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!

Northumbria has both Hospitality and Environmental degrees, a range of them, actually.

https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/study-at-northumbria/

Also Newcastle has a major airport.

Regarding travel arrangements: outside of London the most frequent nonstop British destination from the US seems to be Manchester. Also Newcastle, possibly Birmingham and, seasonally, Edinburgh.

However my suggestion is to consider flying via Dublin (there are direct flights from many US cities). The airport is small and you can clear Customs in both directions in Dublin, very quickly. A huge time saver.

I meant to say this earlier, but was very rushed:

You may or may not agree with @TizerorFizz in any given instance. But I think she always has the best interests of pupils and students at heart. She is certainly correct that many would benefit from taking a different approach to planning.

She and I have political differences. I think it would be fun to do one of those ‘Dining Across the Divide’ meals with her. With plenty of 🍷

Seconding easy access to Dublin for flights and pre-clearance times.

also University College Dublin offer a liberal arts style degree pretty much tailored to visiting American market. That being said inclined to agree with @mathanxiety . A solid US college with a year abroad might meet all needs here.

@poetryandwine Hi! If I knew you, I would take you up on that offer. Thanks for your comments. It’s appreciated.

I think it would be fun.

There aren’t huge numbers of people in my world with whom I have differences who seem to have values based in fundamental decency. (I am not hugely lefty, just slightly). These are the conversations where real stimulation is found.

Helped by the food and 🍷of course

@poetryandwine I do think that conversation matters. Obviously we on MN won’t always think the same way. However many views are entirely valid. I do have an issue with university staff closing down others by assuming superiority. We do all want the same thing - to be helpful.

I think the OP believes a degree from here would be good for her DD. That’s their view. What I would find unusual would be a dc landing here and being very cut off from major hubs and find travelling to them is very difficult. Some cities are very university focussed but I think a view might need to be taken on how remote or how remote is the campus from the city. Then look at courses so draw up a shortlist or use an agent.

@TizerorFizz

Even with 10 choices I think a consultant would be helpful to OP and her DD.

Perhaps we differ on how isolated Lancaster is. Those like me who really like it appreciate the location partly for its proximity to the Lake District, and it really is an easy journey to Manchester: people commute.

I have no sense of whether L is right for this DD.

One of our DC is at university in London and has met several students from the US. US students who come to London for undergraduate are often underwhelmed by student halls of residence which are spartan and with limited food choices versus expectations but chose London over a provincial UK university for the big city, international experience and the opportunity to meet other US and European students (who tend to congregate in London, even more so since Brexit since the average EU student is now a lot richer than pre-Brexit). Yet my DC also has friends at university in NYC whose living arrangements seem far worse than the ones that first year undergraduates have in London - DC has an old schoolfriend at Barnard who had to share a bedroom with three (!) others in first year. We aren't talking about someone who needed to be very careful with money but rather an only child from a wealthy international family with a large house in Connecticut and a second home in Europe.

All this to say that people need to research their university choices very carefully indeed. Studying abroad is not for everyone and, beyond course and career expectations, accommodation and living arrangements need to be assessed with objectivity versus ideals.

I would add that Beckett has two campuses with a free shuttle bus between them. The City "campus" is not very big, just a few buildings really, but adjoins Leeds University campus, together making (IMO) very pleasant surroundings with the convenience of the city centre and all its attractions. The Headingley campus is has lovely period buildings and lots of sports facilities, loads of green spaces and is a short walk to the buzz of Headingley itself. This particular course is based on the City campus FWIW.

I do not work for Beckett, just giving my impressions.

@poetryandwine I have the utmost respect for Lancaster but unless you truly appreciate the location and a campus uni not in a major hub, it is quite remote. For that reason I would not recommend it above Liverpool or Manchester if dc wants a bigger hub of activity and choice in terms of things to see and do in the rest of the uk. If the campus is the main focus then that’s entirely different.

