Anonymous
01/03/2026 00:21
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In that case, lets say your kid gets in one of the schools you mentioned, Stanford, MIT or Wharton but no financial aid or very little. How are you going to justify a $80k+ vs £9.3k?
That is a tough one. For us UK citizens, outside of Oxbridge is a full pay degree from Stanford/MIT/Wharton worth $300k more than a degree from Durham, St. Andrews or Warwick? As a Brit, I personally do not think so. But lets see what happens.
My kid was accepted to Brown ED. Zero aid. He is going to St Andrews.
Breaking the ED contract? Why apply ED the? Hugely unethical.
Please stop. ED only apply in the US….go ahead and let the school sue….will never happen….
That’s actually not true. My DC ended up not applying to Oxford for that reason.
That was your choice. The US system and its “college counselors“ brainwash parents and scare them to death about turning down a ED offer for a foreign offer when there is ZERO impact to the US college. They are notified immediately on most cases I know, it is not like there is this one spot now lost in a vacum…please. In our case, we were in the fine line between getting some need based aid and not. Not wealthy enough to easily afford full pay and income not low enough to qualify for need based aid. So the decision was mainly financial.
Yes, it was our (ethnical) choice. This is not about being scared but about breaking an agreement. My DC is in a private school, and there is no way the college counselor would have been on board with applying ED domestically while keeping UK options. In fact, going back on ED agreement is bad for future applicants for the high school. And we thought it would set a wrong example for DC in being so selfish.
Anonymous
01/02/2026 23:36
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In that case, lets say your kid gets in one of the schools you mentioned, Stanford, MIT or Wharton but no financial aid or very little. How are you going to justify a $80k+ vs £9.3k?
That is a tough one. For us UK citizens, outside of Oxbridge is a full pay degree from Stanford/MIT/Wharton worth $300k more than a degree from Durham, St. Andrews or Warwick? As a Brit, I personally do not think so. But lets see what happens.
My kid was accepted to Brown ED. Zero aid. He is going to St Andrews.
Breaking the ED contract? Why apply ED the? Hugely unethical.
Please stop. ED only apply in the US….go ahead and let the school sue….will never happen….
That’s actually not true. My DC ended up not applying to Oxford for that reason.
That was your choice. The US system and its “college counselors“ brainwash parents and scare them to death about turning down a ED offer for a foreign offer when there is ZERO impact to the US college. They are notified immediately on most cases I know, it is not like there is this one spot now lost in a vacum…please. In our case, we were in the fine line between getting some need based aid and not. Not wealthy enough to easily afford full pay and income not low enough to qualify for need based aid. So the decision was mainly financial.
What is difference in price (full pay) between the two? $50k? Per year? Less/more?
Anonymous
01/02/2026 23:08
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In that case, lets say your kid gets in one of the schools you mentioned, Stanford, MIT or Wharton but no financial aid or very little. How are you going to justify a $80k+ vs £9.3k?
That is a tough one. For us UK citizens, outside of Oxbridge is a full pay degree from Stanford/MIT/Wharton worth $300k more than a degree from Durham, St. Andrews or Warwick? As a Brit, I personally do not think so. But lets see what happens.
My kid was accepted to Brown ED. Zero aid. He is going to St Andrews.
Breaking the ED contract? Why apply ED the? Hugely unethical.
Please stop. ED only apply in the US….go ahead and let the school sue….will never happen….
False. Read. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/26/business/tulane-early-decision-colorado-academy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wU8.9wBq.Qebrx0FghTCn&smid=url-share
What is false? The school punished the high school….what is false? There is no legal recourse for the school other than “punish” the high school. if Brown did that to our kid’s school because of my kid, hell would break loose given the number of kids going there on annual basis…..
Anonymous
01/02/2026 23:06
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In that case, lets say your kid gets in one of the schools you mentioned, Stanford, MIT or Wharton but no financial aid or very little. How are you going to justify a $80k+ vs £9.3k?
That is a tough one. For us UK citizens, outside of Oxbridge is a full pay degree from Stanford/MIT/Wharton worth $300k more than a degree from Durham, St. Andrews or Warwick? As a Brit, I personally do not think so. But lets see what happens.
My kid was accepted to Brown ED. Zero aid. He is going to St Andrews.
