Initial Research
Location & Setting
As well as by location, if you have one in mind, university search engines generally let you search by university campuses by:
You may also like to consider:
- Weather - coming from the UK, the weather is generally the same everywhere. However, this is different in the US - do you want somewhere with a Mediterranean climate or somewhere that has four distinct seasons?
- Distance - studying on the West Coast compared to the East coast means an extra four hours on a plane to travel home.
University Size
- Small - fewer than 2,000 students
- Medium - between 2,000 - 15,000 students
- Large - more than 15,000 students
As a comparison, the University of Manchester has an enrolment of approximately 40,000 undergraduate and postgraduates, the University of Cambridge has approximately 20,000 while the London School of Economics has approximately 10,000 students. In the UK, only specialist institutions such as the Glasgow School of Art, Royal Veterinary College, Royal Academy of Music have fewer than 2,000 students.
University Type
- Public - a university that is run by the state.
- Private - a university that is run by a private organisation. Essentially there is very little difference between these two in terms of the quality of education you will receive, and both will be of a high quality. The differences will be more apparent in the size, cost, financial aid available, intake of students (public universities might have in-state quotas) and how the university is run.
- For-profit - these are businesses which offer specialised education, however their mission is not purely educational.
Programme Type
- 2-year programmes - these are undertaken at what is known as a ‘community college’ and results in an Associate degree (equivalent to a Foundation degree in the UK). If you then want to obtain a Bachelor’s degree you can transfer to a four-year degree programme after your two years. This is an option you should at least consider, as it often offers lower admission criteria (you often can attend with your GCSE results), flexibility and lower costs.
- 4-year programmes - a four-year course results in a Bachelor’s degree.
Cost
US universities are expensive. Take cost into consideration, however do note that many universities offer substantial financial aid packages, so if there is somewhere you like the look of, but feel it is out of your price range, take time to look into how you might be able to afford to attend it.
(College Board lets you search by 'financial aid for international students')
Entry Requirements
We’ll come to SATs or ACTs in a second, but firstly how do you understand the equivalent grades so you know where to apply. (On your application however, report your results in their original format, the GPAs are just a guideline).
| GCSE & A Level Grades | Scottish Intermediates 1-2 | Scottish Highers | US Grade Point Average |
|---|
| A* |
- |
- |
4.3 |
| A |
1-2 |
A |
4.0 |
| B |
- |
- |
3.3-3.7 |
| C |
3-4 |
B |
3.0 |
| D |
5-6 |
C |
2.0 |
| E |
- |
- |
1.0 |
| - |
7 |
D |
0.0-1.0 |
In-depth Research
University terms
Universities generally split their terms into either:
- Semester - two semesters (Autumn and Spring) consisting of 15 weeks each are designed to help you explore fewer subject areas in depth.
- Quarter - three quarters (Autumn, Winter and Spring) consisting of 10 weeks each are designed to help you take more classes and explore a wider variety of subjects.
Reputation & Rankings
You can use international ranking charts and national ranking charts to give you an approximately understanding of the reputation of the universities you are looking at applying to. These include:
University Personality
Some universities have a lot to offer in the way of extra curricular activities, sports, music, the arts, and greek culture while others have less of a focus. Websites such as Unigo offers you insight into what universities excel in and even offer you a matching service so you can find the right university for you.
College week live offers you the chance to communicate with people in the university through video charts and presentations. You can speak to admission officers and current students.
If the university you are looking to apply to is on a MOOC platform such as EdX or Coursera you could take one of their courses (especially in the area you are interested in) to find out whether you like it and the feel.
Class sizes
US News & World Report gives information on class sizes for the most popular subjects - you might either want somewhere with small class sizes and a lot of interaction, or large class sizes with less interaction. Unigo also mentions how much time you get with your professors, and this may be a factor for you.