I visited the university of Chicago recently (to see the Robie House) and was blown away by the university. However it’s just a few stops from all Chicago has to offer and it was stunning. I have also visited the UOV in Charlottesville and William and Mary in Williamsburg. The latter is of course stunning (UOV too!) but Williamsburg is a relatively small town where you might need to appreciate the buildings over seeing the USA! My DC would always want to travel a bit and many visiting students in the uk want this too. So I think going to a relatively remote location might not be great for three years. That’s not to say the university at Lancaster is not one of the best.

Hi, OP -

FWIW there is a new-ish thread, something like ‘my did is devastated following rejection by Cambridge’. There is a post essentially saying

’My son went to Lancaster. He is now doing his dream job in ecology in Melbourne thanks purely to the strength of his degree there.’

Just thought I would pass it on. I have no expertise in DD’s areas of interest.

Lancaster isn't remote on a US level! A hour by train to Manchester, 2 hours to Edinburgh, Leeds or Glasgow. (so you can do day/weekend visits without a car). The city has a population of 150,000 that is 5 times that of Ithaca, the city where Cornell is situated in New York State. IMO a very small city with poor public transport links like Ithaca is isolated! Lancaster is a smallish city, yes, but has everything you need. The student friends of my DC have loved it there. You can go to the coast if weather is decent and lots of countryside if the OPs DD likes the outdoors. Not every DC wants to study in a large metropolis.

UK universities don't have the college sport scenes that US universities, but they all have many clubs and societies, which means that there are a wide range activities for a student to take part in.

I agree
I know Americans/Canadians/Aussies who would travel 2 hours for dinner.
Its on a Major Tranline
LOng walk up hill from the main road onto campus but there are regular shuttles

It’s more remote from a wider range of culture in a country where long distance travel is not the norm. However it totally depends on what DD here really wants from a university. It doesn’t seem to be a world class degree from what she says. More to do with the experience. I would really get a consultant to look at options.

Lancaster is definitely on the list and, size-wise, seems like a potentially good fit for her. The earlier advice about differences in the perception of what is a long way to travel was spot on. Traveling a few hours to a big city via nice public transport sounds like a breeze. I wouldn't say that she is not interested in a world-class degree but I think she (and we) have a fairly realistic idea of which unis may be a significant reach and those that are more attainable. I did notice that University of Lancaster specifically quotes tuition fees for 12 months - from October to September. Is that typical? Do must undergraduate students stick around and take courses from June-August?

most don't stick around, no. but you don't have to pay it all in one lump, hence the dates.

As others have said it's only 55 minutes from Manchester by train, and 68 minutes from Liverpool. That's really not that remote from two busy cities, full of culture the both of them. With a student railcard tickets are also pretty cheap on those lines.

Lancaster itself has a good local arts centre with a cinema, lots of comedians on the Edinburgh try-out circuit and some very good touring shows. The cultural tumbleweed isn't that bad.

(edited because I remembered the Dukes in Lancaster)

About Kent- I know the area well and used to be a student landlord in Canterbury but “ de studentificated” the flat as I was not confident about the university’s future. It has suffered financially from brexit and got rid of quite a few courses. I think its finances are ropey. It’s a campus university and a 20-30 minute walk into town. Americans do tend to like Canterbury though, it’s packed with old historic buildings and very compact.

Try to avoid places where she might get stabbed etc. Some cities are not the vibe she is probably after.

She might like somewhere away from London - eg Exeter if she can manage to get in there or York or may be Leeds?

Yes, Kent is in a particularly bad way financially and it is a real shame ad they have some good programmes for students who aren’t necessarily candidates for more competitive universities.

OP, universities must commit to maintaining the resources to enable students to complete their degree programme. But we have seen recent examples on this board where this has been done in a most unsatisfactory manner.

Personally I would not apply to for 2026.

Thanks! I’ve read that some unis and programs are really hurting right now. That’s such a shame. I believe that the international reputation of
UK higher education in general is still quite strong. I doubt financial woes will deter our daughter honestly and suspect that, for the unis and courses she’ll target, it may not be as much of an issue. And perhaps her international fees might help to support a home student.

Apply to Kent, I meant!

That’s a really kind way of looking at it Valleysaurus.
This reminds me of my cousin, married to an American and living over there. Both her kids came over here to check out universities, in the end one went to study in Canada and the other in the Republic of Ireland.

Loughborough university