NationStates Jolt Archive

Anyone know how easy/difficult it is for foreigners (in this case, a british foreigner) to get into an American university?

It's possible.
I knew someone who was offered a place at Harvard.
He turned it down in favour of Oxford though.

It's probably easier. Most western European nations have a smilar but better education system than the US. It may be harder to get into public universities in the US, though.

Being English i'm not entirely sure but i would have thought you'd have to do the International Bacalore(sp?), i don't think GCSEs and A Levels mean a hell of a lot over there

Anyone know how easy/difficult it is for foreigners (in this case, a british foreigner) to get into an American university?

Yeh, but because America is obssessed with the 'If your rich you must have worked hard syndrome' they are really expensive. Currently we have had a big hurrah in the UK about top up fees. Its like what my dad says "If what I am paying is helping somebody less well off, but still intelligent to go university, then there is no problem with it"

It's possible.
I knew someone who was offered a place at Harvard.
He turned it down in favour of Oxford though.
Smart man

*lives in Oxford*

Yeh, but because America is obssessed with the 'If your rich you must have worked hard syndrome' they are really expensive. Currently we have had a big hurrah in the UK about top up fees. Its like what my dad says "If what I am paying is helping somebody less well off, but still intelligent to go university, then there is no problem with it"
Hmm.

I'm not overly worried about the money, but that may just be a lack of the proper sense of the gravity of that money.

I'm in the right year that I wouldn't have to pay top-up fees if I went to uni in Britain (which is nice).

Being English i'm not entirely sure but i would have thought you'd have to do the International Bacalore(sp?), i don't think GCSEs and A Levels mean a hell of a lot over there
There must be provisions for foreign qualifications though I'm sure.

One of them will probably have something about it on their website.

http://www.harvard.edu/ is probably a good place to start looking.

i'm not sure, i have a friend who's from America, she's been in England for a few years because of her dad's job and she'll be moving back in a couple of years which will be just in time for her to go to Uni, she's having to go to a 6th form where she can do the International Bachalore(sp?) thing instead of A Levels so that she'll be able to get in somewhere

Hmm.

I'm not overly worried about the money, but that may just be a lack of the proper sense of the gravity of that money.

I'm in the right year that I wouldn't have to pay top-up fees if I went to uni in Britain (which is nice).

Go to Scotland.
They don't have a learning tax up there and it's closer to home.

Go to Scotland.
They don't have a learning tax up there and it's closer to home.
Yeah, but its Scotland, and what makes you think I want to be closer to home?

One of them will probably have something about it on their website.

http://www.harvard.edu/ is probably a good place to start looking.
Yow, Harvard!

I'd have a better shot getting into the Lunar University on a golf Scholarship.

They have an option to spend a term or a year there if you're at university abroad, that might be interesting.

Yeh, but because America is obssessed with the 'If your rich you must have worked hard syndrome' they are really expensive. Currently we have had a big hurrah in the UK about top up fees. Its like what my dad says "If what I am paying is helping somebody less well off, but still intelligent to go university, then there is no problem with it"

:rolleyes:

Yow, Harvard!

I'd have a better shot getting into the Lunar University on a golf Scholarship.

They have an option to spend a term or a year there if you're at university abroad, that might be interesting.
Why do you want to go to an American uni? :confused: Britain has some of the oldests and best uni's around.

Anyone know how easy/difficult it is for foreigners (in this case, a british foreigner) to get into an American university?

It depends Spoffin.

What course of study?

Most schools like diversity and have programs that work with students.

Money makes it always easy as some of the dumbest people I know are Ivy League graduates.

One of the smartest I ever came across went to a state college....

What course of study?

Philosophy probably.

Why do you want to go to an American uni? :confused: Britain has some of the oldests and best uni's around.

Depends on the course of study.

FYI. University of Berkeley has had more Nobel Laurettes then most univeristies.....

We are not entirely putz's ;)

Why do you want to go to an American uni? :confused: Britain has some of the oldests and best uni's around.
Well, I live in Oxford, so that's out. And, I don't want to go to Cambridge, because it'd be weird with everyone punting from the wrong end and whatnot.

Warwick, York and Nottingham are all kinda appealing. I'm just looking at the posibility of an american university as something a bit different is all.

FYI. University of Berkeley has had more Nobel Laurettes then most univeristies.....
Which is fine for your super-geniuses, but I want to know what they'll do for a regular, average-joe genius like me.

Philosophy probably.