Acceptance Rate
As an outsider to the US university system, it may be hard to gauge what the entry requirements are. We suggest that you look at a few systems:
- The acceptance rate - this refers to the percentage of applicants who were accepted each year and you can often search for universities vis this criteria. It is supposed that the fewer the accepted students, the more competition there is to gain and place.
- Cappax provides a scatter-gram where students indicate their grades and test scores, and whether they were accepted or denied to a specific university - you can also use this as an indicator in assessing the chances of your acceptance.
- Unigo provides incoming SAT and ACT scores which you can compare to you own to give an indicator of whether you'll be accepted to that institution.
Meeting the university in your own country.
Education USA promote US education through fairs and events in the UK. Their events are advertised under the Eluceo website. Specific universities may also promote themselves at fairs, events and local schools, so look on specific university websites if you've a university in mind. These events generally happen in the Autumn or Spring.
If you have any questions, but can't get hold of a university representative personally, then e-mail them, and they will hopefully be happy to answer any queries you may have.
Other terms
Just a quick list of terms you may come across in your search, but be unfamiliar with their meaning:
- Major - this term is becoming more widely known in the UK and refers to your degree subject
- Minor - again, this term is becoming more widely known in the UK and refers to a secondary degree subject, for example, you might study Economics as a major, but take a minimum number of courses in Spanish which would be considered your minor
- Double Major - where your degree combines two courses (e.g. Economics and Spanish) with an equal numbers of credits
- Liberal Arts - a liberal arts university is one that typically offers two years of general exploration of the arts and sciences before focusing on a major in the final two years. If you are interested in a variety of subjects and are not sure you want to specialise so early - or even what you want to specialise in yet! - a liberal arts university is a good option
- Pre - you may be able to search for a course with the criteria “pre” as in pre-medicine, pre-law, pre-dentistry, or pre-vet. This is because these courses are only available as a graduate programme. Instead, you will graduate in, e.g. biology for pre-medicine, however the title means that you are qualified to apply for medical schools as a graduate student. Keep this in mind if you are looking to apply for one of these disciplines as a graduate student.
- Fraternity/Sorority - a social organisation representing either boys (fraternity) or girls (sorority) which offer social, academic and pastoral support. They are often indicated by "Greek culture" on university comparison websites.
Admissions Tests
What are SATs and ACTs?
Most US universities require you to sit an admissions test when applying. The most common of these are SATs and ACTs.
SATs
The SAT Reasoning Test is a three hour and forty-five minute test comprised of three sections: Critical Reading, Maths and Writing. The test is designed to measure critical thinking and analytical skills and is offered in the UK several times a year in a number of locations.
Some universities also require 2 or 3 Subject Tests, in addition to the SAT Reasoning Test or ACT. These are one-hour, multiple-choice tests and are offered in:
- Literature
- US & World History
- Maths
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Modern & Ancient Languages
Those with a listening component (the languages) are only available during the November test cycle.
Most universities do not specify the Subject Tests that you should take, but they will generally correspond to your A-Levels.
Fees
- Reasoning test - $51 Registration fee + International Processing fee of $35
- First Basic Subject Test - $24.50 Registration fee + International Processing fee of $35
- Each Additional Basic Subject Test: $13 per test
- Language with Listening Test: $24 per test
- Waitlist fee - an additional $45 fee is incurred; charged only if you are admitted to the test centre on the test day.
- Student Answer Service - including the difficulty level of each question and whether it was answered correctly is $13.50
- Question and Answer Service - including a copy of verbal and maths sections, a record of your answers and the correct answers is £18.00
- Additional Score Report - is £11.25 for each score report sent after the test
Test Dates (2014-15)
- 11th October 2014 (registration deadline 12th September 2014)
- 8th November 2014 (registration deadline 9th October 2014)
- 6th December 2014 (registration deadline 6th November 2014)
- 24th January 2015 (registration deadline 29th December 2014)
- 2nd May 2015 (registration deadline 6th April 2015)
- 6th June 2015 (registration deadline 8th May 2015)
There are a number of testing sites throughout the UK and many book up quickly!
