How competitive is it to get into the ‘top’ US colleges from the UK?
As you’ll see elsewhere on this site (for example here, here and here), I’m a firm believer that too many students apply only to universities they’ve heard of in the USA, and ignore excellent colleges out of their own ignorance. Though this is disappointing to me, it also has an issue for the applicants as […]
US Admissions Statistics 2019-2020 Cycle
As ever, we are collating admissions statistics for a wide range of US colleges: Boston College: 24% Boston University: 18.5% Bowdoin: 8.3% Brown: 6.9% University of Chicago: 6.2% Colby: 9.4% Columbia: 6.1% Dartmouth: 8.8% Duke: 7.7.% Emory: 20.7% Georgetown: 15% Harvard: 4.92% Johns Hopkins: 8.8% Middlebury College: 24% MIT: 7.2% New York University: 15% Northwestern: […]
What to do if you are on a US university waitlist
Being placed on a waitlist can be very annoying: you’re not in, but you’re also not denied. The reason why US universities use waitlists is something I explain here, but in the current admissions cycle of 2020, the ongoing global uncertainty with the Coronavirus pandemic is seeing more universities hold on to students on their waitlists. […]
American Universities Abroad
Across Europe, there are a number of American-style universities offering broad-based degrees, accredited in the USA, and taught in English. These universities enable students to get the broad-based American model of education – including majors, minors and electives – without having to travel to the USA. Some of these universities are standalone institutions, others are […]
Studying in Belgium
Belgian, a country divided into two communities, has relatively limited options in English. Those that are available are in Flanders, the Dutch part of the country. Universities in Flanders are accredited by the same organisations that looks after Dutch universities, with the same high quality. Institutions such as KU Leuven, Karel de Grote, Odisee, interesting […]
Podcast Episode 38: Engineering in the USA
Navigating the world of undergraduate engineering education can be a daunting task, especially in the United States, where the landscape of engineering curriculums can be as diverse as the country itself. One striking difference in engineering education in the USA, as compared to the UK, Canada, or many European countries, is the emphasis on non-STEM […]
How do you get into the top US universities?
Recently I gave a talk at a London school, in an evening entitled “Competitive University Admissions”. After ninety minutes of talks on Oxbridge, and 20 minutes or so on UK Medicine, it was my turn. I started my talk by explaining that ‘competitive’ was a complicated term: Oxford and Cambridge take about 1 in 5 […]
Applications to Ireland: what happens when I get my results?
For EU or EEA applicants to Irish universities, the application process seems really simple at the start – indeed, often too simple. However, the system needs to be understand not as an application process, but a matching procedure, sorting students into courses based on how their order of preference matches the grades that they have […]
US Applications for schools: what needs to be done and when?
For schools new to managing US applications, here’s a quick overview of some suggested timings for working with your students: Summer Term of L6 / Y12: students should make a decision that they will be applying to the USA, and sign up to any agreed school policies and deadlines. Having an application agreement form that […]
Writing a Letter of Continued Interest for US Applications
So, you applied early and were deferred (or applied regular and were waitlisted) – what do you do now? The important thing to remember is that you weren’t accepted, you also weren’t rejected, so there’s still a chance you can get in. To make the most of this chance, you need to write a letter […]
