Applying to US university.

[USAuniversities]

DS is set on applying to university in the US, he should have 4A and an A in EPQ this year.
He is intending to take a gap year and make his application to UK and US universities.

He has quite a few EC's which should help with the US application. We will be applying for financial aid, does anyone have experience of this?

Most uk students are not eligible for financial aid at most usa universities. Go to a talk by the Fulbright Foundation to get the full facts. However some universities offer needs blind scholarships and these are generous. It’s the top flight Ivy League ones and a few others. We found financial assistance at most was geared to USA Dc only. So start with Fulbright if his school don’t help.

Yes , @TizerorFizz he has looked into into the US system and it would be have to be one of the top ivy leagues and few others that offer aid to international students. His school will be very supportive, it's a state school so not many apply to the US. I will look at Fulbright Foundation, thank you.

I agree with @TizerorFizz and think the Fulbright Foundation will be an excellent starting point.

I got my PhD in America and taught in two excellent American unis for about 15 years. I am writing now to bring up a possibility we don’t have in the UK, where you can also find excellent financial aid: the elite four year liberal arts colleges. I am writing from an airport, feeling distracted, so this is rushed. These are called colleges because they don’t offer doctorates or, sometimes, any postgraduate degrees. The academic staff are superbly qualified. They have chosen to focus on teaching rather than research ( though many do some research). Students have much greater interaction with professors than at universities, particularly in the early years.

One of DH’s best ever PhD students, now a professor at one of the most prestigious Russell Group unis, attended such a college for UG. Preparation for PG study and employment is superb. A mum on this Board recently wrote that she had a DC at Oxbridge, a DC at an Ivy, and a DC at one of these colleges. The college DC had by far the best experience.

I have never had a connection with such a college but I observed that alumni were usually very well prepared for PG studies and had high completion rates.

Some of the elite four year colleges also offer generous aid to international students.

Examples of such colleges - though only Amherst sticks in my mind regarding aid to international students - include but are by no means limited to Amherst, Oberlin, Reed, Haverford (? - Bryn Mawr’s brother for men), Bowdoin, Vassar, Scripps/Pomona/Claremont/Harvey Mudd/Pitzter (sp?) - this is a consortium of top colleges just east of LA. Different emphases and they co-operate - then also a good dozen others of roughly the same calibre I can’t think of at the moment.

Students and alumni are also very plugged into employment and professional networks; name recognition for the best colleges is right up there with the best universities. Worth thinking about, IMO.

Swarthmore

Thank you @poetryandwine ,my DS has mentioned a few of those colleges, particularly Ashurst, Pomona and one called Williams? He thinks from his research they give good international aid but they are very selective. We will definitely apply and see what happens but the competition will be very tough. Thank you for sharing your knowledge DS really appreciated your post last night.

Some private schools give advice to their pupils on applying to US universities and support them through the process. There are also private agencies that will help with this. Unless things have changed he will also have to sit the SATs exam.

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DS is in a state school but they have been helpful. He is going to sit the SATS in the summer and then make applications to the US and UK for 2024.

Earlham College in Indiana has an excellent reputation for international students.

I hadn't heard of that college @BlueKaftan , thank you I will have a look.

Thank you, OP. Williams is definitely in the same class as the colleges I mentioned.

Earlham is less competitive than these but has an excellent educational reputation

Take a peak at Bates College in Maine. Highly regarded Liberal Arts college with a reputation for encouraging international student applications.