Breaking the ED contract? Why apply ED the? Hugely unethical.
Please stop. ED only apply in the US….go ahead and let the school sue….will never happen….
That’s actually not true. My DC ended up not applying to Oxford for that reason.
That was your choice. The US system and its “college counselors“ brainwash parents and scare them to death about turning down a ED offer for a foreign offer when there is ZERO impact to the US college. They are notified immediately on most cases I know, it is not like there is this one spot now lost in a vacum…please. In our case, we were in the fine line between getting some need based aid and not. Not wealthy enough to easily afford full pay and income not low enough to qualify for need based aid. So the decision was mainly financial.
Anonymous
01/02/2026 12:01
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In that case, lets say your kid gets in one of the schools you mentioned, Stanford, MIT or Wharton but no financial aid or very little. How are you going to justify a $80k+ vs £9.3k?
That is a tough one. For us UK citizens, outside of Oxbridge is a full pay degree from Stanford/MIT/Wharton worth $300k more than a degree from Durham, St. Andrews or Warwick? As a Brit, I personally do not think so. But lets see what happens.
My kid was accepted to Brown ED. Zero aid. He is going to St Andrews.
Breaking the ED contract? Why apply ED the? Hugely unethical.
Please stop. ED only apply in the US….go ahead and let the school sue….will never happen….
False. Read. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/26/business/tulane-early-decision-colorado-academy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wU8.9wBq.Qebrx0FghTCn&smid=url-share
Anonymous
01/02/2026 11:38
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In that case, lets say your kid gets in one of the schools you mentioned, Stanford, MIT or Wharton but no financial aid or very little. How are you going to justify a $80k+ vs £9.3k?
That is a tough one. For us UK citizens, outside of Oxbridge is a full pay degree from Stanford/MIT/Wharton worth $300k more than a degree from Durham, St. Andrews or Warwick? As a Brit, I personally do not think so. But lets see what happens.
There are only a handful of schools that are worth that kind of money. Either for the education or the reputation. Harvard, Stanford, MIT for me. MIT is the only one where the education might be worth the extra cost.
That’s very subjective and dependent on preferences. For my kids, education in the UK (or Canada) would be mostly free (about 20 percent of cost) due to expat benefits. Yet one of my kids had no interest in locking themselves into a field of study (which is what the UK system involves). So they ended up in T10 in the US, and we have no regrets paying the full cost.
Anonymous
01/02/2026 10:53
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Imperial College London is the MIT/CalTech equivalent for the UK, except that Imperial also has a medical school.
At commencement, Imperial College plays the Imperial March.
Anonymous
01/02/2026 10:39
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In that case, lets say your kid gets in one of the schools you mentioned, Stanford, MIT or Wharton but no financial aid or very little. How are you going to justify a $80k+ vs £9.3k?
That is a tough one. For us UK citizens, outside of Oxbridge is a full pay degree from Stanford/MIT/Wharton worth $300k more than a degree from Durham, St. Andrews or Warwick? As a Brit, I personally do not think so. But lets see what happens.
My kid was accepted to Brown ED. Zero aid. He is going to St Andrews.
Breaking the ED contract? Why apply ED the? Hugely unethical.
Please stop. ED only apply in the US….go ahead and let the school sue….will never happen….
That’s actually not true. My DC ended up not applying to Oxford for that reason.
Anonymous
01/02/2026 09:16
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In that case, lets say your kid gets in one of the schools you mentioned, Stanford, MIT or Wharton but no financial aid or very little. How are you going to justify a $80k+ vs £9.3k?
That is a tough one. For us UK citizens, outside of Oxbridge is a full pay degree from Stanford/MIT/Wharton worth $300k more than a degree from Durham, St. Andrews or Warwick? As a Brit, I personally do not think so. But lets see what happens.
My kid was accepted to Brown ED. Zero aid. He is going to St Andrews.
Good choice.
Anonymous
01/02/2026 09:05
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In that case, lets say your kid gets in one of the schools you mentioned, Stanford, MIT or Wharton but no financial aid or very little. How are you going to justify a $80k+ vs £9.3k?
