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Hey. My name's Sam and I go to High School in England. I came across this message board whilst looking for info about American unis as I hope to spend some time in the states during my degree.

If you have any questions about the UK or British unis then feel free to ask me!

Sam xx

By Chamonix (Chamonix) on Wednesday, June 02, 2004 - 10:00 pm: Edit

Welcome!

By Qwert271 (Qwert271) on Wednesday, June 02, 2004 - 10:53 pm: Edit

Hey. My name's James and I go to High School in America. Do they make you concentrate on your 'major' immediately there? And do they allow you to take courses outside of your direct field? And what are the major admissions criteria, i.e. grades, interview, etc? Thanks a whole lot. I like how you said 'whilst.' I used to live in Europe and that one word brought back some memories.

By Asterix (Asterix) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 12:30 am: Edit

How are Harvard, Yale, and Princeton viewed in England? Any particular order in terms of prestige? I'm not a prestige whore, I'm just curious.

By Cynner012 (Cynner012) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 12:47 am: Edit

add Stanford to that list

By Anger (Anger) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 03:52 am: Edit

Hows the University of Bristol viewed in Britain?And as someone asked is it possible to take courses outside your major?Thanks

By English_Girl (English_Girl) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 06:25 am: Edit

So many questions! I'll try to go through them all in order. When you apply for uni here you chose your major before applying and in some cases you can choose to do a joint honours degree which is two subjects (i.e you might apply for straight English or English and Philosophy).

It is possible to take some modules outside your major, it depends on the subject and the uni though. It's not really a common thing like it is in the US but it is possible.

With regards to admissions, a lot more emphasis is places on grades here, and Extra curricular activities aren't that important. Here, we do A Levels in our final year at high school, and when unis make us offers they make them on the condition that we achieve certain grades. Oxford and Cambridge are the only unis that interview for every subject, most other unis don;t bother unless it's a subject like medicine.

I never know when to use the word 'while' or 'whilst'!

Harvard and Yale are probably seen as the best American unis over here, with Stanford and Princeton being close behind. They're all highly regarded.

Bristol uni has an excellent reputation, it's defenitely in the top band of unis after Oxbridge and the London ones (LSE, UCL, Imperial). Some people think it's quite posh and a place for Oxbridge rejects, but I don't know how much truth there is in that.

Hope that helped. Keep the questions coming!

By Noodleman (Noodleman) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 03:19 pm: Edit

How well is Cornell regarded overseas?

By 08pride (08pride) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 03:41 pm: Edit

How well is Duke regarded?

By English_Girl (English_Girl) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 04:42 pm: Edit

To be honest, I don't think there's a lot of people here that haven't heard of either. Employers would have, but the average person probably not.

By Aeolus (Aeolus) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 11:47 pm: Edit

Sam, where are you in England?

By Howdydoody (Howdydoody) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 12:24 am: Edit

Which would you say is more visible in England: Harvard or Yale?

By Neophyte31 (Neophyte31) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 01:48 am: Edit

Sorry if this sounds stupid.. but is Oxford totally different from Oxbridge?

and whats this I hear about some prestigious highschool in England called Eden?

By English_Girl (English_Girl) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 08:28 am: Edit

I live in Buckinghamshire, on the outskirts of London. You know Windsor? Near there. I think Harvard and Yale are definately seen as the best American unis over here. There isn't really much between them, but I think young people know Harvard more because of Legally Blonde!

Oxbridge isn't a uni, it's the name given to Oxford and Cambridge. So when people say Oxbridge, they mean those two. It's just shorter to say it that way! Eton (not Eden!) is a very posh private school in Windsor. It's where Prince William and Prince Harry went.

By Newton_Jin (Newton_Jin) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 12:28 pm: Edit

My question is, Do you like United States or England better? What is your favorite part about this country, is it the people, the social scene, the climate, or just the difference of the culture? Because I know I saw a huge difference in everything when I moved down here from China ten years ago.

By English_Girl (English_Girl) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 12:36 pm: Edit

I can't really say which one I like better because I haven't been to many parts of USA. I like England and I'm proud to be English, but I would like to study in or travel around America in the future. The only places I've really visited are Florida, Arizona and New York, but I'm going to USA this summer on holiday. The climate in USA (in most parts) is much better than England, and the people seem really friendly. I like the fact that everything is so 'big', Americans don't do things by halves! There's little things that England has that America doesn't really - the anticipation and national unity whenever a big sporting event is on, the history and there is more of a mixture of cultures here (I think). It's hard to say really, I need to experience more of America. What do you like/dislike about it? Have you been to England before?

