Son raised in US applying to UK unis - any recs for a 'consultant'/ service to help?

[Expatmum2023]

Hi all

My son wants to apply to UK unis from the States where we live right now and where he's mostly gone to school apart from a few stints in Italy. (I grew up in the UK and went to UK unis but am sure a lot has changed since the dinosaurs roamed ..) I need someone/a consultant to guide him through the process, in particular someone who knows how various subjects are taught in various places. E.g. if you like hands on engineering go to X, whereas more theoretical go to Y. There seem to be lots of 'consultants' online but I have no clue who is good or bad.. Has anyone used them? I'm looking for something that won't break the bank but will be active in hold his feet to the fire so to speak in terms of writing the essay and turning things in on time.. Better I outsource this and preserve my mum-son relationship (: he's that kind of kid.. Thanks all

US four year colleges were founded on the Scottish principles of higher education.

OP herself attended university in the UK

Not sure if possible but how about a one year fast track A level course at a UK boarding school who will offer help applying for degrees. STEM degrees that assume A level knowledge will be difficult without it. A broad based foundation year or Scottish uni with a 4 year bachelor degree are other options as others.

There are plenty of universities who don't require AP exams, who will take A grades in Honors classes as an equivalent. You just have to look at the web pages of entry requirements for international students and find the drop down for USA.

It's not rocket science. But equally, not all universities will accept these as alternatives. Warwick, LSE, Imperial and Oxford are all very clear about needing 5 APs at grade 5 level in relevant subjects (Oxford also will only consider them if taken over a maximum of 2 yrs, not 3 or 4 yrs).

All this information is out there, to be found in black and white.

Also look at Kaplan pathways for foundation years.

Yes it’s been interesting seeing so many US parents on group and I’ve picked up a lot.
They are definitely used to more parental involvement eg there’s been questions about what there is for parents freshers week - nothing! The lack of catered accommodation seems to be a concern too.

Some of the advice concerning personal statements will be out of date for your son, as they are changing to paragraphs answering four specific questions, rather than the freer firm they have been up to now.

Those were my thoughts as well.

University teaching staff don't send reminders or chase outstanding work. They email the deadlines and expect the students to stick to them.

They also penalise marks for late submissions. DD's university applied a 5% deduction from the final mark for each calendar day the work was late, up to a maximum of 7 days. Work submitted more than 7 calendar days after the deadline received a mark of zero.

Students have to be self starters. Those who aren't don't do well.

There isn't much hand holding happening at UK universities.

St Andrews is very geared up for American student applications and a strong community when they are at the university too if he wants. The Scottish system, where it is normal to take a number of subjects and specialise in later years sound more suited to him than England and Wales. St Andrews have specific advisers you can make an appointment with to talk it through and get advice: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/meet-us/appointments/americas/ other Scottish universities may have something similar.

it also wouldn’t surprise me if some of the US agents you mention who help with Ivy League also help with getting in to the best international universities

You and (slightly) I are both mistaken. Oxford and Imperial both state that for Engineering subjects they require Grade 5 at four AP exams, not five. (My mistake was claiming that Imperial requires three). They will both want BC Calculus and probably Physics.

Oxford will waive one exam because of DS’ very high SAT scores, hence requiring three. Oxford requires the PAT and the maths intensive courses at Imperial require the ESAT. These are more aligned with the British curriculum than the US one.

Sure, some universities have more flex, particularly for Overseas in these crisis very challenging times. But not the English ones OP has mentioned. Given the scope of its financial crisis, I would not be prepared to say what kinds of alternative qualifications Edinburgh might consider (for Overseas) this year.

A sound footing is always best. DS deserves to thrive, not stumble his way through university. An extra year is a small price to pay to get it right.

If you search for disability service at the uni it will give you an idea of support available if he does have ADHD. They also have a presence at open days to speak to.

PS, OP - you don’t say how many SAT attempts were made and will be reported. If multiple, the AP waiver would need to be confirmed with Oxford.

I am singularly not focused on Engineering, but I do know that other courses at both LSE and Oxford DO require 5 APs. Or fewer, if combined with a high SAT score.

This is why it is so important to look up every individual course and see exactly what is required, not to go on benchmarks.

Oxford doesn't want multiple attempts at anything but requires they are reported. So if it takes you 3 goes to get a good SAT score, that will count against you. They explain the importance of doing well first go in exams in some detail on their website.

If he is serious about Oxford he needs to know that unlike in the US, Oxford does not care at all about extra curricular stuff. All they care about are your grades, how well you do in the interview if you get that far, and the results of any college tests you need to take ( this is subject dependant, not all subjects have them).
He would need to fit the “type” of person they look for. More importantly the pressure at Oxford is intense and you need to be someone who is quite self reliant, who can work independently and be able to cope with the workload which is huge.
From what I know of Edinburgh from friends with dc there, it’s a gentler regime, the first year is almost a foundation year, some very academic people skip it. It sounds more flexible, and certainly the workload is nothing like as intense as Oxford. My daughter at Oxford has two essays a week, with a huge reading list, as many as ten books per essay. She was working in the library until midnight most nights this past year.
It looks beautiful and the college tutorial system suits some people really well, but it is also a brutal regime with the short intense terms.

I think many of us expats (educated in the UK) who are putting our children through elementary, middle and high school in the US have a romantic idea of sending our DC to university in the UK. It appeals because it's cheaper (theoretically), because applications here in the US are a huge and terrifying business, because admissions in the US not being a level playing field is distasteful to us, because of the politics of university these days, because we think we know where we/our DC stand academically if we use a benchmark we are familiar with.

