Undegrad abroad
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Anonymous
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Looking at the Times and Shanghai universities rankings http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2014/reputation-ranking
and it seems a lot of these universities (Oxford, Cambridge, etc...) offer 3 year bachelor degrees vs US 4 year bachelor degrees. What gives? Do they have English taught programs, or does one have to learn Swedish or German to attend? |
Anonymous
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Oxford and Cambridge are in England so instruction is in English. Difficult to get in to if you are not an EU resident. Many US students attend St Andrews though.
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Anonymous
Meant to add - a number of US students also attend Canadian universities. Tuition is less expensive in Canada. |
Anonymous
Most courses in Oxford and Cambridge are in Swedish, but they are increasingly switching to German or English to make them more widely understood. |
Anonymous
However, most people apply and get their Honors degrees from St. Andrews which is a 4 year program. Only a small number of people get a designated degree from St. Andrews (and U of Edinburgh) which is the 3 year program. Also, there are people from the US who apply and are accepted into Oxford and Cambridge, but it is highly selective and extremely hard to get into (even if you are an EU resident). It requires high predicted grades, you only have a chance if you are offered an in-person interview after the application is submitted (which must happen there) and then the interview itself can be grueling. After the interview is when you find out if you have been extended an offer and it's usually conditional upon completion of exams. Not an easy process. Also, many European universities (especially the Northern European ones) have tracks where the instruction is in English. You simply have to find them. Another thing to remember is that you will need to apply into a specific course of study for the 3-year programs. They are not liberal art programs where the major must be decided after 1 or 2 years. You will go directly into that course of study whether it is medicine or history. This may mean that you must know exactly what you want to study at an early age, especially since many programs will have specific requirements for courses that are taken in high school. Another reason many US students are choosing to go for school in other countries is the cost of tuition is much less as compared to US universities, especially the Canadian universities which are great and may not be as far away as European schools and sometimes may be closer in distance from home than a US school across the country. |
Anonymous
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You have to know German to attend German University, but they will teach it in an extra semester or year I don't remember which.
Tuition is reasonable - free actually, this year. DD is a German speaker and thought about it, and St Andrews, too, but in the end went US. |
Anonymous
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Many European degrees are indeed three year programs, but high schools are often 5 full years, and because of nationalized standardized testing (like the arbitur in Germany) students are only eligible to go in to a particular type of program. Gen eds arent really a thing in Europe.
Tuition is slightly less in the UK. You have to remember the cost of international travel, living, visa and immigration paperwork, etc.. adds up too. The difference is also slight in Canada- I went to grad school in Canada and the tuition rate at my institution for international students was nearly the same as at US institutions. That being said, I think its worthwhile to explore going to school abroad for lots of other reasons. If it's 3 year programs you're interested in, plenty of schools in the US offer 3 year Bachelors degrees now, too. |
Anonymous
| DD has just completed 2nd year of undergrad at Oxford. So far so good. Rising senior child is also looking abroad. We're zigging where others are zagging. |
Anonymous
| If it's 3 years you want then go the AP route in HS. Mine got enough AP credits to finish in 3 years ( but doesn't plan to). |
Anonymous
What motivated your DD to go to Oxford rather than stay here? How is the experience coming from America? |
Anonymous
How many AP credits would be needed? Are they readily accepted by any college? |
Anonymous
| Canadian universities (especially McGill and U of Toronto) seem to be potentially great options for students who do not have perfect academic records but can get high SAT/ACT scores and desire a strong academic experience at a major university in an urban area. McGill and U of Toronto probably would be Top 15 or 20 (comparable, say to Northwestern or Wash U) if they were US universivities, yet they do not insist on straight A transcripts or a huge number of extacurriculars. They appear happy to accept non-Canadians who can pay full tuition and seem to be "admission bargains" that some kids do very well to take advantage of. |
Anonymous
It's not about you, though, is it? |
Anonymous
| One big problem with going abroad is that your alumni network ends up being in the wrong country if you want to come back and live here. A friend of mine went to school in Canada and regrets it for that reason. |
Anonymous
Mine had 10 AP classes with 4s and 5s on the tests. All but one was accepted for credit (got a 4 on one that required a 5 for credit). The standards vary quite a bit by school. Some of the ivies give no credit. |