letranger

Just wondering if there's anyone else out there who is applying to University in the UK for undergrad!

If yes, where have you applied and where do you hope to attend? Are you still applying to places here at home?

pinkpineapple

I applied and was accepted to 3 UK schools, I'm waiting on about 8 USA schools.

Spriteling

I've applied to UK schools, and now have gotten all my acceptances/rejections. I've got conditional offers from Imperial, Leeds, St. Andrews, and Edinburgh, and a rejection from Cambridge. I'm going to be attending Edinburgh for sure next year, so I'm well excited! I actually just got back from Edinburgh, where I visited the physics department and everything, and I loved it, so all is fantastic.

I've applied to one school in the US, RPI, as a kind of safety, but since my offer from Edinburgh is so low, it's kinda pointless!

letranger

pinkpineapple, Congratulations on your acceptances! Which schools were you accepted at? Do you think you're likely to attend school in the UK over your US choices?


Spriteling, That's so awesome that you're going to Edinburgh! Congrats! That is actually the only school I've applied to in the UK! I haven't been lucky enough to have a visit, though. What made you choose Edinburgh over your other choices? (apart from the fact that it is awesome )

I can't wait to hear back from there, but I just applied a few days ago. I heard it's only supposed to take 2 weeks-- but I'm guessing it'll probably be a month or so since I imagine the mail will slow things down. Did you receive your offer relatively quickly?

luxastraea

I have to pick between Cambridge and Yale, and I still have to hear from Harvard in March. I never thought I'd be in the position of choosing between such wonderful schools, so I'm hopelessly torn.

I'm an international student, but I was wondering if some of the US students in this thread could give me some advice seeing as you must know American colleges better than me. There's only so much you can learn over the internet, after all.

Spriteling

Letranger: I picked Edinburgh because I love the city, I have friends there, and they've got a really good physics department. Before I even found out from Cambridge, I'd made up my find to turn down an offer if I got one, just because I want to go somewhere that is a good university, but won't necessarily make me super stressed out. Edinburgh fits the bill for all of these things.

Luxastraea: What kind of advice do you need/want, exactly?

carpe-diem

luxastrea, that's amazing! Are you a US or UK int'l student or am I missing something...? lol

luxastraea

I'm Chilean actually! And I have absolutely no clue of where to go. I don't know much about what the general opinion is about prestige and quality of the education, and whether employers would be more impressed with a Yale or a Cambridge undergrad degree.

I am aware that Yale's and Cambridge's educational systems are quite different in terms of methodology (i.e. liberal arts education vs. a focused course), but when I think about it I always end up finding the pros and cons of both. I suck at making little decisions, so this huge one is completely overwhelming.

My career plans at the moment would be to either do a conversion course for Law in the UK after finishing my undergraduate course, or going to Law School in the US. Of course this would affect were I would end up working and living, but I still have no idea of what I would choose; I just know that I'd like to specialize in International Law.

However, I have a Spanish nationality besides the Chilean one, so it might be easier for me to work in Europe. What do international students have to do in the US after they graduate from an American college in order to be able to work there?

Ivybound11

nope but im still wondering of applying to oxford

blanche neige

I was also considering applying to some UK schools, and when I saw that there was already a thread, I decided not to start a completely new thread and just "hijack" this one. Anyhow, I've really appreciated the info I've found on CC already on applying to UK schools because I don't actually know anyone who's done this. I just had a couple more specific questions that I was hoping any of you past applicants could help me with. Most of these are related to Oxford, but I'm also considering LSE because I like their History & International Relations course.

1) I know Oxford does interviews in New York, and I conveniently live right by there. I doubt I'll be flying to England in that case, so I was wondering how these interviews compared to the experience at Oxford. Do they have tutors from every course doing interviews? Is there any inherent disadvantage in an international interview? I know interviewing on-campus is ideal, but it's hard for me to invest that much financially into applying for a single school.

2) Do you write a single UCAS personal statement that will be seen by all the schools you're applying to, or can you write a separate one for each course?

3) I really like the History & English option at Oxford because it covers all my interests and I've always felt like history and English complement each other any way (especially if you look at literature from a New Historicist perspective). However, there seem to be very few places for History & English applicants, and not too many colleges offer the course. Does anyone know if History & English applicants are also considered for a single course in English or History?

4) In the case I apply for History & English or just History as a single course, has anyone taken the HAT in the US before? What testing sites are available? I know the ELAT is available in Boston, which isn't exactly right next door, but only a $15 bus ticket away (yay for cheap Chinatown buses).

5) Are there any specific courses that are particularly difficult to apply for at certain colleges? I've heard of PPE at Balliol and English and Magdalen.

Thanks in advance to anyone who could give me some input on any or all of my questions!

pinkpineapple

1. There is no inherent disadvantage but there are not tutors for every course. I applied for PPE and there were no politics/philosophy tutors, just an economics tutor, and we spent a lot of the interview on econ and very little on anything else - a friend applied for english/french and said most of hers was on french, there was no english tutor. Also you will end up paying $100-200 to apply not for the UCAS fee but the international app fee is 50 pounds plus shipping your written work etc. is going to cost you.

2. You write one UCAS personal statement that every school sees.

3. Sometimes they consider you for the single subject, sometimes they don't - if they really like you for one they might, but nobody really knows how that works.

4. You can take different tests (I did the TSA) at your school if your guidance counselor cooperates with Oxford/Cambridge to make sure they have a secure room and a proctor.

5. PPE I didn't realize til after I got in but they took very few people, and I was alloted to a different college than the one I picked originally. It doesn't matter which college you pick because if they have too many apps for your subject they pool you to a different one. If you apply to a less competitive one you have less of a chance of getting pooled obviously than if you apply to Christ Church but they do pooling so all qualified kids get a spot.

collegefever101

I heard that for students in a US high school educational system, the UK colleges mainly take into consideration your AP scores for admission. Can someone confirm/refute this?

THANKS!

RFK68

Yes, that is true. I submitted my application to the UK yesterday. You never list your GPA or any classes taken. It's just AP and SAT scores, a letter of reference, and a personal statement.

FinalCut10

Hey everyone, is the UCAS application submitted online or does it have to be mailed? If mail, how many days to arrive at its destination in the UK? I still need to finish mine!

RFK68

It has to be submitted online.