By Newton_Jin (Newton_Jin) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 12:56 pm: Edit

I love the American culture because it is much more laid back than in China. I was used to be "governed" by strict rules from my parents. (It can be a good and bad thing.) But here, I became used to and love the sense of humor found in my classmates and the people around me such as the usage of sarcasm and ironies. I also loved the extra amount of comfort found here such as being able to drive a car, air conditioner, computers, and all the other wonderful things I now take for granted.
As for England, I have never been there, but is a great admire of it. I love its strong culture and its own distinct sense of humor. Oh yeah, I definitely love its soccer team. My family and I are a big fan of David Beckham.

By English_Girl (English_Girl) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 01:07 pm: Edit

Lol, everyone loves David Beckham! What with him being an ex-man.u player, I can't say he's my favourite but he makes a fantastic England captain. Do you know much about english football? I support liverpool - Steven Gerrard rules!

By Newton_Jin (Newton_Jin) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 01:22 pm: Edit

I do not know much about English football, but I did watch Rugby before. (unless they are the same thing?) I can't watch those sports shows now because I do not have cable anymore. That bites!
Anyways, do you like any American sports teams since those are the only shows on local channels.

By English_Girl (English_Girl) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 01:58 pm: Edit

When I say football I mean soccer. Rugby is like American Football but better! They don't wear helmets, and the rules and scoring are different. England won the rugby world cup (You know Johnny Wilkinson?). American sports like baseball and basketball are non-existent over here. The whole country is obsessed with football (soccer). Tennis, formula One, rugby and cricket are quite popular too.

By Newton_Jin (Newton_Jin) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 02:17 pm: Edit

That's cool. I wish I could get more acquainted with much of the popular sports in the world and not just the United States. I get much of the "world" sports news from my grandpa because he does go back and forth a lot from China to America. It's kind of weird but soccer in America gets almost no attention. (at least where I live). So I guess I know nothing about Johnny Wilkinson but everything about Michael Vick and Priest Holmes.
I have, however, played cricket in PE (physical education) in school. Not very good though.
Are You a big fan of baseball?

By Anger (Anger) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 02:18 pm: Edit

Hey,thanks for the info on Bristol.
Me...from India!Love your football...support Arsenal!Never been to England....hope to some day!
Hope to see England lifting Euro 2004!

By English_Girl (English_Girl) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 02:20 pm: Edit

Johnny Wilkinson is a rugby player, not soccer. He's a huge hero over here! I don't know much about baseball because we don't have it over here. How do you know David Beckham if you don't follow soccer? Do you know any other English soccer players?

By English_Girl (English_Girl) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 02:22 pm: Edit

Anger - hi! Arsenal are a great team, Thierry Henry is amazing! I support Liverpool though, we've not had the best of seasons! What do you think of Liverpool? Steven Gerrard rules! I hope England do well in Euro 2004. I think we're in with a chance but the French are favourites

By Ndbisme5 (Ndbisme5) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 02:33 pm: Edit

Welcome to CC EnglishGirl!

By Arc (Arc) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 04:13 pm: Edit

how well is dartmouth college known in britain?

also, do many british know what the ivy league is?

thanks english girl.

By Anger (Anger) on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 11:16 pm: Edit

English_Girl!Yeah Liverpool are also an awesome side.If I am not mistaken they are the most successful English Premiere League Side ever!So that speaks for itself.They seemed out of colour this season..Hope to see some better football from them in the next.Has the Thai Prime Minister bought 30% of the club yet?Stevan Gerrard in a fantastic player...looking forward to seeing him in national colours for the Euro 2004!
France are looking good but then so are England.If England can kick off with a win against France....they could sail thru!

By English_Girl (English_Girl) on Saturday, June 05, 2004 - 11:42 am: Edit

Arc - I don't know anything about dartmouth college, sorry. Most British people know what the Ivy League is, but most of them probably couldn't name all the unis in it.

Anger - yeah Liverpool are the most successful English side ever (4 European Cups ). Hopefully with a new manager we will have a good season next season and break into the top three and do well in the Champions League. The thai deal hasn't gone through yet, but it's looking likely.

England need to play to their best to win Euro 2004 (and NOT play as poorly as we did against Japan the other day!) We're playing a friendly against Iceland tonight.

By Anger (Anger) on Saturday, June 05, 2004 - 11:58 am: Edit

Damm..we wont get the live coverage of the friendlies!Waiting eagerly for June the 12th!Meanwhile they are beaming the South American Qualifiers..
Btw which class/grade are you in?Going to college anytime soon?

By English_Girl (English_Girl) on Saturday, June 05, 2004 - 01:17 pm: Edit

Ok, the game is over! It was on earlier and I missed it dammit. I thought it was on in the evening . I'll just have to watch the highlights later. We won 6-1 though! I'm in year 12, got one more year to go and will be going to uni in 2005