Studying undergrad in america

Angst

Angst

Angst

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I'm currently looking at it as a possibillity in 2012 when i have finished my college course instead of going to a british uni.
So i am just wanting to see if anyone here went to an american university/"college" as an international student
and how they found it i.e. cost, level of support, quality ETC.
 
A few years ago I would have said its not worth it because of the cost but now that your paying 9k pa in the uk it may be worth it.

I think the cost will still work out to be a lot higher but if you can afford it and can pay the money on the front end it may be worth giving it a go.

You may not get student loans, I studied in czech and could not get a student loan.
 
If you're able to cover the fees/living costs then I'd have thought it would be awesome. They've got a whole bunch of Top Schools on a par with Oxbridge/London Colleges.

If you've not got the $$$ to drop on fees then why not just go on a year abroad program during your 2nd year at a British uni - you just pay reduced fees to your UK uni for the year...
 
They have a far more generous bursary scheme I seem to recall. A good friend of mine is off to UCLA soon and isn't paying too much, or so she says.
 
No help but I'm doing my 2nd year second semester in the USA.

What course are you planning to do, where would you like to study (saying USA is a bit vague, it's a big place), do you actually have a lot of funds to get you through etc
 
I had a friend study in New York for 6 months as part of her fashion degree, and she loved every minute of it.

Just make sure you have enough funds and such and you'll have a whale of a time!

She got work experience at one of the top fashion designers so looks great on her CV.
 
I probably won't be going to Uni next year but the idea of going to uni in the US is pretty appealing. Shame it'll cost a fortune though :p.

Make sure you go to Chad Hogan's party in Spring Break if you go (e-Cookie for anyone who gets this :D).
 
I havent delved to deep into it as of yet, as i say it was just an idea i wanted to get opinions off people on who had done it, i get that the fees are quite high but i was hoping there was financial help and loans like i would get here in the uk.

Moses said:
Does it have to be the US, btw? Studying abroad in Europe's easier to turn into a reality!
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Well i wouldnt mind studying somewhere in europe but the problem is i only speak english and so i dont think i would be comfortable studying in a country whose language i did not speak.
 
Angst said:
I havent delved to deep into it as of yet, as i say it was just an idea i wanted to get opinions off people on who had done it, i get that the fees are quite high but i was hoping there was financial help and loans like i would get here in the uk.



Well i wouldnt mind studying somewhere in europe but the problem is i only speak english and so i dont think i would be comfortable studying in a country whose language i did not speak.
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Check out the Swiss uni's their fees are only £1-2k and they teach it all in English.

ahh I see the actual language they speak.
 
What course do you want to do? If I was you be very careful about accreditations, you don't want to go abroad and find that no employers respect it.
 
flibbage0 said:
Check out the Swiss uni's their fees are only £1-2k and they teach it all in English.
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ETH Zurich is German at undergrad level English at post grad level AFAIK

Still if you speak German then its def worth considering, top Uni in main land Europe, would be ranked number 5 over here if it was a UK uni. They don't necessarily require applicants to even have formal qualifications so long as you can pass an entry test. and the fees are rather generous compared to what similar caliber unis will now be charging in the UK.
 
Many of the top american universities will practically pay you to go there if your from a poorer background, but they are of course very difficult to get into.

Expect to answer several mini essay questions per application (No unified system like UCAS) and have to sit extra exams (called SATS to confuse us Brits).

Its a lot of effort, but if your a top student (particularly if your from a poor background) its worth doing.
On the other hand, if your an average grade student ( Less that AAA predicted ), your probably better of with something a little closer to home.


What put me of applying was that their undergrad courses didn't seem to teach as complicated stuff as ours do, and I wanted to get properly into the subject (I've heard many people say that the first year of uni in the states is equivalent to our A-Levels).
 
what ever you do, don't study history over here. Unless you want a degree in America won it all and invented everything.
 
Judgeneo said:
Many of the top american universities will practically pay you to go there if your from a poorer background, but they are of course very difficult to get into.

Expect to answer several mini essay questions per application (No unified system like UCAS) and have to sit extra exams (called SATS to confuse us Brits).

Its a lot of effort, but if your a top student (particularly if your from a poor background) its worth doing.
On the other hand, if your an average grade student ( Less that AAA predicted ), your probably better of with something a little closer to home.


What put me of applying was that their undergrad courses didn't seem to teach as complicated stuff as ours do, and I wanted to get properly into the subject (I've heard many people say that the first year of uni in the states is equivalent to our A-Levels).
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They'll pay you to go there mainly IF you're American and come from the correct state. US funding comes from private endowments and as a non-US citizen he won't be eligible for much of that aid. He also won't be eligible to apply for any federally funded loans (Stafford, FAFSA etc.) and so will have to find an external loan company that's happy to take on that much debt for 4+ years. You can also pretty much rule out any U of California university as they have pretty archaic funding rules for out of staters and international students.

Are you sure you want to spend four years on undergrad instead of three years? A lot of people prefer to do undergrad here, then grad school in the US as it's generally accepted that undergrad is best taught in three years, while a one year MA doesn't really suffice in terms of time.
 
Dr House said:
A few years ago I would have said its not worth it because of the cost but now that your paying 9k pa in the uk it may be worth it.
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It makes no difference because you dont pay £9k a year up front.

Whereas you'd need a whacking great commercial loan or a huge pot of money to study in the USA.
 
I've always wondered how people pay for Uni in the US.

Even though fees are going up to 9k soon, I think we should consider ourselves lucky considering we only need to pay for it after we do the degree.
 
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