To ask if anyone has any experience looking at US universities?

[BegoniasAndPetunias25]

Dd is 16 and currently in Year 11

She’s planning on going to university in the US - dh is American and his parents have offered to pay all the fees if she goes to university over there. She’s their only grandchild and they are very keen to have her nearer to them for a few years.

We’re starting to plan a trip this summer to look round a few universities she might be interested in, but it’s proving quite difficult to decide which as there are just so many! There also seems to be far more variation between universities than in the UK - state, private, liberal arts, Christian etc.

How does one start to narrow it down? Dh is no help as he went to university here (how we met).

If it’s relevant, dd is reasonably intelligent, and if she was applying in the UK I expect she’d be aiming for universities of the Exeter/Bristol/Warwick calibre (she definitely wouldn’t be Oxbridge material though).

Also, how many universities is it normal to apply to in the US? I don’t suppose there’s a limit of 5 like in the UK?

Hello. In the US there are a few tiers, private colleges (generally liberal arts, or Christian type studies) large state universities of which you get good and bad, smaller ‘some universities’ and of course, the Ivy League.

Studying in the south will generally be much less expensive given lower living costs, so this could be one way to narrow down your search before starting to apply. Bare in mind Tuition is very expensive in the US so it may pay (literally!) to balance that cost out but not looking at NYC/California.

It will be a huge adjustment- speaking from experience as I did the same as your DD, i found the cultural differences quite shocking at times and whilst I am glad I went thoih the experience, had some very lonely times too, the whole sorority thing is odd too. If she has a sport this is a great way to make a community for herself when she gets on campus, and most universities have an ‘international office’ to help foreign students settle in which were a big help.

She will need to take the SAT likely up in London, and should start preparing for it ASAP. The Americans test much more on multiple choice than the UK system which is more essay / research based and is a bit of a shock to study for - see online for study materials.

Lastly, she should bear in mind if she is some place not in a city, not having a car to get around is a real ballache in the US, plus having no financial history, getting a mobile is also tough to get as no credit history.

This is all a bit of a random flow of thoughts but please ask away, happy to help.

Ps no limit to applying I don’t think?

Sorry I realised I didn’t really respond re how to narrow down; seems like she should be looking at large state schools- ‘university of XYZ’ which often have multiple campuses, eg ‘University of California - Berkley’.

Hmmm, I'd narrow it down by state. Does she want to be near her grandparents?
Also, what universities will accept her British qualifications? She may need to do the SAT or ACT, which are aptitude tests required by most US universities.
Is cost a factor? Obviously, state unis are cheaper than private. No limit as you apply to each uni individually.

Did you go to the USS College Day in London in September? If not go to it next September. You can meet representatives of lots of the colleges under one roof and go to talks about different aspects of third level education in the US.

Also have you sorted out your child’s US citizenship? It will make the process easier.

Will she come back to live and work in the UK?

How will UK employers regard an American degree compared to British degree?

I think you need to narrow it down by geography first. Where are the grandparents?

@BettyJJ never held me back. In fact it helped me stand out a bit, but this may not be the case everywhere/ these days (I am 30+now)

If the grandparents are doing it to have her near then surely this will have the biggest influence? It takes longer to fly from east coast to west coast than from Gatwick to New York (for example!).

I’d start by drawing a circle centred on their house with a (maybe) day’s drive or so. And take it from there.

We’ve started looking at the SAT/ACT. Dd has a few workbooks she’s been looking at, and once her GCSEs are out of the way this summer we’re going to concentrate on it.

Geographically speaking, her grandparents are in South Carolina but have said they’ll visit her frequently wherever in the US she ends up.

She likes the idea of being somewhere that’s relatively warm all year round - she hates even the relatively mild UK winters, so the winters of northern US states would definitely not suit her!

There was an organisation called Mayflower or similar come to an university information evening when DC were looking. I think they can advise about the entire process including scholarships and can help select a Uni- for a fee obviously. Have no experience of using them, DC is dyslexic and the process for support was very different over there.
One piece of info we gleaned as that the Fulbright commission have some sort of open event where US universities have stalls and information sessions.

www.fulbright.org.uk/events/usa-college-day-2019

Did you go to the USS College Day in London in September?

