<p>My GPA is really low,but I hear that is basically thrown out
My SAT and AP score are very strong which I hear is how you are judged
I would plan to study either Physics(Astrophysics) or CompSci.
I also hear it only takes 3 years to get your B.S and you 4th year can result in a M.Sci.</p>
<p>But I also hear that that it cost something like $50k a year without much FA.Is it true?</p>
<p>Yes, it takes only 3 years because there are no general education classes. You wouldn’t take a single class outside of your major, and changing a major after you have been accepted is close to impossible. </p>
<p>While it “only” takes 4 years to get a Master’s degree, those 4 years are intense. A graduate with a Master’s degree from Cambridge is typically at the same place as a PhD student in the US who has finished all the requirements for the PhD except for the dissertation.</p>
<p>Tuition and college fees for non-EU students are in the range of 16 to 17 thousand punds, or about $32K to $34K. The university estimates your cost of living at 6 to 7 thousand pounds, or about $12K to $14K. That doesn’t yet include health insurance or oversea flights. So your estimate of about $50K a year sounds realistic if you do not plan to fly home a lot. You are also right that there is not much F.A. If you are not a EU citizen, expect to pay the full sticker price. (Most American universities don’t give financial aid to international students either.)</p>
<p>nightmarerecon may i redirect you to this thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/531416-chances-american-going-oxbridge.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/531416-chances-american-going-oxbridge.html</a></p>
<p>there u’ll find posts by me and other oxbridge peeps touching on all aspects of oxbridge, including admission requirements, interview, costs, course structures, difference between oxford and cambridge and not to mention a glimpse at the impeccable sights of cambridge university</p>
<p>barium’s post contains some serious inaccuracies, for instance if u’re interested in doing physics (theres no such subject, cambridge only offers natural science) which means u’ll be studying on all aspects of natural science, including physics, chemistry, biology for the first 1-2 years before deciding to specialise in one area…also, oxford offers quite a few interdisciplinary subjects like PPE, physics with philosophy etc…and the last bit about changing majors, it is quite possible to do that in Cambridge at the end of the 1st year due to the tripos exam system, though not as easy as us colleges</p>
<p>the natural sciences tripos at Cambridge is as ‘liberal arts’ as it gets outside the US, though you still can’t major in the humanities</p>
<p>Well, maybe major wasn’t the right word to use, but the idea still holds. A natural science major will only take science classes but not humanities or social sciences. In an interdisciplinary program you take only classes in the two or more fields involved but not classes outside of that. Thanks for pointing that out.</p>
<p>To answer the topic question:</p>
<p>No it’s not easy. Cambridge does emphasize test scores, but they also only accept a handful of North Americans every year (usually less than 20). If you wouldn’t be accepted to HYPSM then you probably don’t stand that good of a chance at Cambridge.</p>
<p>haha well alison richard says there may be a humanities and a social sciences tripos soon…then perhaps after that they might institute a common 4-year system with everyone spending an extra year on an area diff from their chosen field</p>
<p>but honestly i dont see wats so great about the liberal arts system…most of the times u learn not to acquire the knowledge (which is pretty much useless when it comes to working, even for professional courses like law), but rather to stimulate your intellectual capacity and develop your mental processes…and to that end, focusing on a certain area serves the purpose just as well if not better than cherry-picking from slew of courses</p>
<p>of course i wouldnt deny that having the flexibility in choosing your courses is useful, esp when u need to change majors…but then again, w/o a pre-planned curriculum designed by professors with years of experience, ensuring that your intellectual capacities are stimulated to their fullest, you could run the risk of choosing too many frivolous courses which might not do your academic pursuit much good in the end</p>
<p>it’ll be great to see a natural science/engineering tripos, a humanities tripos and a social science tripos… entering students choose one of the three… and decide the major in each of the 3 tripos later… that way… science students won have to take humanities courses that they dislike… and yet they could switch from let’s say physics to computer science…</p>
<p>just my 2 cents…</p>
<p>
You can switch from Physics to computer science. That’s remarkably easy compared to most other changes. However, it’s highly unlikely they would allow someone to switch from English to Computer science. Physics would probably be fine though. </p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> courses: Computer Science](<a href=“Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge”>Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge)</p>