Scoring
There are three sections on the SAT, and each one ranges from 200-800 points. The overall SAT score range is from 600 to 2400, with 2400 being the highest possible score.
All the questions are multiple choice, with the exception of maths grid-in or write-in questions. Students receive one point for correct answers and 1/4 of a point is deducted for every incorrect answer. There are no deductions for leaving the answers blank.
Test takers will be given a raw score, which is determined by the composite of correct and incorrect answers. Students are also given a percentile, which is a percentage number that locates the student’s raw score in relation to other students who took the SAT on that test day. For example, a student in the 85th percentile has done better than 85% of all other students who took the same test on the same day across the world.
After you take your SAT, your scores will be available to view on-line within 17-20 days depending on the test date (up to six weeks for the score results in paper form). The College Board recommends that you also allow at least an additional week for the university to process your scores.
When you register for the SAT on the College Board website you have the option to send your scores by post or on-line to four universities of your choice for free. Beyond those four, you will have to pay a $11.25 fee for additional score reports. If you do not list any universities at the time of registration you will have to pay a fee to send the scores at a later date via the additional score report system.
ACTs
The ACT is a curriculum-based test questioning students in English, Maths, Reading and Science Reasoning. The test takes 2 hours 55 minutes with an optional 30 minute Writing section as the final section. The more competitive US universities will require students to take the Writing section.
Since the ACT has a Science Reasoning section and its Maths section measures at a higher level (trigonometry) than the SAT Reasoning Test (geometry), students strong in these fields may benefit by taking the ACT. Additionally, some students applying to the most competitive universities will prefer the option to complete their admissions test requirement in one testing date (ACT with Writing), rather than two (SAT Reasoning Test on one testing date, SAT Subject Tests on a second date).
Fees
You can register for the ACT test via the ACT website, and the costs are:
- $36.50 test registration fee +$33 international processing fee
- $16 for the writing section
- $43 for standby testing
- $12 for additional score reporting (beyond the 4 free score reports at registration).
Test Dates (2014-2015)
- 13th December 2014 (deadline 7th November 2014)
- 7th February 2015 (deadline 9th January 2015)
- 18th April 2015 (deadline 13th March 2015)
- 13th June 2015 (deadline 8th May 2015)
The test is available to take at various locations around the UK and the website gives details on this.
Scoring
There are four sections on the ACT and scores range from 1 to 36, with 36 being the highest possible score. Students taking the test will be scored on each question and for each correct answer will be given one point (there is no penalty for guessing), after the points are added up, they will generate a raw score. This raw score is then compared to other students taking the test on the same day and those who have previously taken the test. This comparison assigns a scale score to each test taker so they may evaluate their performance against other test takers. When students receive their score report, they will only see their scale score and not the raw score.
The four sections in the ACT marked with scores from 1 to 36 and the overall composite is the average whole number score between the four sections. For example, a student could get a 28 in English, 26 in Maths, 32 in Science and 30 in Reading to have a composite score of 29 from all four sections.
After you take the ACT you will be able to see your score reports on-line after they are scored (within 3-8 weeks). After the scoring, the results can be mailed by post, on-line or through a twice monthly CD to the universities of your choice.
During registration you may request that your scores be sent to up to four universities for free and you will have the option to send to another two for an additional fee of $12 each. In total you may request six universities at the time of registration (four for no fee and two for an additional fee).
Applying
What do the admissions include?
Universities take a ‘holistic’ approach to applications - meaning that they take into account your grades, personality, SAT scores and extra curricular activities. Furthermore, they are assessed by admissions officers and you are accepted to the university as a whole, rather than the UK system whereby assessment is undertaken via a course director, with the main focus being your ability to perform on your chosen course.
You have to apply to each university individually, and applications are different, however they cover:
- Academic documents - sometimes known as transcripts, and would include your A Levels, GCSE results etc.
- Test scores - including SATs, ACTs, SAT subject scores, IELTS/TOEFL etc.