I've done a fair bit of research into overseas applications for my own DC and am coming to the conclusion that not only are UK universities facing similar funding challenges as many US colleges severely enough to impact the quality of admissions for overseas students, but it's actually questionable whether pushing your DC to be the right fit for both US colleges and UK universities (which is what we mainly opt for, for insurance purposes) is in their best interests. Excellent quality education is available in both countries. The US takes a much more IB/whole person approach to education; the UK specializes very early on (16yo, realistically). There will be very few students who can be excellent generalists AND excellent specialists at the point of Early Admissions/UCAS deadlines/Oxbridge deadlines - 17yo, mainly. These students exist, but they're very much the exception to the rule.

This is all in the context of Ivies versus Oxbridge-and-equivalent. If a student isn't looking for that level of academic rigor, I think the UK can offer a much broader experience and from my experience they will fall over themselves to accept overseas, higher-fee-paying students (which must cause much bitterness amongst local students).

I think post-grad or year-abroad experience might be a better solution.

That’s a good post @Christwosheds as you have direct experience of Oxford (or your dd does)

Oxford is lovely and ofc offers an amazing standard of education, and will always be good in your CV; but it’s a very intense regime and while it suits some, it’s not for everyone.

It’s important to recognise that I think. Just bc you are a big high flyer and very able, doesn’t mean the specific offer of Oxford is for you.

Great post, @clary. I have helped several able Oxford students to transfer. And a low degree classification from Oxford is s bit if a yellow flag.

He's going to need to become a more proactive young man than he is at present if he's going to succeed in university.

Also, from my own DCs' experience applying to universities in the US from a US high school, are there no counselors in his high school who can help him with the legwork? (Applying to US universities isn't all that complicated either).

High schools usually have counselors to work with students on applications and keep them slogging away at getting the process accomplished. A high school counselor would be able to point him in the direction of an expert too, if their own expertise fell short.

Counselors are also able to help you navigate university financial aid. Nobody pays the full whack at Harvard unless their parents are millionaires.

High schools start a few years before senior year with university readiness seminars, financial aid seminars, and evenings where parents are informed of the application process. Has yours done none of that?

Does your DS actually want to go to university?

If your son's high school does not offer APs, then he's at a serious disadvantage.

Also, the US college admissions system isn't how you imagine it to be, and universities are not there just to extract money from parents.

For any STEM major in the UK or the US, your DS would need at the very least AP BC Calc under his belt. This is especially so for engineering.

Transfer him to a local.community college to take the AP courses he will need for any well regarded STEM program.

His (academically challenging - top 5 in US) prep school does not do APs (the US equivalent of A levels) so the only 'metric' is a SAT (in the mid-high 1500s- you can take it many times) and a couple of APs he took in his own time. Liked St Andrews, liked Oxford, liked Imperial, liked Edinburgh. ! Subjects he's not certain.. (US system doesn't focus on WHAT you want to study until the last of the undergrad years - don't get me started.. it's closer to the Scottish system but IMHO in the US I think it's about extracting money from parents) but likely something STEM - engineering/biology/ physics? perhaps economics. Definitely a joint degree or some kind. Preferably one that lets you change to a similar subject if you detest the one you were accepted for (e.g. from biochem to bio or similar)

TBH this is all going to be a bit challenging, and I'm not sure the UK system will really suit him for reasons other posters have already said. St Andrews is the most US friendly of all the UK's universities, so maybe go with that. They would probably accept him with good grades in appropriate courses plus SAT/ACT.

As a starting point, unless he applies to Scotland he needs to decide what he wants to study.

Which APs has he done and what scores did he get? Could he do any more next year?

I'm interested that he fancies Oxford when Cambridge's course structure sounds more what he would want - the tripos system allows switches of subject part way through, Nat Sci is a combined science option. But he really doesn't sound qualified based on what you've said and for any Oxbridge course he would have to be really committed to his subject. As it stands he can't even decide on which on.e

I lie. IIRC there are a few Engineering programmes with lower or nonexistent Maths requirements. There is no reason these would demand Grade 5 in BC Calculus.

While Harvard tuition may be $90k the actual average tuition paid is way lower did to aid and I’m not really reading much that signage your son is Harvard material so I’m not sure why you’re using that as the yardstick, I’m sure you state university is way cheaper than $90k.

And I don’t get why you’re going on about how American kids are no dependent and helped with everything unlike UK students, majority of the students in the US do not use consultants but you seem to be using this as some justification to get consultants for your son.

He needs to step up, research the requirements from the UK universities he is interested in and apply, or if you’re willing to pay for consultants then hopefully you can get recommendations here or search online.

I’d worry that if he’s not ‘a self starter‘ how on earth will he survive a UK uni? There’s far far less support than at school - everything is self motivated. Nobody will tell him off for missing a deadline or tell him when to start. Nobody will force him to go to lectures.

I spent 85% of my degree without any guidance from lecturers. I had to choose every essay subject essentially myself outside of the general scope.

UK unis need independence and self motivation. Will he be able to do that?

For what it's worth @poetryandwine my DD had an unconditional offer from Bristol for starting this year on a course that they advertised as absolutely requiring AP Calc BC as a prerequisite. But this academic year, she took AP Calc AB (which as you know, is the first half only of the curriculum of BC).
They didn't query this or even ask her to get a 5 in the exam (she did get a 5). She just got offered a place on the course. She will be going elsewhere but the Maths component which has been seemingly quite challenging in a few RG universities has not played out as such.