<p>As was mentioned before, unless money is not an issue, I would suggest UK undergrad and US grad. It just makes more sense on so many levels (money being on most of those levels). ;)</p>
<p>yeah, this is a hard choice. for me though the choice would be between Cambridge and Princeton. I would save Yale for grad school.</p>
<p>btw, does Oxbridge offer funding to international students at the undergrad or grad level?</p>
<p>If you check his posts, OP clearly chose Princeton.</p>
<p>Yay! Good news</p>
<p>If you were planning to major in mathematics or a natural science (e.g. physics or chemistry), I’d recommend going to Cambridge, basically because a 4-year NatSci or Math degree from Cambridge would be comparable to a 4-year bachelor’s degree ** plus ** a master’s degree in those subjects in the US and would be viewed very favorable by most top U.S. PhD programs.</p>
<p>However, since you were accepted into the [Philosophy tripos](<a href=“Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge”>Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge) at Cambridge, I think the benefits of going to school in the UK as opposed to Yale or Princeton are doubtful. Note that I am not saying this because I think the Cambridge philosophy course is weak. Quite the contrary, Cambridge is probably one of the best schools in the world for the study of philosophy and the type of analytical thinking and reasoning skills you would develop in the Philosophy tripos would be an excellent preparation for many possible future careers, including further graduate studies or Law school. Having said that, I’m afraid, however, that most people in the US, including perhaps graduate school or Law school adcoms, would have a hard time understanding the relative value of a specialist undergraduate degree in arts/humanities as opposed to a broader US-styled “liberal arts education”.</p>
<p>In other words, even though a Cambridge philosophy course may actually be a better preparation for graduate school or Law school than a liberal arts degree, I’m afraid there would be a tendency in the US to see someone with a Cambridge philosophy BA as “narrow”, whereas a Y/P liberal arts major would be seen as more “well-rounded”.</p>
<p>bruno123 makes an excellent point. </p>
<p>@ivyleaguer: the bursaries available for international students for both undergraduate and graduate courses are extremely limited. How limited exactly depends on how rich is the college to which you were accepted though.</p>
<p>VastlyOverrated, I’m not sure what your experiences are with British universities, but I attended one for grad school, and their grad programs tend to be much more streamlined than at American universities. That isn’t to say you’re going to be smarter when you finish, but you’ll probably finish a lot faster, and have less hassles along the way. </p>
<p>I also think the American undergrad experience can be amazing, with the variety of classes one usually takes, and with the sports (if you’re into that). British “intellectuals” are often so narrowly focused…e.g., people with a PhD in English lit who’ve never ever taken a university philosophy course.</p>
<p>I didn’t say that UK grad school isn’t a great experience (I’m having the time of my life)…just that there’s not a lot of money. I’m currently finishing up a master’s at Cambridge and while my advisor wants me to stay on for a PhD, there’s simply no money to do so (and I’m in the sciences where there typically is some money, but UK grants often don’t allow for funds to be given to students). Consequently I’m heading back to the US for my PhD where I’ll be fully funded.</p>
<p>There’s not much money in the UK for international undergrads either :(</p>