penguinsix

My only concern would be a bit of a cultural one. Will she have some friends there already (friends from trips to the UK, friends of cousins, etc)? Some sort of support system (aunts, uncles and whatnot)? I think she might get a bit teased being 'a Yank' and she may feel a bit like an outsider at times. Even if she goes over every Summer and whatnot, there are always some looking to mess with her and she might have some feelings of loneliness in the first semester that could affect her academically.

Happens here in the US, don't get me wrong. Kids go off to school 100s or 1000s of miles from home and know no one and don't fit in and etc. Might be a bit more exaggerated being so far from her folks and high school friends.

Dan725

On the flipside, there do seem to be a lot of US students in certain UK universities....the higher up the chain you go, the more there are. For instance, Oxford is teeming with them, so in that kind of established student town, wouldn't stand out at all.

Chatsworth

Those are my concerns (plus quality of education, addressed above, thanks), so I'm wondering if anyone has experience?

AdobePinon

It's good that she actually wants to do this - you had me a little concerned there.

One other concern is that if she graduates from a UK university, and wants to work in the US afterwards, she may be forever having to have her degree 'translated' and certified, with some kind of bogus GPA calculation. I graduated 16 years ago, and have a higher degree from a US university, but I still have to cough up an invented GPA and my degree certificate every now and again. Amazingly, I've never had to have it certified.

Anyway, the point is that she might seriously consider an exchange program instead, and the cost might not be so different.

penguinsix

Have you spoken to her on the social issue? She might not have even considered it.

I think the other conversation to have is 'long term'--while it's fun when you are an 18 year old American to think of studying abroad for a full degree as something almost exotic and exciting, you do have to ask 'what is your real goal' from Uni and all that. Is she hoping for graduate school in the US / UK later? Is she planning to work in the US, where she will be forgoing all the 'school ties' and 'old boys networks' that might help her get a job one day? Is her course of study something that is better done in the UK (say Medieval studies) or something better suited for parts of the US (like Tech entrepreneurship at Stanford). Is she looking for an Mrs. degree?

As some have said in other threads, eventhough you can get a great education at a number of top UK universities, when you come back to the US if it isn't 'Oxford or Cambridge' many employers here will consider it to be some community college or party school. Heck, some graduate school admissions folks won't know what to do with a degree from those schools when reviewing who should come in to study law or medicine or whatever.

The idea of an exchange program is a good one. Some schools in the US allow quite a bit of time overseas to be credited toward a US degree (such as your junior year and many Summers as well).

But if her heart is set on it, good luck trying to change the mind of a teenager.

caleyjag

I can only speak about St Andrews and Edinburgh - the only schools in the UK I am properly familiar with.

In the particular case of St Andrews, I can tell you that a surprisingly large number of students are American. Full-time students. There for the whole degree (not just exchange or masters). So there's a well-worn path.

By and large it appears they are all having a great time. I can highly recommend St Andrews - I think living there was possibly the highest quality of life I have ever had.

You'll have to pay full whack of course, which will come in at about $15k-$20k a year, depending on what they study. Still that's pretty favourable compared to many colleges here in the US.

hobbes79

Small side note is that a bachlors degree takes 3-years in the UK compared to 4 in the US. And more and more students seem to be taking 5-years to get a bachelors in the US.

Oh, I went to Nottingham Uni and met my future American wife there

AdobePinon

Plenty are 4 years in the UK too. Have been for a long time.

slidingbyee

To the OP I think this is spot. If your child intends to live and work in the USA she should stick to a USA degree and spend a year studying abroad in the UK ( sometimes longer if you do some grad work there as well). The issue of certifying foreign degrees can really come back around and bite you - and UK degrees are despite what you think still foreign degrees to US employers - especially the US government on all levels - local, city, county, state, federal. As Adobe says you will be paying to certify your degree forever and its not a cheap process.

hobbes79

By long time, since 2001 when I graduated?

It was 3-years for a bachelors and 4-years for a masters then.

caleyjag

While this is generally true, it all depends on her major and what she wanted to do.

If she studied physics or molecular biology at Edinburgh and wanted to go on to work in that field, she'd likely be fine. If she wants to do art history and then get a regular job after, then yeah, it becomes an issue.

When I came to interview for my current US job (in biotech), I was surprised to find they knew all about the Scottish universities I went to - they even went as far as to say 'very good schools' and that they were impressed. I blame Dolly the Sheep.

If she went to Oxford or Cambridge, I'd have to imagine she'd have less of a problem.

Also, my personal opinion is that if she is going to go to the UK she should only bother with the very best schools. They will be glad to take her money. No point in going all the way over there to end up in some half-baked polytechnic in disguise.

caleyjag

Also, for what it's worth, having bounced back and forth between a number of US and UK universities, in the sciences at least I think the quality of teaching in the top UK schools is considerably better than at top-tier US schools, where the professors often seem to view undergrads as an annoyance.

caleyjag

Oh and remember, in the UK system she will need to know what her major is going to be before she leaves the US.

There will be very little opportunity to switch majors down the line, short of starting again from the beginning.

You can get away with the obvious changes, like physics to maths, or biology to biochemistry, but you can't get away with, say, english to economics.

So she really needs to know what she wants to do with her life.

In my opinion this is an area where the American system is much better. As a Scottish kid I had to pick my career when I was 16. Crazy!

Bob

Aye, lot of degrees did a sandwich year, either 6 month internship in the second and another in the third or just a full year in industry...obviously depends on whats being studied though.

caleyjag

I would like to point out that degrees in Scotland take 4 years for a BSC.

England is not the UK!