Ahhh Starvation plans! :p

http://www.berkeley.edu/

http://www.ucsc.edu/public/

Santa Cruz is jokingly called the hippy school.

You can take a graded course of study or a pass/fail course of study......

if youre not trying for the ivy league when you have mediocre grades, its easy enough.
youll have to find a way to pay for it
if you contact the admissions office of the colleges you are interested in, they can help you, after you get accepted they will also help you get a student visa.
the local college here has lots of foreign students and it is a state school

Depends on the course of study.

FYI. University of Berkeley has had more Nobel Laurettes then most univeristies.....

We are not entirely putz's ;)
So what? I wasn't badmouthing any universities.

Ahhh Starvation plans! :p

http://www.berkeley.edu/

http://www.ucsc.edu/public/

Santa Cruz is jokingly called the hippy school.

You can take a graded course of study or a pass/fail course of study......
Starvation plans? As in there are no jobs in philosophy? lol.

True enough, but you can combine it with economics or politics for a reasonably practical qualification.

Which is fine for your super-geniuses, but I want to know what they'll do for a regular, average-joe genius like me.

It's a top school and the hardest year is the first year. After you make it, there is all kinds of support.

My sister and a couple old girl friends went there. They were smart(well maybe not my sister ;) ) but I would not label them genius level.

if youre not trying for the ivy league when you have mediocre grades, its easy enough.
youll have to find a way to pay for it
if you contact the admissions office of the colleges you are interested in, they can help you, after you get accepted they will also help you get a student visa.
the local college here has lots of foreign students and it is a state school
I'm smart, but its true that my grades have been slipping (just how far I'm gonna be finding out tommorow). I think probably the Ivy league will slip out of reach for me (ditto Oxford and Cambridge, they've been turning down students with 3 A's at A level, and I'm not gonna get that).

I'm looking more for the atmosphere anyway, so that even if I screw it all up I can still have spent some time doing something worthwhile.

Ahhh Starvation plans! :p
Starvation? I just saw a philosepher this afternoon. A real Diogenes, like in not living in a house. :D And he wasn't starving either. He just dug up 2 nice juicy Big Mac's from underneath the rubbish.

Dunno about out-of-nation students, but in North Carolina, it is hard to get into colleges if you are... Out of state! :upyours: :mad: :headbang:

Starvation plans? As in there are no jobs in philosophy? lol.

True enough, but you can combine it with economics or politics for a reasonably practical qualification.

Ahh economics.

A Harvard MBA will keep you employed.

Stanford does well and so does Berkeley in that area.

It's a top school and the hardest year is the first year. After you make it, there is all kinds of support.

My sister and a couple old girl friends went there. They were smart(well maybe not my sister ;) ) but I would not label them genius level.They make the first year is the hardest?

Americans are strange.

Starvation? I just saw a philosepher this afternoon. A real Diogenes, like in not living in a house. :D And he wasn't starving either. He just dug up 2 nice juicy Big Mac's from underneath the rubbish.
An exrstentialist, perhaps

An exrstentialist, perhaps
A free spirit.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/02/19_survey.shtml

Survey says: Not hardworking, overwhelmingly liberal, significant number not born in US.

This sounds very promising.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/02/19_survey.shtml

Survey says: Not hardworking, overwhelmingly liberal, significant number not born in US.

This sounds very promising.
If it's just something "different" you want, there are plenty of universities across Europe, you know.

Anyone know how easy/difficult it is for foreigners (in this case, a british foreigner) to get into an American university?
It's easier in some schools than in others, but it is possible, even encouraged here. I know someone studying for a PhD in philosophy, and he originally came from Ireland. So it is possible to do. Just try to look for a college with a good foreign exchange program, or better yet, an entire department for foreign studies. Also, should you have any monetary trouble getting into colleges here, most of them offer financial aid.

If it's just something "different" you want, there are plenty of universities across Europe, you know.
Yeah, I'm gonna be slowed down by my inability to speak anything more than very basic French and Italian (note: not French or Italian, but French and Italian, a strange hybrid language which is utterly incomprehensible to anyone and everyone.)

Anyone know how easy/difficult it is for foreigners (in this case, a british foreigner) to get into an American university?

Easy very easy, just go to the american embasy and apply for a student visa.
The universities in america do not have higher standers for foreigners, but you will have to pay higher tuition. :)

Yeah, but its Scotland, and what makes you think I want to be closer to home?

What? What's wrong with us Scottish?

Yeah, I'm gonna be slowed down by my inability to speak anything more than very basic French and Italian (note: not French or Italian, but French and Italian, a strange hybrid language which is utterly incomprehensible to anyone and everyone.)
Well, most international students I met had their courses in English.

