University Choices in Europe/UK for Liberal Arts

[Anonymous]

Help my daughter build her list. She's a 10th grader with a solid 4.1 weighted and AP/Honors classes. Wants to attend for Political Science but her dream career changes regularly. She wants to attend school in Germany or the UK.

[Anonymous]

No -she should really be the one doing all the research. Seriously this is just a google search away for her. This is the epitome of laziness. Not ready for college.

[Anonymous]

why? why does she think she'll get better education out there? sounds like a clueless child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Help my daughter build her list. She's a 10th grader with a solid 4.1 weighted and AP/Honors classes. Wants to attend for Political Science but her dream career changes regularly. She wants to attend school in Germany or the UK.

OP we're in a similar position except we're originally from the UK so have that inside knowledge. First thing is look at UCAS the central application agency for UK universities. There's a lot of information there as well as instructions on how to go about applying in the Sept of 12th grade.

There are lists you can search for - Universities offering Liberal Arts degrees (there won't be many), as in the UK it's more common to take one major or a combined degree like PPE (Politics, Philosophy & Economics).

I don't know much about the German universities other than they are generally free except for accommodation and a registration fee (which is nominal). Similar searches on those might yield some results.

[Anonymous]

Does she speak German? Not actually a necessary if she is going for technical degree but necessary for Arbitur - entrance exam. You also will need to prove you have private medical insurance. Easier path may be university in Netherlands

[Anonymous]

Don't think many German schools instruct in English (does she speak German?). There are some, but the better universities there tend to be in German.

In the UK, the classic degree to go into politics/law/graduate school is a P.P.E. (Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics) from Oxford/Cambridge. Very competitive of course, but in any given year they will want a few American students so worth a shot. Quite specific entrance requirements, so read the fine print now and plan accordingly.

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is also very strong in these areas.

UCL and Kings are also highly respected institutions that are part of the University of London system (as is LSE).

There are then a bunch of other universities that are a little less competitive but still fantastic places to do an undergrad (St. Andrews, Edinburgh, Leeds, Bristol, etc., etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she speak German? Not actually a necessary if she is going for technical degree but necessary for Arbitur - entrance exam. You also will need to prove you have private medical insurance. Easier path may be university in Netherlands

+1 there are a lot of options in the Netherlands as well as Germany (some degrees taught in English in both places)

[Anonymous]

what did your daughter come up with?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Help my daughter build her list. She's a 10th grader with a solid 4.1 weighted and AP/Honors classes. Wants to attend for Political Science but her dream career changes regularly. She wants to attend school in Germany or the UK.

There are a limited number of UK universities that accept common app applications but as others have said UCAS is the UK common app equivalent - more information here https://www.theukstudyexpert.com/blog/commonapp-vs-ucas-what-you-need-to-know-when-applying .

The UK educational system is markedly different than the US at the University level. There is no hand holding in the UK, there will be minimal graded efforts in the UK, midterm or paper and a final, so getting things done on time or in a timed matter is key. Students are expected to know how to cite sources, to the university’s standards and some subjects such as math will move at a much quicker pace with an assumption that the student has math fundamentals up to AP calculus and AP statistics.

[Anonymous]

European universities expect specialization in a way US universities do not. I would not go that route for a kid who wants liberal arts, broadly speaking. We considered but ruled it out for our DC, who has strongly interdisciplinary interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what did your daughter come up with?

St. Andrews
University of Heidleburg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she speak German? Not actually a necessary if she is going for technical degree but necessary for Arbitur - entrance exam. You also will need to prove you have private medical insurance. Easier path may be university in Netherlands

She has had 4 years of German so far. We have family in Germany as well but I think she is leaning towards attending school in the UK because she has a friend applying for St. Andrews next year. She's pretty focused on a few schools but I am trying to come up with a larger list. I can google, but I was curious if anyone has first-hand info.

The process seems to be on a much different timeline so I think we have to start early to make sure she has the chance to apply if she wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Help my daughter build her list. She's a 10th grader with a solid 4.1 weighted and AP/Honors classes. Wants to attend for Political Science but her dream career changes regularly. She wants to attend school in Germany or the UK.

OP we're in a similar position except we're originally from the UK so have that inside knowledge. First thing is look at UCAS the central application agency for UK universities. There's a lot of information there as well as instructions on how to go about applying in the Sept of 12th grade.

There are lists you can search for - Universities offering Liberal Arts degrees (there won't be many), as in the UK it's more common to take one major or a combined degree like PPE (Politics, Philosophy & Economics).

I don't know much about the German universities other than they are generally free except for accommodation and a registration fee (which is nominal). Similar searches on those might yield some results.

Thanks! We have family from Germany and I spent some of my childhood in the UK. We have friends who are sending their daughter to St. Andrews and have been super encouraging that it's been a good decision and financially similar (or less) than a US college. I'm open to checking it all out for my child even though I honestly hadn't given much thought to her attending overseas.

[Anonymous]

London School of Economics also has Politics degrees. London is very expensive place to live, and there is not enough student acoomodation available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:London School of Economics also has Politics degrees. London is very expensive place to live, and there is not enough student acoomodation available.

LSE, UCL, Imperial want tippy tippy top students, 4.1 is probably not enough and you'd need a high SAT and 3 to 5 AP exams at grade 5 in relevant subjects.