Unfortunately not - we only really started thinking about it over Christmas.

She is a US citizen already though, so that’s one thing we’ve got sorted!

Narrow down by state, then look at the different universities and colleges within the university. There are rankings every year in the US news and world report. Or on the internet.

Get her US passport and SSN sorted if not already. There are Facebook groups for smeary in the UK and London. This question does come up.

How exciting!! I went to university here in the UK but did some undergrad studying in the US. It’s a very different experience over there. In my experience undergraduate study in the US is a lot less independent and probably a lot more intensive than the UK experience (certainly for my humanities subject). Also there’s the whole difference in drinking culture which I found so weird and might be a bit of a shock. I’m not saying these things to put you off just so you are aware there are big differences. I think during term time an American undergrad student would be studying a lot harder than their uk counterpart! Of course there are often requirements eg maths, sports, English that need to be fulfilled before graduation too. It’s definitely a much broader education at undergraduate level and it’s just totally different to the uk. I hope this makes sense and of course it’s only based on my own experience. Best of luck to your daughter!

Most US universities and colleges use the Common Application, so google that and look at all the different elements. The difference between a College and a UNIversity here is that Colleges only have undergraduates, Universities also have graduate study. One arguement for going to a College in preference is that the professors are more focussed on teaching the undergraduates where as at Universities they are more focussed on the graduate work as it is more high profile for them. A main difference between the Us and UK systems is that A levels are 1 ish year ahead of the US, so she should be looking for credit for her a level grades so she doesnt have to spend her first year doing basic work she has already covered. She will also not need to choose her course until her second or third year and will have to take several general courses in her first two years. For example taking a foreign language is compulsory at many institutions and an amount of maths, social studies or humanities and science is also required no matter what you eventually want to specialize in. It is worth really understanding these requirements before she applies
The application season kicks off about August the year before with taking SATs. She may also need to take SAT subject tests or AP tests as US colleges like to know your results before you apply.

There is loads more to this, and I just ran out of time, but get a copy of a guide book to College Entrance from amazon. Princeton Review or Kaplan are sure to do one

Okay, the South, then. That's where I live and where I went to university. Some ideas:
University of Virgina (state, Charlottesville)
Duke (private, North Carolina)
University of North Carolina (state, main campus at Chapel Hill)
University of South Carolina (state, Columbia)
Emory (private, Atlanta)
Mercer (private, Macon, Ga,)
University of Georgia (state, beautiful campus in Athens)
University of Florida (state, Gainesville)

Check this, OP, a common app form.
www.commonapp.org

There's no limit how many applications you can make. But you pay for each applic, $50 might be typical for each one. That link recommends applying for 8 (sheesh, I only applied for 4!) & lists a huge number of other costs.

What is she interested in studying?

Florida might be a good place to look - it’s warm all year round, has some excellent public universities, and isn’t too far from her grandparents in South Carolina.

I would take a look at the University of Florida and Florida State.

Are the grandies very minted? Coz overseas fees are like $40k/yr.

Florida State, definitely. Also a beautiful part of the state (Tallahassee)
Other state options in Florida: University of North Florida (Jacksonville), University of South Florida (Tampa), University of Central Florida (Orlando),

Very minor matter but my friend studied at uni in the US where they couldn't drink until 21 (dunno if this differs between states) but she found that v weird and it was really heavily policed at her uni.

Bear in mind that a small, conservative or Christian college in the South will be a huge culture shock for most teenagers coming from the U.K.

What is she interested in studying?

She’s not entirely sure yet but something in the sciences most likely.

She’s going to be taking Maths, Biology, Chemistry and History at A-level (GCSE grades permitting)

dunno if this differs between states

It doesn't.

Bear in mind that a small, conservative or Christian college in the South will be a huge culture shock for most teenagers coming from the U.K.

That depends very much on the denomination. Episcopal and Presbyterian (USA) should be fine.