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).

Inniu At the college day did they say US citizens living abroad fill out the FAFSA and get federal assistance based on the parents income the same way as if we were all still living in the US?
This could open up more choices for our youngest who is coming up on GCSE choices.

Troels

Federal yes, state no

Be aware that if you apply to private colleges you'll have to fill in the CSS Profile as well as the FAFSA, and that does take account of much more income than the FAFSA does. Also some colleges ask for yet more info.

Inniu Thak you, that opens up a whole new liist of uni possibilities.
I hope you are getting lots of help and ideas on here Begonias
I'd never heard of the CSS I don't recall filling that in, unless it came about after Ds was already at Uni. All good information.

I wonder if the CSS Profile is fairly new? I'm not sure. There's more info here about filling it in as an international student.
cssprofile.collegeboard.org/international-applicants

I considered a US uni for myself 20 years ago and did a fair amount of research into it but that may be quite outdated now!

Personally I’d recommend doing her undergraduate degree in the U.K. and going to the US for postgraduate. If she goes to the US she (the gps) will be paying a lot more out for likely not as good a degree as could get here.

From what I looked into pros of US are:

• not having to choose a subject at the start of the degree
• doing lots of different subjects
• more direct teaching/ more timetabled classes
• international atmosphere
• networking opportunities
• sports facilities
• extra curricular activities
• lower academic standard so U.K. students can breeze through
• lower entrance requirements
• cultural experience of going to ‘college’
• like any experience of living in a foreign country- mind broadening

But I felt that these didn’t outweigh the Cons:

• astronomical cost
• no access to U.K. student loans
• 4 year degree
• lower academic standard
• vocational degrees not recognised in U.K. (system doesn’t work for law/medicine)
• room sharing that is the norm in halls
• no alcohol
• more religious culture
• more extreme weather
• culture shock
• isolation esp if lots of students go home each day/ weekends/holidays
• having to do lots of subjects you don’t want to do
• heavier workload
• less free time
• some campuses very far from ‘real’ world
• the need to drive
• issues with getting credit in US (eg for bills/ phone/ car/ private let)
• degree/ uni not recognised/ valued by U.K. employers

The only thing that would tempt me would be if she wants to go to an all women college as there are none in the U.K.

The furthest south of the ‘7 sisters’ is Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania but there will be other less well known ones all over I’d imagine.

Is there really a problem with UK employers not recognising is degrees? Ds is about to be offered a place at an Ivy League would this be detrimental to him in the future? He had unconditionals at 3 top UK unis too but the sporting emphasis appeals to him so he is dead keen on the us, would he be better staying here?

Is there really a problem with UK employers not recognising is degrees? Ds is about to be offered a place at an Ivy League would this be detrimental to him in the future?

Not been a problem for any of my family or friends with US degrees who've moved to the UK. But then they'd also say that there was plenty of academic rigour (in the Ivies particularly), and that it's certainly not something a UK student would 'breeze through'. Perhaps things have changed in 20 years, although having said that DH went from a UK high school to a US university 35 years ago and while he found the first year easy, years 2/3/4 were much more challenging.

Well done to your DS!

Thank you, that’s kind of you. It’s all very bitter sweet for me though! I will miss him dreadfully.

but that may be quite outdated now!

Yes definitely outdated if ever correct!

My husband did his phd over here in the states and now works at UPenn... university over here seems really frustrating. 4 years, and the students have to take other courses like a language, a science, an art etc... The students at the less prestigious uni he was at before are depressingly poorly educated. For example future nurses taking chemistry 101 not knowing what the metric system is or how to work out percentages.

I wouldn't let my kid study over here if I still lived in the UK. We came here for "just 4 years" and it has been 13 now and my mum wishes we had never come. Your daughter will make a lot of important relationships in her college years and could well decide to live here permanently... be sure it is worth having the fees paid to you.