CAN I GO TO COLLEGE? What do you need to know about going to college?

COLLEGE or UNIVERSITY  What is the difference?  Almost nothing: universities are usually larger.  They have colleges within them: College of Engineering, College of Humanities, etc.  Size ranges from a few hundred, to 60,000!  In America there are  In the UK there are 200+

HOW DO I DECIDE WHERE TO GO?  A few facts about AISB graduates:  40% apply to the UK each year.  30-40% apply to the US.  5-10% apply to Hungarian universities  15-20% go back to their own countries.  If you are an EU citizen it makes most sense to go to the UK (tuition is less for EU citizens.  If you are a US, Chinese, Indian, Russian, Korean citizen you can apply to either UK or US. Tuition is similar in both countries.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?  In England: 9000GBP ($14,000)Three year degree.  In Scotland: tuition is free for EU citizens! (4 year degree).  In the US: Public universities range from $25,000 (tuition and room/board), to $60,000.  Most public universities will be around $30,000-$40,000 (4 year degree).  Scholarships are available for international students, although difficult to count on.  Financial aid is only available for US citizens.

HOW DO I GET IN?  In the UK it works like this:  You have to be a full IB student in grades  You will get predicted grades in March of this year, and again in September of grade 12.  You apply for five specific courses with the predicted scores you get in grade 12.  Example: you apply to study civil engineering with a P.G. of 34 to University of Bath.

UK universities  You apply in the fall of grade 12 with five choices.  You apply for a specific course: not the university.  Your predicted grades and a personal statement are what the university will look at.  You find out in January-February if you are accepted conditionally.  You must then achieve what your conditional offer requires.

APPLYING TO THE U.S.  Different than the UK:  1.transcript and your GPA  2.the level of difficulty of your classes, and class rank.  3.your SAT scores.  4.your essay  5.our recommendations of you.  6.what you do outside of school.

CAN I GO TO HARVARD???  With universities in the US there is something for EVERYONE.  80% of all universities accept 80%of their applicants. (means you can probably get in)  Only 10% (200) of the universities are really hard to get into. And some, 2-3% are extremely hard to get into.  Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford accept less than 5-10% of their graduates. (means you won’t get in unless you are in the top 10% in your class)

What school is best for me?  Start geographically; do you want to be on the East Coast? West Coast? Midwest? South?  Public university vs. private college?  Big school vs. small school?  Big tuition or small tuition?  Liberal arts vs. specific technical subject?  Why is it so confusing?????

WHAT DO I DO NOW?  Now is the time to sign up for SAT’S: December, January, May, June, October  Begin researching universities in the UK, US, etc.  Predicted grades will come out in June.  Look on UCAS to see what scores are necessary for the specific course you are interested in.  Look on Collegeboard.com to see what the SAT range is and what GPA range the school has. (ex average SAT scores and 95% has 3.5 or higher)  Be REALISTIC in your self-assessment.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT  Come to the meeting with me beginning in January/February prepared to talk about your ideas: what country, what university, what subject.  Come up with a time-line of when you need to get things done: SAT, campus visits, UCAS early application, US early application.

YOU MUST KNOW THIS:  Following directions of the application is required  December 1, 2013 is the deadline for all US and UK university applications to be completed and prepared to send electronically.  You must give TWO WEEKS for all requests for letters of recommendation and transcripts to be sent to university.  You have time now to research your options: DO NOT WAIT!  By September 1, 2013 you should have a plan of universities.