I think I came up with the list using a mixture of word of mouth, location, price, rigour and campus life. I’ve made sure I’ve done my research in what I want as a college and I most likely won’t be applying to every college listed (bc of fee and I will probably narrow it down).
Yes, those schools are hard to go into and so I’m planning on applying to ‘easier’ schools as well such as UMass Amherst, BU, University of Oregon, UCSB, UCSD. However, as an international student, location is a huge factor to me and as I’ve lived by the sea my whole life I would prefer to go to college on the coast, which I’m aware does knock off a lot of colleges, but that is just personal preference, and I’m prepared to give up applying to schools like Texas schools for example.
I’ve looked into advanced credit from my A levels and it’s seems like a most/all colleges I can graduate at least one semester early, which would aid my decision massively as it cuts a lot of costs.
The study abroad programs available at UK unis, yes, are very impressive and sound like a good idea, but I’ve always been a fan of the US education system, and the US degrees appeal hugely to me compared to UK degrees. I’ve made a list of Uk Unis I will apply to, but none of them have that ‘wow’ factor that I get from a couple US unis. No school spirit, most of the campuses aren’t as beautiful, no college football games etc. For example, the city of Boston is probably my favourite city, and studying there would be a dream (that’s why I want to apply to most of the Boston schools like Northeastern, BC, BU, Tufts and UMass Amherst). I feel like it’s a personally preference, however the decision is depended to on scholarships or even just the total cost for each year, dependent if it’s public or private.
For example, I’ve done some research and it seems that i could be elidgible for the UOregon’s summit scholarship, and with that scholarship, one year at this uni would be £33k, whereas one year at UK uni would be roughly £20. So for me, that price difference is worth for the experience.
However, my Dad and I are interested if having a US degree is worth the same as a UK degree (employability wise) as I’ll probably return to the UK after college. Do employers prefer UK degrees or do they value the skills I would’ve learnt by attending college in a different country?