College in the United Kingdom?

Most of the world's best universities are in the United States and Canada. Many of the rest are England and Scotland.

All British universities are subsidized by their government, which means that tuition charges are low. British citizens pay very little in tuition and fees, but even American citizens studying in Britian pay much less than an American private university would charge.

Getting admitted into British universities is complicated, though, because of the differences in our educational systems. British teenagers applying to universities take a series of exams called "A levels". As an American high school student, you wouldn't do very well on the "A levels" even if you could figure out where to take them. You haven't studied English history or government, or read enough English literature. Even the science and math exams might focus on different topics, or topics presented in a different way. Also, British students generally leave high school a year later than Americans, so they've studied these topics in more depth.

When applying to British universities all you have to offer them is your American high school diploma, your SAT scores and maybe some AP classes. For most British universities this is enough, and for a few it isn't.

Of England's top two universities, Cambridge doesn't encourage applications from American high school students. Oxford will consider Americans with really excellent SAT scores, grades and AP test scores.

Some other universities are more welcoming though. The University of Edinburgh accepts Americans with strong SAT scores and three AP tests. Also in Scotland, the University of St. Andrews recently accepeted a Drake student. The University of Stirling has enrolled hundreds of American students in recent years. So the policy on American applicants really varies from one university to another. Grades and test scores are generally the only criteria that matter to the UK's admission officers.

The University of London is a collection of independent schools with names like University College London, Imperial College London, King's College London, Queen Mary, and the London School of Economics. Each has it's own admissions process. Queen Mary welcomes American students and does not require AP exams for admission. If you don't get in to Queen Mary College, it also offers a one year pre-udergraduate Foundation Programme for American students to prepare for admission to British universities. Once you complete the program you are automatically admitted to Queen Mary, and in a strong position to apply to others as well. A lot of British universities have foundation programmes like this. This could be the way to go if you have your heart set on one of the difficult-to-get-into universities.

Three to five AP exams with high scores and/or already having done one year of U.S. university study will satisfy the admissions requirements of any UK university. The British Council's web site has a useful overview.

At British universities, you apply directly to the department (biology, economics, etc.) that you intend to major in. The curriculum is more specialized and less broad than in American colleges and universities. There are few distribution requirements. It is expected that you already obtained a good general education in high school.

On December 1, 2008 the New York Times featured a front-page article on the growing popularity of Scottish universities among American students.

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