Reply to How tough exactly are top universities in the UK and Canada relative to U.S. colleges?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I went to LSE, albeit a couple decades ago and as a masters student. But I knew a lot of undergrads because I lived in a dorm with lots of undergrads.

LSE was MUCH less work than my top ten SLAC undergrad. You maybe had a few essays, some of them counted, some didn't. All or most of your grade was dependent on year end exams. Each week of term was a different topic and the exams had maybe ten or twelve topics and you only had to write on three. So the strategy was to learn four topics really well, one topic pretty well, and two topics sort of well as back ups.

Lots of vacation time. Plenty of free time.

It's important to be a mature self starter who does not need hand holding. British administrators are tough and not very flexible. For example, they don't care if you have a death in the family, even a parent. You still have to show up for exams, funeral plans be damned. My friend's parent died and they did not allow him to take his exams late. Instead, he had to apply for permission to take his exams the next year. Half of the classes were taught by different profs, with different syllabi. He was delayed getting his degree for a year. It seemed very cruel and harsh.

Oxford and Cambridge has more essay writing. [/quote]

This comment misses the mark. Most UK universities operate on the end of year exam model. But the thing that is missing from the comment is that the grading is HARD. Very, very, difficult to get a first at LSE.[/quote]
Winning the lottery is even more difficult, but that doesn't make it more rigorous.[/quote]

I think this comment and the previous long one highlight the very American perspective towards college.

American universities involve a lot of hand holding. We don’t always call it that, but the frequent quiz, test, essay, etc is all designed to force the students to study. The UK model that is heavy on end-year exams is one of independence. You can choose to do less work. You’ll end up with a 2:2 and be disappointed (or not, perhaps), but that’s up to you. The clear distinction between grade classifications makes your result starker than in the fluid and heavily-grade inflated GPA approach. The disciplining element is in the end result instead of in frequent assessment. If you want that end result to be the best, you have to work hard. But you can also choose not to.

Note that there is also a difference between undergrad and master’s level that the PP was drawing from. The American master’s model is very much the undergrad model but with more advanced classes. Lots of tests, etc and most people’s approach is “how do I pass this?” The UK university view is much more, “we give you all of the resources you need to master (ahem) this subject. Classes, discussion sections, academic literature, office hours, optional essays. You’re paying to be here, it’s up to you to go out and decide if you want learn it.” You can choose not to. You can choose the American approach to pass described by the PP of “the strategy was to learn four topics really well, one topic pretty well, and two topics sort of well as back ups.” But you won’t master the subject with this approach. You won’t get a distinction—which is still quite difficult to get—and your future path in that field in top tier academia is probably done.

Most people don’t necessarily care about this, so it isn’t a big deal. But the approach and mentality are different.[/quote]

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