places in our universities therefore not getting in
- Not having the grades to get into a UK university
- The experience
- Programs offered
- Reputation
Lets tackle each one individually, PRICE first:
To start with I must say the fees overthere do not vary compared to our new rising fees.... for a in-state student (a pupil who lives in that state and parents pay state taxes) has a low fee much like that of our students (around 10-9$ Grand a year, of course once you work out the exchange rate it shows that for in-state students the US is much much more affordable!)
However if you are an out of state pupil (all international students) you can look foward to paying up to $25-30 grand a year for just tuition.. that leaves out food/room and board/life costs basically!) Even with the exchange rate that is more than we pay here!! I am under no circumstances trying to persuade you not to go to the US for unviersity instead I am merely trying to get you to understand what you're letting yourself in for!!
But heres the good part.... you ready: there are thousands of opportunities for scolarships/financial aid (which is basically money given to you by the school or other organisations to help you pay for your college tuition) Some are so big that they can pay for the whole thing (including room and board and tuition) but remember... these are very competitive obviously!! The financial aid information is found on the website of each college and some manage to provide over 90% of the students that require financial aid with it! (Plus one for the US, 0 for the UK)
Issues with number of places/grades:
Here in the UK we have over 400 universities (sounds alot.. its not) the state of Texas alone has half of our amount with 200.. and California... well 347.. overall the US has just under 4,000 universities (10 times our number) We are a populated country.. England and also the UK is pretty populated too! We are being asked to get grades of oxbridge level for universities that can't claim to be up to that standard because they want the best as they can ask for the best as they are so oversubscribed.. some UK universities have acceptance rates of less than some of the top State schools and even some of the privates. If you are lucky enough to be at that oxbridge level.. remember there is always Harvard!... but will get onto schools later!!! So overall the US as it has more universities and you my friend will be an international student something they like... (its different) you may have less problem with not getting in if you don't have oxbridge level grades! (2 for the US!))))
Experince:
This was my reason really, I want to broaden my horizons but this doesn't give the US an extra point as I am being a bit biased if I do!!
But there will be an entire blog post all about how your experience depends on the college you go to!!
Programs offered:
As there is so much more money going into universites due to higher prices and state taxes they can afford to offer a wider variety of programs.. but heres the thing!! Your years at univeristy will be totally different (duh) to if you stayed in the UK! This is due to the fact the US has something called majors which is the subject you study and take yoru degree in at the end.. however in order to get this degree you must stay at univeristy for 4 years instead of 2-3 like in the UK.... (1 POINT TO THE UK, as one/two less year(s) mean less money to pay so less debt)
This is due to the fact in your first 2 years of university in the US you kinda can study all the subjects you want.. like another 2 years of A-level and then only in the last 2 do you choose your degree subject.. so if you're undecided in year 13 it gives you the perfect opportunity as you don't have to decide then.. but have a 2 more years to take up new subject you've never studied, to grow and change and find where you want to be or what subject you like the most! (Another point to the US) but if you know exactly what you want to do the first 2 years you may find boring and a waste as you normally would have to do units in all 3 cores subjects.. to add up to points for your final 2 years (alot like UCAS points I guess!!) (So another point for the UK!)
Reputation:
I don't to tell you the honest truth understand this reason, they have IVY league schools (will be discussed in a later video) we have Oxbridge.... reputation well we have it they have it.. no points for anyone!!!
SO overall its a tie 2-2... well who could have seen that coming..
In order to chose you have to know what works for you: what do you want in a university? This question will play the biggest part in this series.. I can't tell each of you what you want its your job, I can only provide information/advice/websties/helpful links but otherwise you're on your own kiddo!!
But first you need to ask yourself if you could do it.. go halfway across the world away from everyone for 4 whole years (minus the summer hols of course) and enjoy yourself and work and come out with a good result???
For more information than I provided you with, in why Internation students may check out US colleges follow the link:
http://www.fulbright.org.uk/study-in-the-usa
(This is one of many links you will get, this is for the US-UK Fulbright: below is their little biography:)
The US-UK Fulbright Commission was created by a treaty signed by both countries on 22 September 1948.
[1] It is a non-profit organisation based in London, UK. Its aim is to foster mutual cultural understanding through educational exchange between both nations.
[2] To do this, Fulbright helps students, scholars and professionals interested in studying abroad in the US or UK through its world-renowned scholarship programme and its
EducationUSA advice service.
Thank you so much for reading,
I hope this was helpful, remember to check back in next week to hear about how to choose a university to apply for?
Much Love
S xxx
Definitons of stars* (as provided by wikipedia)
Undergraduate study: In the
United States of America undergraduate refers to those who are studying towards a bachelor's degree. The most common method consists of four years of study leading to a Bachelor of Arts (
B.A.), a Bachelor of Science (
B.S.), or sometimes another bachelor's degree such as Bachelor of Fine Arts (
B.F.A.), Bachelor of Social Work (
B.S.W.), Bachelor of Engineering (
B.Eng.), Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs (
B.S.P.A), or Bachelor of Philosophy (
B.Phil.) Five-Year Professional Architecture programs offer the Bachelor of Architecture Degree (
B.Arch.).
Post-Graduate study:Post-graduate education (or
graduate education in
North America) involves learning and studying for
degrees or other qualifications for which a first or
Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of
higher education. In North America, this level is generally referred to as
graduate school.
Short term: Where during your 3/2 years at a UK university you spend one of the years abroad studying at a US university.
All these options are avaliable to UK students!
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