Easy very easy, just go to the american embasy and apply for a student visa.
The universities in america do not have higher standers for foreigners, but you will have to pay higher tuition. :)
The tests are different though. For example, I'll only have qualifications in 4 or 5 subjects for my final two years of school, and although we have SATs here, they're not remotely similar to SATs over there (they don't even stand for the same thing)

What? What's wrong with us Scottish?
Nothing's wrong with Scottish people (except bagpipes, may you burn in hell for those). My one memory of a holiday in Scotland though was very, very cold, and very, very wet.

Nothing's wrong with Scottish people (except bagpipes, may you burn in hell for those). My one memory of a holiday in Scotland though was very, very cold, and very, very wet.

Oh, don't worry. I think there are about 5 people in the whole of Scotland who like bagpipes, all of whom are either deaf or cats.

And as for the weather....yeah, we're like that over here a lot. Sometimes we get scorching hot weather, sometimes damp, horrible weather, but most of the time it's sorta in between.

first of all, the whole "universities in europe are better" attitude is laughable at best. MIT, Harvard, Yale, etc. is non comparable in medicine, business, and computer technology (all you have to do is look at the grant and patents flowing into and from the students/faculty at these universities). what grounds are better to judge? And america has the most competetive system, due to the flood of the world's best going to American universities. (another real world comparison....who gets by far the most applicationsforeign students?) I will never understand this european superiority syndrome which has absoutely nothing to back it up, all facts point toward the opposite, excluding a few universities in Britain (Oxford is world class economics, etc.), as far as real business performance, patents of technology, productivity, and so on and so forth. there is a reason american productivity growth over the past 15 years is second to none in the world, the "terrible" education system must be producing some seriously competent dummies, dumb enough to outperform on any measurable their "smart" european counterparts.

anyway, economics, go Ivy League, as far as pursuable degrees, no one is more highly prized than an Ivy League top performer in economics, one of my good friends is a valedictorian in economics from Harvard, he graduated with a job running the entire Asian Citigroup banking subsidiary. and a Brit is the most likely of foreign students to get a visa. Right now, it is extremely difficult for an Arab or North African to get in for any reason, so there are more spots for asian, European and non US Americans to get in. Just to answer the question of the topic.

is it the reputation of the public schools where the US gets its' rap? the fact is, the upper echelon and the average public schooling system is good, the lower level performs abominably, pulling down the averages. Which stands to reason, considering no European country has to try to educate near the numbers of foreign born and multicultural student bodies, which present a whole host of challenges to a system a much less diverse, more monocultural, native population would present, and there are also racial and ethnic issues that need to be dealt with in the US.....and the private schooling elite in the US has no peer (the rich getting richer, another issue). know what you are talking about before insulting the public school systems of the US, it is far more comlpicated than you obviously are aware of......and those dumb americans have been outperforming their european counterparts in the business world for two decades, might be humiliating if that is your attitude before you compete against them.

first of all, the whole "universities in europe are better" attitude is laughable at best.
Despite all their great universities Americans are still incapable of reading properly. :rolleyes: No one in here was saying European universities are better. Now thats laughable.

first of all, the whole "universities in europe are better" attitude is laughable at best. MIT, Harvard, Yale, etc. is non comparable in medicine, business, and computer technology (all you have to do is look at the grant and patents flowing into and from the students/faculty at these universities). what grounds are better to judge? And america has the most competetive system, due to the flood of the world's best going to American universities. (another real world comparison....who gets by far the most applicationsforeign students?) I will never understand this european superiority syndrome which has absoutely nothing to back it up, all facts point toward the opposite, excluding a few universities in Britain (Oxford is world class economics, etc.), as far as real business performance, patents of technology, productivity, and so on and so forth. there is a reason american productivity growth over the past 15 years is second to none in the world, the "terrible" education system must be producing some seriously competent dummies, dumb enough to outperform on any measurable their "smart" european counterparts.

anyway, economics, go Ivy League, as far as pursuable degrees, no one is more highly prized than an Ivy League top performer in economics, one of my good friends is a valedictorian in economics from Harvard, he graduated with a job running the entire Asian Citigroup banking subsidiary. and a Brit is the most likely of foreign students to get a visa. Right now, it is extremely difficult for an Arab or North African to get in for any reason, so there are more spots for asian, European and non US Americans to get in. Just to answer the question of the topic.

