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[quote=Anonymous]It's different.  I have had a number of friends do study abroad programs various universities in the UK, and I had a friend who went to Cambridge.  My friend who went to Cambridge's father was British and she had relatives there.  Essentially the main difference (and this is true of nearly all European universities) is there are no distribution requirements/liberal arts curriculum, so you only take classes in/related to your major.  You have to apply to your major at the get go, and grades are entirely or almost entirely dependent on a final (sometimes oral, sometimes written).  This is different from most US universities, which often include homework and at the very least a few midterm exams as a part of your grade.  DH did a lab internship at Oxford when he was in college, and although he wasn't a student, but he had a lot of exposure to graduate students and postdocs there and the overall culture.  He loved it--just the sense of deep tradition, the taking finals and qualifying exams in people's academia regalia and the "trashing" (covering with champagne, silly string, etc. after passing exams) afterwards.  He didn't experience a lot of the negativity that many describe Americans having, but DH is very bright but grew up in a working class environment and wouldn't have had an entitled attitude--plus he had a charming southern accent that the brits found hard to place.  He also was able to just shrug off British condescension and snottiness.  He had dreamed of going to Oxford since he was a little kid, and the sense of history appeals to him.

That said, I don't think it's an environment for everyone.  It's intense, very different from the culture at US universities, and nearly everyone will have had a very different kind of education/background.  Plus it is full of the British upper class, which is a different beast from the American upper class.  It could be very alienating, but it might work for the right student.[/quote]

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