Pushing North American Universities

Save your anger and vent to the real rich, families on 100K don't even make it into the 10% of the wealthiest in the UK, and the 1% of the 10% make them look like paupers, calling middle class people 'Rich' makes you sound a like a child

I’m not angry .

100k is “rich” by my standards. And many others. If that makes me childish so be it. At least i’m not moaning private school leaves me poor or my diamond shoes or too tight…

Note the " " by modest and the mention of private education, no-one is saying 100K is poor, but for private education its not rich, that is all.

yes cry me a river, but this is the context of 100k families who might want to send children to the US.

Thankfully Ivys aren't as draconian in dismissing families earning 100K as rich and not requiring any support.

Save your anger and vent to the real rich, families on 100K don't even make it into the 10% of the wealthiest in the UK, and the 1% of the 10% make them look like paupers, calling middle class people 'Rich' makes you sound a like a child.

Its really not difficult to find out which Ivys are needs bind or needs aware for US or International students,if the cost is a problem only apply to needs blind...Simples..

I'm tired of hearing this ( I'm an academic at university, the reason I was looking at the thread) telling me that 100K income for a family is somehow a lot of money for a London family to live on in London. It isn't

I’m tired of hearing 100k is practically poverty line, when pp have shown the average income in london is 1/3 that. You say you know many live on 35k, yet say 100k isn’t rich?

You are in a privileged position. You will be able to afford decent housing, bills, ballet lessons etc without having to worry. Stop whinging. Learn how to budget properly if your measly 100k won’t stretch to waitrose.

I completely agree with the other poster and get very angry with relatives who live outside of London telling me I'm rich -when even compared to some of my university students, I certainly am not.

None of my colleagues or my wife's colleagues ( she works in a school) feel even remotely wealthy.

It's great you can live on 35K, I have no idea how you can live on that with 6 people , a cheap 1 bed costs 1K to rent , travelcards, food, gas bills, council tax, but I know many have to make do on less than that.

You're right its all relative , but let's not pretend in a town with flats that cost 25 million, 2 people on 50K a year are rich for goodness sake.

As to the status of US universities, I'm sorry but the academic landscape in Britain is very bleak, we've been on strike, there is little provision to stop the brain drain of valuable research staff to the US or US backed corporates. For my own children I would encourage them to study abroad.

"100k isn't a huge family income in London"

yes it is huge. Ok, we can quibble about meaning of "huge" if you like.

Google says that the average grant given out at nephew's Ivy League institution is 15-20% higher than at Harvard.

Financial aid is given in the form of grants, not loans, so you will not be required to pay them back. Even a family on low six figures can get a huge amount of help. Of course I'm only talking about the elite US schools. It's actually cheaper for a family on say 100K to send their DC to Harvard than Oxford

This. Dc is in discussion with an ivy at the minute.

If they get in it will cost us about 5k a year for medical insurance, flights, books, and spending money. On our income (below 50k) all tuition, food and accommodation will be paid for.

American universities are also becoming popular for sports scholarships- kids are getting free university for being on the swim team or whatever. Over here if you aren’t lottery funded it’s often your only option to continue training post-18.

The aid I looked at was for Harvard, it's very generous , I have no idea (or care) what your cousin gets help on, if he's at Harvard, he's lucked out as I understand these changes are relatively recent.

100k isn't a huge family income in London, one of the most expensive cities on Earth where to rent in somewhere deemed OK, far from posh, for a family of 3 ( 2 parents and 1 child) will cost around 42K a year, or you buy for a minimum of 700K , oh, assuming you have 70K deposit you can't afford it! Private tuition with all the usual extras of uniform, trips, presents for parties at DC's best friend whose hired the British Museum, over around 35K a year, so your rent and kids fees , so now your family has 23K a year to live, eat, holiday, gas bills, internet bills, phones, Netflix, etc, etc, etc...

100k in London. WHATEVS

"modest" salaries of say 100K

Pffffttt... Sure, £100k is "modest" now. Whatevs.

My nephew (American) is at an Ivy League Uni, with lots of financial aid. It was quite an ordeal to get in and he was rejected by many others -- he'll graduate with huge amounts of debt and he can only really afford it because of grandparents support to help with some living costs. His parents do actually own their home, I doubt their household income is more than $60k gross. Americans expect their student debt to follow them to death.

The one great benefit nephew has had from his IvyLU is terrific internships in the summer hols. On minimum wage, of course, far from a living wage, but very neat opportunities to be fair.

8 of the top 10 global universities are in the U.S. A top UK student has just one chance to get into Oxbridge. She/he has a further 8 chances by applying to the U.S. If you can afford it, then why wouldn't you apply? Outside of Oxbridge, how many UK universities can compete with MIT, Stanford or Princeton?

No offers based on the predictions.

US Financial Aid isn't what I'm talking about, Aid paid directly by the Ivy. US Financial Aid isn't available for non US students period.

If you own (or are buying on a mortgage) a house in London you are probably over the asset level for US financial aid. Friends’ children have had various sports scholarships to Ivy/West coast unis and they have been prestigious rather than financial. The colleges which specialise in tennis/soccer scholarships may be different.

The other thing the schools don’t tell you is that some of the students are legacies so will get into a US college more easily than your average student.

US is definitely more expensive option for many. But Ivy league unis are also greatly sought after. It is true getting scholarship/funding can be hard initially and it is a tad bend towards those nations whose currencies are weaker. Nevertheless if someone feels that they will prefer to work in US or that they will get better opening there, many choose to then study in US Unis as well. My cousin completed her graduation there and entered into US workforce with ease. On top she has the benefit of having a network of friends from the same uni. She did not get full funding in the first year, but in the following years she managed good amount of funding plus worked in Uni lab which provided her with enough subsistence.

At our school it’s because they are finding that they have straight A* students who are not getting any offers from their chosen uk universities.

Head pupil last year had straight A* predictions and no offers. Same situation this year.

US universities offer so much for the bright UK student. Doing a degree in the US for UK kids is so worthwhile, but the caveat is its the reserve of families that qualify for lots of aid/win scholarships or families that are very very wealthy.

In that sense they are a match for many families attending "state and independent selective secondary schools in London"

Getting into top US universities with very generous financial aid is difficult. The Ivies and near Ivies only tax 4-10% of applicants. Aid rules are different for international students, and obtaining visas can be problematic. Covid has made traveling much more complicated, and flights add to total student costs. Think carefully before applying to American universities.

The cynic in me says it’s because many UK top schools are finding competition to get into Oxbridge is fierce - it’s no longer a shoe in from any school - and parents are more
keen on a US university than a lower ranked UK university.
Many of my friends’ kids have gone to US universities who didn’t get into Oxbridge. They wouldn’t have considered the brilliant Russell group options.
The one exception is the group who go on sports scholarships which seem incredibly generous.