As it grows increasingly hard to get a place at a British university, have you thought about studying in the USA?

The deadline for university applications is today, and demand this year is thought to have surged hugely - despite there being few extra places. Students are being warned that entry criteria will be more strictly adhered to this year, with those dropped grades mattering more than usual. And as the Times has reported,it also looks as if there will be far fewer places available through clearing,

But while many students are worrying about their prospects here, others are taking a different route. The number of Britain’s most able pupils looking to American universities is rising as the battle for places at Oxbridge and other top universities grows increasingly bloody.

Janette Wallis, an editor at the Good Schools Guide explains more:

"The Times recently profiled the case of Jack Harman, 19, who attended top independent King’s College School, Wimbledon. He was predicted to gain three As at A-level, but was rejected by all five British universities to which he applied to read history - Oxford, Edinburgh, York, Warwick and King’s College London. He will now study in the USA instead.

And he’s not the only one. "Once you’ve seen what’s on offer in America,” says Cambridge student and American-Brit John Wallis, who is working on an expanded version of the Good Schools Guide’s best-selling guide to American universities, Uni in the USA, “you may never look at a UCAS form again. Remember – 37 of the top 100 universities in the world are in the USA.”

John is spending three months criss-crossing the States via Greyhound bus, “couch surfing”, visiting colleges and universities and sampling the best that American higher education has to offer. The resulting reviews of American universities – all written from the student’s point of view – are aimed at British pupils who are curious about what American education has to offer.

His most avid readers are pupils from independent schools who, like Jack Harman, are feeling particularly vulnerable to university admissions trends here in the UK. Admissions to Cambridge for the current academic year saw the percentage of independent school acceptances drop to a 27-year low. Private schools entries were down at Oxford too, with numbers the lowest in six years.

Kids at state grammars and high achieving comprehensives should be just as worried. Durham University wrote to schools this year explaining its GCSE weighting system that gives preference to pupils from low-achieving schools, regardless of individual circumstances. Oxford and Cambridge use similar formulas.

In such an unsettling landscape it’s not surprising that the Good Schools Guide receives more and more messages from frustrated parents and children at top schools – both state and private.

“So many really clever pupils in the year above me had lost out getting into Oxbridge that I didn’t want to put myself through it,” one sixth former wrote to us, “so my parents encouraged me to think about studying in the United States.”

 “When you see the awesome range of subjects students can do all at once in America, you simply can't believe that other countries would be so insane as to impose one single subject from the age of 18 until graduation,” John Wallis writes on the Uni in the USA blog.

“Admissions people in the UK bang on about making sure to choose the subject that most interests you, but what kind of person only has one such subject? A person who has been artificially limited in his life and education.”

It’s not an easy choice, and the financial side will remain complex. But with the ratio of university applicants to university places in the UK rising sharply – and university fees likely to increase – we predict it is a choice that many more British families will be making."

Read more about John's journey across America, and how he uncovers America's ultimate higher education destinations on the Uni in the USA blog. And look for his newest reviews on The Good Schools Guide International website.

Read School Gate:

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Comments

[Whimsey]

How do the costs compare? Not to mention the VFM (eg, class size, time with tutors, etc etc - all the things that UK students are increasingly, and justifiably, complaining about)

[Coleman]

I definitely think that universities in America are superior to those in the UK - their campuses are so beautiful, their activities are so abundent and exciting, and best of all, you don't have to limit yourself to one subject only, which is the ridiculous system we use in the UK. Everyone should be looking at universities from both countries; it's a shame that kids in the UK are never even introduced to the possibility of study abroad, which I think is the best way to study.

[A]

While US universities can certainly boast the possibility of studying/trying out a variety of subjects as well as all those activities (which is what the tuition is paying for!) there are some downsides. The cost of tuition at the better-known private schools (e.g., Chicago, Yale, Harvard, etc.) is mind-bendingly expensive ($40K per year); undergrads are far more likely to be taught by graduate student adjuncts; UK students accustomed to A levels may find the classes unchallenging. There are pros and cons to everything. (I have a UK BA and an MA and PhD from the US). There will also be some culture shock; small-town/provincial US can be stunningly parochial, even in large college towns.

[Chris Cherry]

Costs in the US are astronomical, and you'll either need the money saved (and so your parents will have been planning it for a long time), a remortgaged property, or the cash just sitting around in the bank.

The top university lists are inevitably skewed, because they place a large emphasis on research, spend, etc., which have higher scores the higher the financial viability of an institution outside of its immediate educational remit.

For most people - the vast majority - without a scholarship of some kind, undergraduate degrees in the United States are nothing but a pipe dream.

This whole post stinks of a bias that's only attributable to an ageing class system in education. Simply because Jack has been predicted AAA 'A' levels from an independent school, that doesn't mean he's better than any of the other applicants from either state or independent schools. Why you used him as your example is beyond me. Maybe his personal statement was awful, and he's a categorical dullard - I'm just guessing, but I got into "better" universities than that with AAC, and my personal statement was a blinder.

Less university places is a good thing. If we push out those who can afford it to other countries because we're giving our fewer places to state school pupils, or competition is that tough, then it's a good thing. It raises the educational standards of our graduates - which, during the New Labour glory years of pushing toward the arbitrary 50% in HE mark, have suffered greatly.

[Whimsey]

This idea that you don't have to be confined to a single subject at uni is highly contentious. If the subject is something that you are not going to need to know in depth for your future career, then possibly fine - eg literature, history etc etc. But if you actually want to be an engineer, or a marine biologist, or a lawyer, then hey, you just gotta stick it for three years. At the least.

[Amy]

@Whimsey

You do study your major in depth for three years though, it’s just that you take a general first. This does mean that you have to factor an extra year into your life and funding plans but that’s no different than going to Scotland.

[Whimsey]

Oh dear - and here I am advocating TWO year degrees!

A four year degree must be very pleasant, but I'm not sure it's the best use of time, is it?

However, I can see the sense of 'trying before buying' when it comes to a subject you won't have studied at school, such as law or economics perhaps.

[Sophie]

@ ChrisCherry - you've hit the nail on the head. A prediction of AAA at A level isn't enough to gain you a place at university. Jack wasn't helped by the fact he picked a very competitive subject at five very competitive universities- clearly he should have done more research. It's arrogant to assume you'll get into a university because your grades are brilliant, and you're quite possibly right about the personal statement too. That can make or break your application now.

[Duncan Robinson]

US universities are simply not an option for the majority of British kids. They cost far too much.

Yes, places like Harvard have huge bursary programs, but they are immensely competitive - Harvard College has about 6000 undergrads, in comparison Oxbridge have 10,000 each.

If you apply for a good private school, like John Hopkins or Chicago there's no chance of extra funding and thus you're looking at at least £10,000 a year. It's the same for good public universites, like Califronia or Michigan, in the US - you have to pay international rates and there's little chance of extra funding.

37 of top 100 universities are American? Well nearly 20 are British.

[Kyle]

As an American, I have to say that costs CAN be quite high, depending on where you go. Places like Harvard and Yale are practically reserved for the very wealthy (or extremely intelligent and a minority). State universities can be relatively inexpensive.

Also, what is this about only taking on one subject? I guess I don't understand. For years you only study one subject? That just seems very, very different.

[Rynae]

I am so lost and confused by the ucas pathway. I have been tryig to get myself into university for Fashion Design so far I have been rejected by two of the best in the country, that has not disheartened me as I believe in myself. Now I am think of applying in America but I do not know where to start. Help

[Chris Cherry]

@Rynae:

If you can't get through the application process, how on Earth do you expect to get through a degree?