is it the reputation of the public schools where the US gets its' rap? the fact is, the upper echelon and the average public schooling system is good, the lower level performs abominably, pulling down the averages. Which stands to reason, considering no European country has to try to educate near the numbers of foreign born and multicultural student bodies, which present a whole host of challenges to a system a much less diverse, more monocultural, native population would present, and there are also racial and ethnic issues that need to be dealt with in the US.....and the private schooling elite in the US has no peer (the rich getting richer, another issue). know what you are talking about before insulting the public school systems of the US, it is far more comlpicated than you obviously are aware of......and those dumb americans have been outperforming their european counterparts in the business world for two decades, might be humiliating if that is your attitude before you compete against them.An issue you neglect is cost. For instance, the average earnings of an Ivy leaguer may be greater than another graduate, however the additional fees may mean that you're proportionally not much worse off going to a lower university. I don't know if this is true of american universities, but I know that this is the case with Oxford and Cambridge, and there are studies to suggest that this is true of some prestigious private schools also.

Despite all their great universities Americans are still incapable of reading properly. :rolleyes: No one in here was saying European universities are better. Now thats laughable.
Why do you want to go to an American uni? :confused: Britain has some of the oldests and best uni's around.
Not directly, but capable of being interpreted that way.

Then there is this one:
It's probably easier. Most western European nations have a smilar but better education system than the US. It may be harder to get into public universities in the US, though.

Not directly, but capable of being interpreted that way.
I fail to see how that can be even remotely be seen as me saying Euro uni's are better.

is it the reputation of the public schools where the US gets its' rap? the fact is, the upper echelon and the average public schooling system is good, the lower level performs abominably, pulling down the averages. Which stands to reason, considering no European country has to try to educate near the numbers of foreign born and multicultural student bodies, which present a whole host of challenges to a system a much less diverse, more monocultural, native population would present, and there are also racial and ethnic issues that need to be dealt with in the US.....and the private schooling elite in the US has no peer (the rich getting richer, another issue). know what you are talking about before insulting the public school systems of the US, it is far more comlpicated than you obviously are aware of......and those dumb americans have been outperforming their european counterparts in the business world for two decades, might be humiliating if that is your attitude before you compete against them.This paragraph is bullshit though. You speak as if there are no issues of different ethnicity, multiculturalism or non-english speaking in Britain or other european countries: something that is flatly untrue.

Then there is this one:
Not saying anything about the quality of the uni's.

I fail to see how that can be even remotely be seen as me saying Euro uni's are better.
Saying "Why do you want to go to an American university when there are some of the best universities in Britain?" doesn't in your mind equate to a suggestion that there exist better universities in Britain than in the States? I don't think it justified a rant that tough, but I can see how it could have been taken that way.

Not saying anything about the quality of the uni's.
Okay, now this is just silly. A post saying that the European education system is better than the US education system doesn't imply that the poster thinks that the European education system is better than the US education system ?

Saying "Why do you want to go to an American university when there are some of the best universities in Britain?" doesn't in your mind equate to a suggestion that there exist better universities in Britain than in the States? I don't think it justified a rant that tough, but I can see how it could have been taken that way.
I can't. Since I just said Britain has some not the best uni's.

first of all, the whole "universities in europe are better" attitude is laughable at best....
:) Obviously, many Americans will say their system is better, and many Europeans will consider their system better. I say they are both probably very good -- six of one, half a dozen of another. My cousin did go to study in London for his degree, however. So I can't quite agree American schools are better -- but I bet they're just as good.


is it the reputation of the public schools where the US gets its' rap? the fact is, the upper echelon and the average public schooling system is good, the lower level performs abominably, pulling down the averages. Which stands to reason, considering no European country has to try to educate near the numbers of foreign born and multicultural student bodies, which present a whole host of challenges to a system a much less diverse, more monocultural, native population would present, and there are also racial and ethnic issues that need to be dealt with in the US.....

A very good point. As a teacher in a public school in New York (that is: one paid for entirely by taxation and not tuition), I can tell you that my particular school has students from around the world and over 80 different languages are spoken in its walls. There is a tremendous immigrant population, and some have difficulties in achieving as much as their agemates.

There are a number of different reasons for this.

1) Learning problems. American born kids don't have a monopoly on dyslexia, ADHD, dysgraphia, deafness, blindness, et cetera.

2) Level of education in the home country When schooling is not mandatory in some of the poorer nations, often times children have been kept home to work or to watch younger kids. Illiteracy and lack of education in their own languages make it difficult to catch up.