That is a tough one. For us UK citizens, outside of Oxbridge is a full pay degree from Stanford/MIT/Wharton worth $300k more than a degree from Durham, St. Andrews or Warwick? As a Brit, I personally do not think so. But lets see what happens.
There are only a handful of schools that are worth that kind of money. Either for the education or the reputation. Harvard, Stanford, MIT for me. MIT is the only one where the education might be worth the extra cost.
Anonymous
01/02/2026 05:24
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No Ivy League gives Merit Aid. Unless it is a specific scholarship. They all are either need blind or need aware.
Either way, if you from the UK and applying to Ivies, you better make under $150k a year to get a kind of significant need based aid as a foreigner. And even then, unless your income is less than 60 tr 80k then you might as well use the UK system at £9.3k per year….
Pretty sure you can't get aid for financial reasons FAFSA as a foreigner
That is 100% INCORRECT.
You absolutely can.
You can get financial aid, but not through FAFSA. FAFSA requires your SSN, which foreigners don't have.
When I first arrived in Dc in January 2009 as a Brit with only a VISA I was sent to the SS office and our entire family were given SSNs.
When you arrived, yes. Not before.
If you've met any families like mine, we travel a lot, we live in a lot of different places. I am in the UK now and I have full US citizenship as well as my SSN. One of my kids could apply from here to the US and not have the constraints you are claiming on us "foreigners".
Anonymous
01/02/2026 05:17
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No Ivy League gives Merit Aid. Unless it is a specific scholarship. They all are either need blind or need aware.
Either way, if you from the UK and applying to Ivies, you better make under $150k a year to get a kind of significant need based aid as a foreigner. And even then, unless your income is less than 60 tr 80k then you might as well use the UK system at £9.3k per year….
Pretty sure you can't get aid for financial reasons FAFSA as a foreigner
That is 100% INCORRECT.
You absolutely can.
You can get financial aid, but not through FAFSA. FAFSA requires your SSN, which foreigners don't have.
When I first arrived in Dc in January 2009 as a Brit with only a VISA I was sent to the SS office and our entire family were given SSNs.
When you arrived, yes. Not before.
Anonymous
01/02/2026 05:15
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In that case, lets say your kid gets in one of the schools you mentioned, Stanford, MIT or Wharton but no financial aid or very little. How are you going to justify a $80k+ vs £9.3k?
That is a tough one. For us UK citizens, outside of Oxbridge is a full pay degree from Stanford/MIT/Wharton worth $300k more than a degree from Durham, St. Andrews or Warwick? As a Brit, I personally do not think so. But lets see what happens.
My kid was accepted to Brown ED. Zero aid. He is going to St Andrews.
Breaking the ED contract? Why apply ED the? Hugely unethical.
Please stop. ED only apply in the US….go ahead and let the school sue….will never happen….
There is no US only exception. It is unethical to break ED without a legitimate financial constraint.
Anonymous
01/02/2026 05:14
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No Ivy League gives Merit Aid. Unless it is a specific scholarship. They all are either need blind or need aware.
Either way, if you from the UK and applying to Ivies, you better make under $150k a year to get a kind of significant need based aid as a foreigner. And even then, unless your income is less than 60 tr 80k then you might as well use the UK system at £9.3k per year….
Pretty sure you can't get aid for financial reasons FAFSA as a foreigner
That is 100% INCORRECT.
You absolutely can.
You can get financial aid, but not through FAFSA. FAFSA requires your SSN, which foreigners don't have.
When I first arrived in Dc in January 2009 as a Brit with only a VISA I was sent to the SS office and our entire family were given SSNs.
Anonymous
01/02/2026 05:13
Subject: Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In that case, lets say your kid gets in one of the schools you mentioned, Stanford, MIT or Wharton but no financial aid or very little. How are you going to justify a $80k+ vs £9.3k?
That is a tough one. For us UK citizens, outside of Oxbridge is a full pay degree from Stanford/MIT/Wharton worth $300k more than a degree from Durham, St. Andrews or Warwick? As a Brit, I personally do not think so. But lets see what happens.
My kid was accepted to Brown ED. Zero aid. He is going to St Andrews.
Breaking the ED contract? Why apply ED the? Hugely unethical.
Actually most colleges are sympathetic to financial constraints.
Odds are finances weren't an issue. I doubt PP did the NPC