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April 24, 2018

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Differences of study in the UK and US

For many international students, two standout places to apply for university placements are in the US and UK. If a student is thinking of applying to schools in either of these countries, or applying to both, it’s important to bear in mind that when going through the application process, the US and UK are the incredibly polar-opposite. Below is a brief overview of the ways in which a student must tailor their application depending upon the country to which they are applying.

• Highlighting your achievements

Admissions officers at US colleges are looking for students who have chosen strong courses and have achieved academically. They are looking to see whether the students have challenged themselves and that the challenges they have selected relate to the major they are applying for. For example, if you want to be an engineer (which is a very specific major), then your courses in secondary school need to reflect that you’ve challenged yourself in math and science courses. But if you have an undeclared major, you’d need to show that you’ve challenged yourself to really explore your own learning in a variety of courses.

Community-wise, admissions representatives want to see that students are balanced and committed to something they care about. Last year, for example, a student at YCIS Shanghai was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania and she applied to do sociology with a focus on gender studies. In her application, she shared that she had not only participated in her co-ed touch rugby team for three years, but become its captain. She also wrote about a summer photography program in New York, which focused on the concept of race and gender and explained that this formed her interest in wanting to study sociology. This was a winning combination, illustrating she was well rounded, committed to an activity and showed a clear understanding of what she wanted to study.

When applying to the UK, what you’re highlighting must be clearly tied to the course you’re applying for. At YCIS, we had a student this year who received an early offer from Cambridge University for psychology. So this past summer she read a lot of psychology texts and she built up her knowledge of neuroscience because UK universities care about how have you pushed yourself and learned outside academically. She went and did a summer course in psychology.

• How to discover what makes you a desirable student

Determining what makes you a desirable student in the US is all about research. Go and talk to the universities when they visit Shanghai. The admissions officers will be very honest and will tell you what they’re looking for. Tell them about your extra-curricular activities, your studies, what are you doing? They’ll be more than helpful. In the UK this also takes a bit of research. Go onto the UCAS website to find out which subjects you should be taking. In UK schools, it’s all down to which courses you’re taking in the last two years of IB or A-levels — that’s what’s most important.

• Essay writing tips

In the US: Beyond academic results, the application essay is your first opportunity to really show off the colors of who you are to the admissions officers. They will be looking at the challenges you’ve overcome, how that made you who you are, and they’ll have questions like, “where do you come from and why is that important?” You need to take time to figure out how to set yourself apart from the other students in the pile of applications. Saying you’re an international student is often not enough — it needs to be something more personal. Let’s imagine if you were a massive fan of “Lord of the Rings,” you could explain not just why you love the book series, but also what that says about you and how that can relate to your choice of major.

In the UK: While the US want to know you as an individual and as a person, the UK wants to know about you, your academic development and growth, and how that led you to want to apply for that particular major. If you’re applying for classical history, for instance, you would need to explain why are you interested in the topic, how you came to learn about it and what knowledge and skills have you developed during IGCSE and IB that relate to the major. Something that is particularly important in the UK is that they want to see the questions and areas you want to explore and research on the subject you have not yet been able to explore during your time at secondary school.

You can also tie your extra-curricular activities to your academic interests. For example, if you’re interested in history and you took part in Model United Nations, you could explain that, “Modern United Nations allowed me to understand how history works in the context of politics to frame the understandings of a countries beliefs or values, and how that has added to my overall interest and is why I want to pursue a history education.”

• Further tips for both countries

Be sure to take advantage of the summers. This is a perfect time to do an internship, enrol in a summer school abroad, do extra reading on the major you’re interested in, or dedicate time to something fulfilling that interests you. All of these things will help you with your application.

Last, no matter which country or major you’re applying for, the University Guidance Office at your school will be able to help guide you.

Be sure to visit the counsellors frequently and seek their advice and feedback. They are there to help direct a successful next step in your education journey and beyond!




 

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