3) Second Language Learners Many students from other nations are lucky in that if they have a decent education, they have learned a second (third, fourth, et cetera) language and English generally is one of them. HOWEVER, if one is learning a language for the first time, it is generally accepted that it will take 5-7 years to build fluency.

That said, every effort is made to educate each child in his own language whilst teaching him English... would an American child be taught in English in Italy or Germany, I wonder...?

The paradox is that given the exit exams in NY for high school students, if one cannot speak, read and write English like a native, one will be severely hampered in his ability to pass the tests.

4) Cultural norms There are some cultures which do not value education, particularly for females. The girls are expected to get married ASAP and to stay home to help with housework/childcare whenever it is deemed necessary.

There are some cultures which believe in a month off for winter vacation regardless of what the school system's schedule is -- subsequently, their children miss 2-3 weeks of schooling 'in their country'.

The list could go on quite a while...

To get back to the topic: that said, Spoffin -- check out State University of New York (SUNY system) or City University of New York (CUNY system). I went to a CUNY school and there were students from around the globe in my classes -- it can't be too impossible to get in. :)

Okay, now this is just silly. A post saying that European universities are better than US universities doesn't imply that the poster thinks that European universities are better than US universities?
Eeh...what? Where did he say that?

Spoffin,

The answer to your question is yes in every way - if you are a competitive student your application will be looked at seriously by any decent university. Their admissions office will have significant experience in translating various global credentials into the American model and there is considerable respect for A levels in the US as it means you are at a more advanced level than most American high school graduates. The disadvantage of being a Brit is your range - you specialize earlier than Americans do and so universities might even ask you to take an additional course in a topic that you dropped at GCSE - but not always.

Funding is the other issue - state schools will gouge you on fees in the same way that private schools will gouge everyone so there is no difference for you really. Apply to as many of the best schools in your chosen major as you can stand and see what kind of offers you get. And I would suggest focusing on urban areas - every Brit I know that went to a campus university in the US was horrified by the culture where as people that lived in Boston, New York, DC, Philly Chicago or the Bay Area were all pretty happy with their lives.

Also depending on the kind of philosophy degree you would like to do look at Comparative Literature departments in the US - a number of these departments - particularly in the Ivy Leagues --are almost entirely theoretical/philosophical.

Good luck

As to other potentially useful information:

Starvation plans? As in there are no jobs in philosophy? lol.

True enough, but you can combine it with economics or politics for a reasonably practical qualification.

Not if you were thinking of staying in the UK and going to Nottingham. A rather dubious and distinct lack of a politics and philosophy dual honours degree (although they have started an MA in political philosophy in the politics department - the year after I did this bloody political science MA)

Yes, it still seems to me that Oxford or Cambridge have more status to US people than any American university , even Harvard, would have for UK people.

I know three people who have gone (one is going) to Uni in the US.

Two of them did (or is going) to do a year in the US, because of their degree. But that is all organised by the University on a system similar to the twinning of British towns to ones on the continent (I think).

The other one went a top US uni for a course, he took SATs to get in (iirc).

Two of them did (or is going) to do a year in the US, because of their degree. But that is all organised by the University on a system similar to the twinning of British towns to ones on the continent (I think).



the program is called Universitas 21 (because there are 21 places you can go to I belive), it'd be worth checking out if you wanted to spend some time studying abroad. Also a fair few courses/departments now do a sandwitch year (the third year of a four year BA being spent abroad somewhere) - the interesting thing about which being that you pay your fees to your home institution. (the result being, person at US uni pays US fees to spend a year in Britain, person from UK pays UK fees (quite a lot less by most accounts) to spend a year in the USA)

If I understand it correctly I believe it is somewhat harder for a foreign student to get into a US university post 9/11, but then again everything is harder post 9/11.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute International Students Application Rules. (http://66.40.170.198/about/international.cfm)

If I understand it correctly I believe it is somewhat harder for a foreign student to get into a US university post 9/11, but then again everything is harder post 9/11.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute International Students Application Rules. (http://66.40.170.198/about/international.cfm)
One of the people I know went the Summer after 9/11, and said that it was a right bitch to get a student visa to go to America.

Well there are a fair number of colleges and university in the US that are pretty foreigner friendly, not the big names but US schools if you want to go to the US for school, and they usually don't require too much in the way of non-standard domestic education/testing. The only one I can think of right now is New England College but there are more. You might also look into Canadian schools, they have some fine schools and some are also very foreign friendly - Toronto and Vancouver are almost on the US border and the US is a good weekend trip from Montreal.