Parents of US student looking for general UK uni advice

[Valleysaurus]

Hello

Our eldest daughter is a junior in high school in the States and is seriously considering pursuing her bachelors course at a UK university. Her high school marks and test scores will not be high enough for her to be competitive at the more selective universities. If we understand the UK entry requirements, we suspect our daughter would qualify for courses with entry requirements at the ABB or BBB level. We don't think she is particularly concerned about institutional pedigree, just fit. Likewise, international fees are not a primary consideration in our choice because, believe it or not, even at the international rate, many UK universities are more affordable than their US counterparts.

Like many high school students in the United States, she does not have a clear idea of what course she would like to study in university, but we suspect she will settle on a course focused on environmental studies, sustainability, conservation or tourism and hospitality. Which leads to the questions:

Given her applicant profile, which UK universities (if any) have a closer-knit campus community? Think a lot of students living in university accommodations and/or located in a city that is what we might call a "college town" in the States.

Are sandwich programs at all useful for international students in helping to find work post graduation?

Is it weird that admissions representatives are not returning our emails? We've contacted a few universities with questions about entry for 26/27 school year and it's been crickets...

Thanks!

The page on UK universities in Fiske’s guide is a useful. I think it is quite accurate on the UK experience vs US. Although UK is cheaper, I would say that you get what you pay for. Your experience with admissions reflects this. Students in the UK are basically left to it.

Having said that, UK universities are great for the right student. If she wants to make the most of the experience, I would look at universities in interesting, well connected cities. If I was an international student, I would choose London because I think it is a fantastic city and a great base for exploring the rest of the UK/Europe (if she wants to). It isn’t cheap though.

Yes, I agree with this. UK unis are a very different experience to US, so I think whether it makes sense depends quite a bit on the why.

Also bear in mind that for students applying from the UK, at least, the extracurriculars and cv building that's so prevalent in the US make up a very small portion of the application. They are most interested in grades and a very strong interest/aptitude in the specific subject.

Like others I would say York, Nottingham or Lancaster but I am not sure your daughters grades will be high enough.
Nottingham Trent is also Campus I think and may be more achieveable.
Loughborough?

Completely agree that London offers things to international students that other universities in England don't.

Thanks everyone so much for the helpful information. To fill in the gaps a bit, after talking with her a lot about it she tells us she wants to study in the UK for a few reasons, in no particular order:

1. She’s curious and open-minded and excited about a new adventure
2. We spent last June in the UK hiking the ridgeway and visiting the northwest. She had a really positive experience while there
3. She feels extremely negative about the current political environment in the States and how leaders seem so keen to divide rather than unite. We don’t blame her.
4. The UK (and most of the rest of the world) seem far more committed to sustainability goals than we are in the US. This is pretty important to her. Understandably so.

Thanks for the tips on Lancaster and York. I’m not sure she will be competitive at either, given their relatively high SAT score requirements, but we shall see.

She is intrigued by the collegiate universities and I’m wondering if Lincoln or Kent might be worth looking into as their entry requirements look to be lower.

I live in Kent.
The Uni is on the hill outside Canterbury which is a beautiful city.
It’s a campus based Uni
Halls of residence are on site on the hill with new student accommodation built a few years ago just outside the walls of the City.

Grades requirements are not as competitive as others.

i went to Lancaster Uni. Lots of US students. I think it is easy to do a year there if she preferred due to modular nature. Otherwise I found it very friendly and welcoming. A bit of a trek to London though if she wanted to be near the capital.

Thanks and I think I misspoke in my previous post. Lincoln doesn’t appear to be organized by colleges. Perhaps we should add Queens University Belfast too.

UEA might be worth a look.

Reading Uni hasn't been mentioned yet, I think? It's a nice campus, friendly and not super-competitive uni, within easy reach of a mainline station with connections to London and the southwest. There's a direct bus link from Reading station to Heathrow, which would make it v easy to fly home. I'm also the parent of a dc studying in another country, and cost/hassle of getting to and from a major airport with flights to your home should factor into your consideration.

Reading don't do tourism, but have a range of degrees in the Geography/Environmental studies field with typical BBB offers.

My DD was at Royal Holloway, and there were a fair number of US students, based probably at least in part on how it looks! Small friendly campus, close to London, probably around the offer range you're looking at. I don't know about environmental science courses though as my DD was an arts student.

Environmental, social and geological sciences is very strong but no travel/tourism.

An interesting one to look at might be Exeter University - their Cornwall campus. The entry requirements are a little lower than the main campus & it has a very “environmental” element to all the degrees taught there. The Geography course has loads of environmental options on it & looks amazing. Small Campus in the most beautiful location. The downside is that is is quite difficult to get to and social life is much more outdoor beach bbq/bands in pubs rather than the traditional student partying vibe.

My son goes to Queens and he loves the place, it’s not a campus university as such but Belfast is a small city and crammed with lots of American students.

I second Royal Holloway for International students. It's very convenient for London and for Heathrow and it's a nice safe environment.

She'll be able to drink here legally

Agree one of my ds is there at the moment and is so glad he chose it over Bristol as everything is on the same site which he prefers.
Lots of International students, very diverse.
Lovely campus and despite being near London, accommodation off campus ( if staying more than one year ) is not as expensive as you’d think. £570pcm inc bills is an average.

Royal Holloway is part of the University of London

I was also going to suggest Queens, Belfast. Dd is a post grad student there and all through her undergrad years she helped at events for international students. They really do seem to do a lot to encourage them. It also looks good!

How about University of Essex, Colchester campus. It's not collegiate but it is set in a nice campus. Recently visited with DC2 and we were told there is enough accommodation for students to live in campus accommodation for all 3 years.

Decades before it became common for all universities to encourage international students, Essex attracted a high percentage of international students. It looks like they do a degree called Global Studies with sustainability and can include a year abroad. Or a BSc Ecology and Environmental Biology.

An advantage of Essex is it's proximity to Stansted airport and hour away. Cheap flights to Europe. Also, it's an hour to London by train.

My Dd has a friend from US on her course, he did a foundation year with his course to make sure he was able to do the three year degree. So he'll end up with 4 years total.
She is at Aberystwyth Uni. in Wales.

Just coming on to suggest Swansea. Would she be interested in something like this, OP?

https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/biosciences-geography-physics/geography/bsc-environmental-science-and-the-climate-emergency/

I was thinking along the lines of www.uea.ac.uk/course/undergraduate/bsc-sustainable-development which can also include a placement year, year abroad or msc

I think with her predicted grades, she would be looking at mid-level Universities eg Goldsmiths (London), Keele (campus), Swansea (campus with small city and beach nearby), Liverpool, Leicester, UEA (outside Norwich), Kent and Surrey. I would look at these and their location and the courses they offer. There are probably more but these are Universities around the ABB/BBB level. I think the grade requirements for Lancaster, Edinburgh, Manchester etc may be too high unless she does a foundation year. These are usually broader than first year courses.

Thanks. Do students apply directly for foundation year courses, or do we apply for a three year course and receive a contingent offer - requiring completion of a foundation year?

Either. Worth having a conversation on entry requirements.