The crisis engulfing British universities is turning young heads towards the US. Yale graduate Zachary Roth reveals what they can expect to find there .
The number of British students going to American universities looks to be on the rise – thanks to intense competition for places in Britain and an aggressive push by US colleges to target British applicants. This week’s threats of annual tuition fees growing to £10,000, on the back of Lord Browne’s proposals for a shake-up of university funding, may well spur them on.
But what can British students expect if they choose to cross the Atlantic? What adjustments would they have to make? What might they get in return? And is the romanticised Hollywood image – you know, beautiful co-eds frolicking on ivy-covered campus lawns, cheering on the team at the big game, falling in love and forging lifelong friendships – for real?
As someone who made the leap from a London public school to an American Ivy League university, I can offer some advice.
First, be ready for a very different approach to higher education. Rather than allowing students to focus on one subject, as in the European model, American universities offer a far broader educational grounding, and require you to take classes in a range of topics. Having done A-levels in English, history, and politics, I’d assumed that I would never have to struggle through another science class after sitting my GCSEs. Instead, I found myself barely managing a pass grade in an introductory university physics class.
One of the true pleasures of those years came when, each summer, the “Blue Book” would arrive in the mail, outlining the hundreds of classes on offer to students. I’d excitedly circle a class on medieval Icelandic literature, then one on modern American urban planning, then another on the gay and lesbian presence in 20th-century art. How many British universities offer that extensive a menu of educational experiences for students to choose from?
The number of British students going to American universities looks to be on the rise – thanks to intense competition for places in Britain and an aggressive push by US colleges to target British applicants. This week’s threats of annual tuition fees growing to £10,000, on the back of Lord Browne’s proposals for a shake-up of university funding, may well spur them on.
But what can British students expect if they choose to cross the Atlantic? What adjustments would they have to make? What might they get in return? And is the romanticised Hollywood image – you know, beautiful co-eds frolicking on ivy-covered campus lawns, cheering on the team at the big game, falling in love and forging lifelong friendships – for real?
As someone who made the leap from a London public school to an American Ivy League university, I can offer some advice.
First, be ready for a very different approach to higher education. Rather than allowing students to focus on one subject, as in the European model, American universities offer a far broader educational grounding, and require you to take classes in a range of topics. Having done A-levels in English, history, and politics, I’d assumed that I would never have to struggle through another science class after sitting my GCSEs. Instead, I found myself barely managing a pass grade in an introductory university physics class.
One of the true pleasures of those years came when, each summer, the “Blue Book” would arrive in the mail, outlining the hundreds of classes on offer to students. I’d excitedly circle a class on medieval Icelandic literature, then one on modern American urban planning, then another on the gay and lesbian presence in 20th-century art. How many British universities offer that extensive a menu of educational experiences for students to choose from?
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