My daughter wants to study in the US...

[irisbaker]

My daughter would like to study in the US, at one of the Ivy League. She currently has 12 As at GCSE and is working for As and As at A-levels, what are her chances? what does she need to do? what can I do?

Every university has an admissions office, so i suggest your dd begin by visiting the websites of the schools that interest her. She can then follow up with a conversation if she is still interested. Fwiw, the top universities are very expensive, but can be quite generous with quite a few scholarships funded out of their endowments.

This list, which came out about a week ago, may be of interest:

www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/top-200.html

She will have to take several standardised tests including an SAT which requires a LOT of studying.

She must also bear in mind that it is VERY expensive and if she wishes to anything like Law or Medicine you have to do a batchelors dgree (3 - 4 years) followed by a post grad in that particular subject (Usually about 5 years)

They are also really big on extracurricular stuff so she will need to prove that she maintained good grades whilst also being active outside of academia.

My friend studied over in the Us and loved it but said it was a lot of hard work to get in.

Hope this helps and Good Luck

thank you all, i'll make sure she knows all this and i'll try and get involved as well

Your DD could also consider studying in the US for a year out of a UK Degree. DD1 is thinking of going to UCLA for her third year (she's just about to start her 2nd year) - she needed above a 2:1 score in her first year results and she'll be discussing it with her tutor when the new term starts. She will need to pay 1/3 tuition fees to her UK university and her US tuition fees are paid for (around £30,000). On top of that she'll need to pay accommodation and living expenses which look much higher than in the UK. DD1 would then come back and complete the final year of her degree in the UK.