I don’t think international students are eligible for aid.
They’re not eligible for U.S. based loans, but most of the wealthier American colleges are replacing the loan portions of their aid with outright grants anyway. So that’s a non-issue.
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Hiya- yes, I had a good time and made friends at the LSE (quite a while ago ofc 
) though my experience might not be comparable to that of UK student: I was from a small village in Northern Italy and the bright lights of London were the main appeal (I had also been offered a place at Oxford for PPE but after visiting, London won hands down, and not just for the stronger focus on theroretical Economics…). The friends I made were about 50-50 British and Italian, but there’s almost no campus feel so you do just end up living like a young person in a big city- fun, but you could be doing anything in a way.
I stayed in Halls near LSE in my first year, then second year I had a flat with friends very far from central London (over 1h with tube) becuse of the high rental prices, which is obviously even more of an issue today.
What I did notice is that most friend groups formed in the first few weeks of the first year (first few days almost) and remained stable throught our degrees- with the lack of organised activities outside of random parties, it was harder to meet people who already had their groups set. In fact I didn’t graduate with my cohort because Italy at the time had compulsive National Service (1 year) so my final year, after coming back with most of my friends already graduated, was quite lonely: though I’m quite extrovert, it’s not easy to break into stable younger-year groups you’ve never really socialised with before. Still, London was great.
Would I do it again? Yes, but first I would see if I could make Princeton work (I was also accepted there) money-wise with external scholarships and appeals; my best friend at the time attended, and I always did envy the academic flexibility and campus life he had there.
In a way there’s no bad choices here, horses for courses, but in your position I would apply to a decent mix of schools in the US too, and weigh my options when the results (acceptances and finances) are in. Best wishes!
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The tuition fees are being raised next year to £9650, so tuition fees would be around £30,000, not £60,000. Of course with living expenses and other costs it will be more but it’s still substantially cheaper than the aforementioned cost.
For the US there isn’t as much disparity between two countries since I do qualify for Fin. Aid (somehow) but it still works out to be more expensive. Now I just need to run a cost benefit analysis, and see which one ends up being a better fit for me personally, since I know all the schools I’m applying to will perform to an exceptionally high standard academically.
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The net cost of attendance that you see at the end of the NPC isn’t just fees: it’s tuition(=fees), “fees” (~~student club, library, and other associated costs), room&board (= catered Halls/rent, utilities, wifi, contents insurance, food for meals and snacks through “swipes”…), plus an estimate for the cost of books, transportation, clothes and other miscellaneous expenses.
To make a proper comparison you need to include the cost of Halls + food then rent in a flat share with utilities, wifi, contents insurance + food for meals, oyster card, books, etc.
The latest estimate I saw was £1,275 per month + rent, per month.
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I was talking about fees + living expenses as cited on the website. Fees were £9250 and living costs estimated at around £11000 (for the 9 momths of the year you are at university). That was where I got £20000 a year/£60000 total cost. And yes, almost all universities increase fees annually. For the US you also have that extra year to pay for.
I do hope you will at least apply to both countries even if you end up deciding you’d prefer the US, simply because until you actually get the final aid offer you can’t be sure what financial aid you’ll get. I have seen a few posts on here where international students end up being offered significantly less aid than they thought from running the NPC. You need to keep affordable, financable options on the table.
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Sorry that was a misinterpretation on my part.
And regarding applications, I will definitely apply to University in the UK, there’s no doubt! To not do so would be, well in my opinion a rather foolish decision, especially as it’s just so much more affordable as well as the fact that I am more familiar with the system and I’d remain closer to home. This thread began as a “what do I need to do to get into a good US university” and then as conversation flowed it became more about whether I should apply to University in the US, the drawbacks, cost and benefits, the application procedure and University suggestions. But not applying to any UK universities was never in the question, and if I get a seat at a good University here it will probably still be my first choice since it’s just more feasible.
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Everything you have is great for both countries.
Oct 15 will be your UK deadline and Oct 30 your US deadline (you’ll have time to learn about ED/REA/SCEA by then).
Then you can add a couple US colleges (highly selective LACs and universities such as Wellesley, Davidson,some top 20… based on the community and experience as well as NPC results) and your UK choices (LSE, King’s, StA, Durham, Bath…?)
I hope you return once you have more questions about each college and its fit in relation to what you’re looking for. 
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Just going to put out there that if drinking culture in an isolated place is a problem for OP, St Andrew’s may not be a good choice. I believe Warwick was mentioned, which is well respected in the UK but seems to be not so well known in the US (a friend of mine who graduated there and lives here now complains no one seems to know it). I guess it’s kind of the corollary recognition-wise many LACs have outside the US.
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Yeah my parents wanted me to consider St Andrews but I knew I’d go mad in Scotland 
Warwick is a maybe choice, if that makes sense. Still deciding between applying to Economics at Warwick or another similar course at Cambridge ie. HSPS (Human Social and Political Science).
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I think I’ll definitely be back here next year, but for now this was very informative, thank you to everyone who contributed!
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Well, I’d say there’s a big difference between going to uni in Edinburgh or Glasgow vs St Andrew’s, personally. So I wouldn’t just write off “Scotland”. But you seem to prefer to stay south-ish anyway judging from what’s on your list so far - I think Coventry is the furthest north you had?
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Oh sorry I meant to put rural Scotland very different to Edinburgh definitely. Yes Coventry was the furthest north I put, I definitely would prefer to stay south 