Applying to American Universities

[jem44]

Has anyone been through the process of having a child apply to US Universities? I would really appreciate any tips or advice anyone can offer please.

Thanks

Oh wow. Brown and Dartmouth are very different places.

Dartmouth: Rural environment, great (cohesive) campus life due to location, very focused on undergraduate education (very few graduate departments), probably the ideal New England collegiate environment. Sporty, outdoorsy, laid-back people.

Brown: Urban environment with a very spread out campus. Campus life more disjointed and social life less based on fraternities/sororities than Dartmouth. The most liberal and flexible of the Ivys in terms of academics (at least was when I was in Uni) - can create own major, can choose to take a large amount of classes pass/fail.

I'd first decide on the kind of school and environment she would be happy in, then look into specific schools.

Going back to your question on number of applications, the most onerous part of the application process is the essays. However, you can reuse the same essay (with the necessary tweaks) for multiple universities. When I went through the process, I remember being advised to have minimum 1 reach, 1 safety, and 2 probables. She will also be asked to have 2 recommendations - in her case, I'd do one academic and one to showcase her people skills/extracurriculars.

Oh dear. I'm not good with choices. I feel comfortable with the thought of a campus uni. How would a British child, brought up mostly as a peripatetic expat child cope with sororities? Would the culture at a rural uni be too American do you think? I was assuming the huge international popularity of these places would make them reasonably easy to cope with socially, especially to a child used to mixing with a variety of races.

And just how urban and spread out is Rhode Island?  Could you compare uni life there to anywhere in the UK?  She is a capable girl but will be young and - in my eyes at least - need a secure and nurturing environment.  I suppose we should visit during Summer.  Where did you attend Sofa Queen?

Don?t want to hijack Jem?s thread but could those of you with experience please spell out most precisely what you mean about extracurricular activities?

DS is at a very academic school and what little spare time he does get, he plays sport but owing to serious medical issues this is more for his enjoyment than at a particularly high level.

What sort of activities are you talking about? Thanks

Jem44: in terms of the UK universities, has your dd considered St Andrews? The Scottish system allows a great deal of flexibility in Arts subject (and can even be combined with Sciences) if she is looking for a borad base of education.

The town is so small it is like a campus university - but is still a student town during term time (touristy outside of term time)

When I was applying to Unis (1980s!), Brown had a very good reputation as a nurturing place for its undergrads. Dartmouth was more pure ambitious/elitist/high achieving.

Extracurric... these are my impressions (others may well be better informed):

Ivy League are looking for leaders, people who were
President of the student body
Valectadorian (sorry about spelling)
Got Grade 8 in (any musical instrument)
Captain of the sports teams, or top scorers, or otherwise gifted atheletes, especially the minority sports like field hockey (minority != baseball, basketball, athletics or American football)
Wrote and published a novel before they graduated from high school
Junior champ at martial arts at state level (or regional level if you come from a poxy state like DE, RI)

You don't have to do all those, or things like those, but at least a few of them is they type of thing they look for. Stellar achievements if at all possible.

But like I said, just being the very top academically might be enough if you're a foreigner and they don't have as many applicants as they'd fancy having from your country that year.

I did nothing of note extracurric when I were a whippersnapper... :)

Jem, Brown is located in Providence (city), the capital city of Rhode Island (state). It is not a huge city, actually is a small city, with about 170,000 people in the area. I did apply here, got in, but chose not to go. However, I ended up spending quite a bit of time here during my freshman year as I was dating someone who went to Brown.

I'll PM you with the specific places I went to school (don't like to give personal details over the net).

Please don't be frightened by the scary figures about what Ivy's and their comparable liberal arts and West Coast school are looking for. FWIW, I think I'm quite an average person, yet I got in to Ivys for undergrad and graduate school - as long as your DD has a clear passion, can demonstrate and articulate it, she has a shot.

Also, think beyond Harvard - I'd never send my DC there as an undergrad. Graduate, yes definitely, but there are better places for an undergraduate to be than Harvard.

If you're in any way dual nationality remember the Fulbright teams outside the UK. They are fab :)

The comment about the cost of the elite American universities is wrong. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford and many other universities have exceptionally generous financial aid programmes. For most British families (unless you work in investment banking etc), going to an elite American university will cost far less than a British one. I interviewed a candidate last year who said his family's income was around £70K. When I saw him at the admissions reception, he said he had been awarded a full grant to attend Harvard...he had to pay zero. His parents were exceptionally pleased.

