Applying to UK uni from US system

[TheCryingTheBitchAndTheFloordrobe]

Does anyone have experience of this?

It's a bit of a complicated situation as DS counts as a UK student but is currently getting his associates degree in a US-type 'Junior College'. He graduates in 2026 with a degree in General Science and wants to do engineering.

We're not sure how to proceed, really. Whether he can just apply via UCAS or whether he'll have to come to the UK first and spend a year doing A levels. Almost all students from his college stay in the US system, so they're not sure.

I suggest he contacts the engineering department of a university he is interested in and see what they say.

It may be that the want him to do a foundation year before starting his BEng or MEng, but I wouldn't expect him to have to do A levels.

Apply via UCAS. His associates degree should count as the equivalent of A Levels. Is he doing calculus?

Be sure Student finance counts him as a U.K. student, usually you have to be resident the 3yrs prior to applying to a Bachelors degree course to count for home tuition fees.

He should call the universities he's interested in. He should have his course descriptions to hand when he calls the universities.

He'll probably need to send transcripts of his junior college grades and courses when he applies. His college will supply this directly to the universities or UCAS. He'll need to have detailed instructions for his college's registrar office when the time comes because they probably won't have done this before.

He also needs to find out if he counts as a UK student for application and finance purposes.

Definitely contact the admissions teams of some degree programmes of interest to DS. He should be the one to do this. Email is best. It can go to anyone in Admissions, but someone in the relevant School is best. The recipient will know how to route it.

I’ve worked in US and UK HE and been a STEM admissions tutor here. We had a number of applications from pupils in American high schools but I don’t remember any from the CC system (which is marvellous)

My only concern is that British HE institutions tend to want national level qualifications. I think DS should be prepared for a conditional offer based on AP exams, just because that is the typical offer for applicants from America and the system is not very flexible. Annoying.

The alternative requirement to do a Foundation Year would also be annoying. However if DS is eligible for British fees and especially if is eligible for a student loan, it is definitely feasible. The learning methods and pedagogy are different enough that a year for adjusting is not a bad idea, even if the material is somewhat redundant.

I hope this works out. CC is not glam but it is a wonderful pathway. I would hate for someone who took that route to be frustrated afterwards. I don’t think the transition to the UK will be impossible, but it may be less seamless than it should be. Best wishes to DS.

The best thing to do would be to check the entry requirements for USA students on the websites of the universities he's interested in, as even though he is a UK national, he's still studying under the US system so that's where Associates degree would be mentioned. If in any doubt (eg. Not all unis may explicitly list the AD, but may still accept it for entry) then contact the unis with details of what he already has, and what he's taken, and they can advise. He'll be fine to apply through UCAS. Many universities have student recruitment teams, so he could reach out to the US recruitment officer/manager for further guidance as well.

We just did this, not from an AD stance but AP exams, via UCAS and it was pretty straightforward. We are UK citizens living in the US.

What is most important will be fee status. International fees have skyrocketed this year. If you want him to get "home" or UK fees you'll need to have evidence of domicile in the UK and many trips back and forth with the dates / times who you stayed with etc. There's basically a standard form you fill in and they make their decision based on that. Key terms are that he's living in the US due to a parent's job and would otherwise be in the uk.

My kids did not qualify for UK fees but will do by the time they start any post-graduate work.

When DS was at LSE those that did the American High school system had at least 5 APs

He can apply via UCAS from the US. DS applied 2 years ago and had to submit his ACT / SAT scores, AP scores and his GPA., no A-levels necessary.
The Universities DS applied to did not accept dual enrollment classes in lieu of AP's as they're not nationally standardized so make sure he does all the research now and can sign up for the appropriate classes for Senior year.

He won't have to do A-levels. His associates degree is a higher level of qualification than A-Levels. Some universities will allow direct entry to second year with a 3.0 GPA.

Not always. Lots of expat families work the system and hire people to ensure their kids applications count as 'ordinarily resident' in U.K. and therefore avoid international fees.

We are resigned to international fees as we now have green cards but are just applying through UCAS, dc will have IB points.

Student Finance: you can't prove ordinary residency in the UK by saying (or even 'proving') that the person would have lived here but for their parent's job. You can attempt to prove that any time spent living outside the UK was temporary.

You should also double check that whatever studying your son is doing at present does not meet the definition of 'higher education' in the UK because previous study also impacts eligibility and entitlement even if the previous study took place abroad.

I took an MFA in 2020 with a UK University (distance learning) while living full time in the US since the early 2000's and was granted home fees on the basis of being a "trailing spouse" despite owning a house in the USA. So I'd filled in the forms myself before my kids had to fill them in this time round. My kids are going to pay international fees.

I don't think there's anyone gaming the system with professional help tho, that would be very underhand and likely illegal. It sounds like an urban myth, like the woman who went to dinner at her posh boyfriend's house, pissed in a sink which fell off the wall and it knocked her out...

That's nonsense.

It really isn't

If you all have green cards, will your DCs be eligible for US financial aid as lawful permanent residents?

I'm pretty sure You have to be a resident first 3 years but obviously just contact admissions at a few universities to check

Yes, that is why I said to be sure and used the word “usually”
The expat families that qualify for this tend to be HM Forces, Civil Service/Diplomatic Corps or under contract for either.

This is a great point as they should be eligible for US student loans through studentaid.gov using the FAFSA

Many U.K. & European Unis are recognised by the US DoE and US student loans can be taken out for tuition fees & living expenses. The Uni webpage should have guidance as to whether they participate or not and what their educational insititution code is for the FAFSA

The IDR repayment terms are currently better than the Plan 5 repayment terms from England student finance.

I hadn't considered that I will look into it, thanks @mathanxiety

Yes he will be doing calculus but his current school only offers 1 year of Physics

Thanks I'm not sure he's got as far as identifying Unis yet as he's only 1 semester into College but I'll light a fire under him

He's a UK Overseas Territories citizen so he counts as UK even though nowhere in his home country offers A levels unfortunately

Thank you so much this is really helpful. It's a bit of a confusing transition for sure but I don't want him to be locked into the US if he'd rather go to the UK.