- Essay - this is similar to the personal statement, however it generally involves answering a set of questions with 250-600 word answers on various topics to help admissions tutors understand your personality and the way in which you work, and might be specific to the degree you are applying to or more general. An example might be "Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?" (taken from The Common Application list of questions). For help, hints and essay example questions see 'American Essay Websites' on your right.
- Letters of recommendation - this is similar to the recommendation written by your teachers for your UCAS form
- School forms - sometimes called your school report, this is sent in by your school and notes your class achievements, for example what percentile you are in, your class grades and attendance, specific modules you've taken, or any awards you might have received.
- Activities list - a list of the activities you take part in outside your academic life, whether it's part-time work, volunteering with a food bank, singing in a choir or being part of the netball team
- Other - depending on the course you are applying for you may have to include supplementary material such as a portfolio. In the same way, you may also be asked to attend an interview or audition.
The Fulbright Commission suggests that you should not assume that US universities will know about, or understand the qualifications other than A-Levels and the IB, especially the most competitive universities. However, slightly less competitive Bachelor’s programmes are likely to accept the BTEC - the Edexcel website provides a list of some of the universities who do accept it, and if you are not sure you can e-mail them directly.
The minimum requirements are at least five GCSEs at grade C or above, including English and Maths, and the most competitive universities will also expect three A-levels or equivalent (including Scottish Standard Grades and Highers). (You can also apply to a two-year community college for an associate degree with only GCSEs with the option to transfer to a four-year bachelor programme at the end of your two years).
How to apply
You can either apply to each university separately or via The Common Application which is an online system whereby you can apply to multiple universities in a similar way to UCAS (517 universities in the US are part of this system). Using The Common Application you fill in set details, such as the grades you've achieved, your teacher recommendations, your activities list, while there are also set questions for your essays. On top of The Common Application, each university will then ask for suplementary information, such as essay questions pertaining to your subject and university.
If the university you are looking at applying to is not part of The Common Application scheme, or you would prefer to apply to each university individually, you can do so. Unlike the UK, you have to pay for each university application - these cost approximately $90 each, so choose your universities wisely!
When to apply
Eluceo’s advice is to follow the same application schedule as you would for British universities - that is, spend the summer before you intend to go to university researching and apply for the universities you wish to attend in the Autumn. Our advice would also be to study for the SATs/ACTs in the Winter and undertake the test in the Spring of the year before you intend to go to university - this gives you enough time to re-sit the tests in the Autumn (the last testing date is November if you are applying for the early deadlines in November) if you are not happy with your scores or need to sit the SAT Subject Tests.
Universities specify a number of admission deadlines, and these dates are available on their websites:
- Deadline admission - universities evaluate applications after a certain date.
- Early admission/early decision - the early admission deadline generally falls in November and you’ll receive an answer approximately two months later. You can only apply to one university via the early admission process and it is a binding application, so if you are accepted you must attend that university and withdraw all other applications.
- Early action - the early action deadline generally falls in November and you’ll receive an answer approximately two months later. However, this is non-binding, and if you receive an offer you do not have to attend.
- Regular decision - the regular decision deadline generally falls in January or February with decisions received in either February or March. These are non-binding, and if you receive an offer you do not have to attend.
- Rolling admission - universities evaluate applications as they receive them and offer rolling decisions. In this way, most applicants are compared to a set criteria rather than the others attending in the upcoming school year. However, places can fill up quickly, so it can be harder to gain admission at the end of the cycle than at the beginning.
How many universities should you apply to?
Eluceo recommends that, if you are only applying to US universities, you look at between 6-10 applications. In the same way as in the UK, you can then hedge your bets with some you feel confident you’ll get into and others which are more of a dream. Remember that US applications take up more time, as you've got to tailor you application to each university individually, as well as revise for and take the SATs/ACTs.
If you are applying to the US to complement your UK applications, we suggest one or two, but only those that you'd really be happy to attend.
