moving2nyc

Hi there

I'm looking for any resources to help us understand how we get our daughter in a university back in the UK.

She has just graduated from High School in NYC and is looking at Uni for Sept 2013 admission.

Any help greatly appreciated

rebs

I posted on your thread in the US section, but JG is right, there is more chat about UK universities over here...

Here is the UCAS website http://www.ucas.ac.uk/ start here, you should get most of what you need.

Check into the deadlines for international students - 15th October is a deadline here for some courses - medicine etc and Oxbridge.

ukgalch

Hi,
Certainly check out the UCAS website, because all UK applications have to be submitted to this centralised body. It has great parents' and students' sections, you can also search for courses and universities and find out about student finance, amongst many other things. As a student coming from another country and education system the 'tarrif tables' will be important. You use these to convert the qualifications your daughter will have to UCAS tarrif points (UK unis require a minimum number of points for entry to each course they offer).
My son did College Board APs at his school in Switzerland and these were easily 'translated' into tarrif points to get him into Leeds. Because he is a British citizen he was able to go to the UK as a 'home' student, so he did not apply as an international student (and doesn't have to pay the extortionate international fees!)
A new website, Unitstats, came online in the past week: http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/ which is billed as 'The official website for comparing UK higher education course data'.
You can also contact universities directly, but be advised that not all information is accurate and some admissions officers come back with an outright 'I don't know'. I was given completely the wrong information about my daughter's eligibility for 'home fees' from the European Officer at a Scottish uni this week! Fortunately, I'd already found out from Glasgow that she is eligible after living in Switzerland. So, if you hear an answer that you don't like, I would double check and it might change!

Sue

The link that rebs shared is the one to go for

From there you can find info on all the universities.

Basically using the UCAS site you can apply to up to 5 university using one application. The earlier your daughter applies the better.

Once you've narrowed down which universities your daughter would like to apply to check out their sites for admission requirements. Most want a certain scores in the SAT/ACT. My son also had to sit Subjects SATS in History and Biology. The universities will require minimum SAT/ACT/AP scores in order to be considered. But each university is different so check carefully.

Subject SATS aren't scheduled every month like the main SAT so you need to be sure you daughter can sit them in time. You can find a schedule here

To add, my son applied to 5 universities in the UK and none were interested in his GPA. They wanted a HS diploma and minimum scores on certain SATS (eg reading, math etc as well as two subject SATS).

Another consideration is how you are going to fund her studies, because if she has not lived in the UK for 3 years prior to enrolling (eg she's lived with you in the US) she will not be able to apply for government backed UK student loans. However, she can apply for FAFSA to attend a school abroad.

If you have further questions fire away, as I've gone through all this recently as my son has just started his second year at university in the UK

Sue

If the OP's daughter has been in the US the last 3 years she won't qualify for home fees as she is not in a EU country.

moving2nyc

Hi everyone, thanks for all the feedback.

We found UCAS and have started working through that.

Regarding SATs scores and GPA, my daughter has learning difficulties so not too high a score there. However, she is interested in a career in Event management which is more about practical skills than academic. When it comes to being practical, well organised and confident she gets A+ every time.

She has only be in the US for 2 years so she will qualify as a home student.

Keen to learn about funding options as the course she is looking at is £8,500 per year and on top of that we need to find accommodation/living costs

Thanks again

rebs

Here's the page that will start you off looking at the funding options (great if you can swing it to be considered a home student) - http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/studentfinance/

It's also well worth looking at the website that is linked to for the independent view - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/stu...n-fees-changes that's a fantastic resource.

Sue

She has to have lived in the UK for 3 years immediately before enrollment and if she's been in the US with you for the past 2 years then she probably won't qualify. Is she looking at universities in Scotland or England/Wales? If it's the latter home fees do not differ widely from international fees now. The difference is how they are funded.

However if she is in the US on a temporary visa (eg L2 etc) you may be able to get rated as a home student if she can prove the move was only temporary. But that's not guaranteed. It can depend on the university.

moving2nyc

Hmmmm Sue,

The first Uni we called asked how long she has lived in the US and we said 2 years. They then said she would qualify for home student but looks like we need to double check.

Sue

Yes absolutely double check. The person you spoke to may not be familiar with the rules. Saying that though, some universities have been known to be more lenient with the rule. But always clarify. We had a member on BE recently who was told her daughter qualified as a home student but when she got her final acceptance she was re-set as an international student. So get it in writing

ukgalch

If your daughter is eligible as a home student, she'll be able to apply for a student loan too, info on UCAS. The brand new Unistats website is good for comparing different aspects of specific courses, including cost, student satisfaction, employment stats six months after end of course, housing costs etc. You can save up to four, I think, and see the results on one page. My son wasn't asked for SATs scores for any of the applications he made.
Good luck!

moving2nyc

Will do that as we go through the process.

Next steps are to look for suitable Universities that have event management courses

Then we'll figure out the finances

thanks again

Mummy in the foothills

Look at some of the Colleges too, not just Uni's some of them do the foundation degrees in things like management. then they can do a third year for a BA.

rebs

MITF, do you mind if I ask what you mean by colleges? Do you mean this sort of place - http://www.thecollege.co.uk/ I think this is our local college.

Is there a central application system or directory for these kinds of colleges, or do you have to look at them individually?

Mummy in the foothills

that is the kind of college I mean. For our local one it used to be called a Technical college
http://www.thecollege.co.uk/higher-education/courses on this page they show foundation degrees
We didn't look at all colleges just the one thats a 5 minute drive from my mothers house, to save on costs.
We contacted the head of dept for the degree he wanted to do and they handled everything, we had the high school mail the final transcripts direct to this person and this included SAT ACT scores too.