Does anyone out there know anything about CalTech or MIT? DS1 is looking at these as well as Harvard, but I think they would suit him better being a very mathsy AS boy.

Also how is Gold Duke of Edinburgh viewed over the pond? He volunteers as a young leader with Cubs and is finishing off his Silver DofE right now with a view to starting Gold in May.

Very useful

It's been a while since I went through this but most of this is still relevant.

The application process (though mostly online) is quite long and needs to be planned at least a year in advance.

If you go to most admissions websites, you will see a few things that most American Universities require:

SAT and SAT Subject Tests (usually 2) - SAT is a regular standardized test with English and Maths sections. Doing well on these require some serious prep and most people do it a year before they apply.

Application Essays (Besides the Statement of Purpose) - There are about 5 additional questions usually about 300 to 500 words each and the questions can vary considerably depending on the University. These essays are a way to show them how well-rounded you are and it helps if your child is involved in a number of things. Writing these can take a lot out of you.

Letters of recommendations (usually 2 or 3) - 2 from teachers and 1 ideally from somewhere you've worked (It's quite common for students in the US to do some sort of internships/part-time jobs while they're still in school)

Transcripts (Summary of the classes you've taken along with grades and how many credits these equate to). They usually want your grade history for the the High School years (Y10 to Y13). Can take a few weeks to get these and not all schools have this in the correct format that American Universities expect.

For Ivys or MIT/Stanford/Cal Tech, you would need to prove to them that you are REALLY good at your field (whatever that field is). To do this, you need to do something ideally at a national level. MIT for example pretty much expects their International students to be part of their country's Olympiad team. Brown/Dartmouth/Cornell are relatively easier to get into (but still difficult).

If you are applying for Financial Aid then you need to provide a bunch of documents. It's probably similar to applying for a bursary at an independent school. Just want to add that not all Universities are 'Needs Blind' and you are less likely to get into some places if you ask for financial aid.

Lastly, once you get accepted, you need to apply for a student visa and the US government requires proof of funds for the entire first year fees (even if you are getting financial aid). This means getting a letter from your bank saying you have $xx,xxx in your account.

@eXistenZ

It's been a while since I went through this but most of this is still relevant.

The application process (though mostly online) is quite long and needs to be planned at least a year in advance.

If you go to most admissions websites, you will see a few things that most American Universities require:

SAT and SAT Subject Tests (usually 2) - SAT is a regular standardized test with English and Maths sections. Doing well on these require some serious prep and most people do it a year before they apply.

Application Essays (Besides the Statement of Purpose) - There are about 5 additional questions usually about 300 to 500 words each and the questions can vary considerably depending on the University. These essays are a way to show them how well-rounded you are and it helps if your child is involved in a number of things. Writing these can take a lot out of you.

Letters of recommendations (usually 2 or 3) - 2 from teachers and 1 ideally from somewhere you've worked (It's quite common for students in the US to do some sort of internships/part-time jobs while they're still in school)

Transcripts (Summary of the classes you've taken along with grades and how many credits these equate to). They usually want your grade history for the the High School years (Y10 to Y13). Can take a few weeks to get these and not all schools have this in the correct format that American Universities expect.

For Ivys or MIT/Stanford/Cal Tech, you would need to prove to them that you are REALLY good at your field (whatever that field is). To do this, you need to do something ideally at a national level. MIT for example pretty much expects their International students to be part of their country's Olympiad team. Brown/Dartmouth/Cornell are relatively easier to get into (but still difficult).

If you are applying for Financial Aid then you need to provide a bunch of documents. It's probably similar to applying for a bursary at an independent school. Just want to add that not all Universities are 'Needs Blind' and you are less likely to get into some places if you ask for financial aid.

Lastly, once you get accepted, you need to apply for a student visa and the US government requires proof of funds for the entire first year fees (even if you are getting financial aid). This means getting a letter from your bank saying you have $xx,xxx in your account.

Thank you! Would it be possible to share your experiences with the university you got into?

@twinsyang - Can you IM me with specific questions? Also give me some details about your your target schools and what your son/daughter is currently doing. Shall try and tailor my answers accordingly.