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<p>The UK system in general is always cumulative. No course stands on it’s own. Eg if you don’t take Physics in year 1 of Natural Sciences, they aren’t going to let you take it in year 2 because you don’t have the background. In the same way, if you study A-level English, History and Politics you cannot enter university to study Physics. That is the way it works. </p>
<p>Most first year Cambridge NatSci students either take 3 bio subjects, two bio plus Chemistry or the 3 ‘hard sciences’, Physics, Chemistry and Materials and Mineral Sciences (with a maths course in every case as well). UK students tend to be very focussed so there is a lot less switching than you imagine. It is the exception rather than the rule. I did Evolution and Behaviour, Biology of Cells and Chemistry in year 1, followed by Molecular Biology, Animal Biology and Plant and Microbial Sciences in year 2. All closely related stuff. If I had gone to Oxford instead, with the exception of Chemistry in the first year, I could have done basically the same course. They are really not that different (Oxford and Cambridge science courses). </p>
<p>If you are not SURE of what you would like to study, the UK is not for you. Don’t bet on being able to switch. If it turns out you can’t, you will have spent an awful lot of money to find that out. </p>
<p>Don’t apply to Cambridge on the assumption that anything is going to change in the next couple of years (or 800 years…). It is very unlikely.</p>
<p>answer to OP:
Yes, it is significantly easier for US citizens to be admitted into oxbridge than it is for other internationals (it says so explicitly in their websites)</p>
<p>why would oxbridge make such an exception?</p>
<p>“Yes, it is significantly easier for US citizens to be admitted into oxbridge than it is for other internationals (it says so explicitly in their websites)”</p>
<p>I’d love to see a link Win8282! I don’t know where you got that in your head, because it is extraordinarily difficult to get admitted to Oxbridge straight out of high school from the US.</p>
<p>Read this. 6 admits from the US!</p>
<p>[Pembroke</a> College : Overseas students : Applying from a North American High School](<a href=“http://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/admiss/ug/overseas/highschool/index.html]Pembroke”>http://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/admiss/ug/overseas/highschool/index.html)</p>
<p>i think it would probably be easier for US applicants to get into Oxford than Cambridge, since most internationals apply to Camb to read technical subjects like maths, engineering, sciences, and US high schoolers simply arnt equipped with the relevant in-depth technical knowledge needed to cope with specialised courses in the UK system…artsy subjects like history, english you probably can smoke your way thru</p>
<p>but 6 admits from the US is LOL…we’ve got about 20 ppl heading to Cambridge each year, and we’re a small country of 4.5mil ppl (Singapore)…i tink alison richard should seriously make an effort to reach out to international applicants from US/China etc., it’ll help to raise our international profile to the same level as our less than deserving counterparts ^^</p>
<p>I’ve always wanted to study at Cambridge…But I might just try for it if I go to graduate school since there are scholarship for it(Gates Scholarship)</p>
<p>International students have a much better chance of getting in as a grad student (it’s about 50/50 UK/International), but don’t count on the Gates scholarship. It is EXTREMELY competitive, with about 50 scholarships for US applicants and 50 for the rest of the world. Your best bet is to start looking for scholarships or grants within your field or country that you can apply for to help fund your studies. Good luck!</p>
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<p>Why do you think other students are “less deserving” that those from the US and China? Oxbridge does not advertise or “reach out” to students in any way really, apart from under-represented groups in the UK (there are visits to high schools and stuff). I think they struggle to interview the number of applicants they have so don’t really encourage more. </p>
<p>ITA about the math/science issues that US students have. Though I am sure some individuals are exceptions, in general a US high school student is way behind students from other countries in the sciences. Calculus, for example, is just one small part of A-levels maths and further maths in the UK, whereas in the US it is considered to be a subject all on it’s own. Other countries which have “A-levels” based on the UK system are supposed to be even harder.</p>
<p>^less deserving counterparts = top universities in US/around the world … not students.</p>
<p>^ in particular, the other place</p>
<p>Well I am not that worried for a scholarship for grad school since both my subjects should be covered along with a stipend.</p>
<p>I will also look into what American Universities offer a study abroad program with Oxbridge.</p>
<p>Last question, Are there any other top UK Universities for US student?
Like Imperial College London, Universirty of London, or King College?</p>