By Agatha Christy & Sharon Koharjo
Six years ago, I remembered sitting having a serious talk with my parents about choosing my destination country to attend university. I poured out my efforts to scour the internet and university fairs to talk to as many people as possible about their time in the UK and in the US before coming to the conclusion that both places carried their own unique quirks and appealed to me in a different ways; the US promised a lifestyle of independence and innovation, and a sheer variety from its 5,000 university campuses; the UK readily had 130 campuses available and encouraged me to fast-track my studies, which challenged me to pickup the pace of my studies.
Most families teeter on these options before coming to a grand, anxious decision to settle on one university destination. At the very least, both the English-speaking countries are known for its established universities, providing comprehensive lectures and research facilities. However, I came to realize that the two countries are start to diverge from each other when we talk about things like:
Admissions
UK colleges allow applicants to apply to five universities through a college avenue called the UCAS (or Universities and College Admissions Service). Meanwhile, prospective students for American colleges can apply as many as they need through the separate application portal. Usually, US college admissions assess applicants beyond the quantitative results of quizzes, tests, and exams to examine your extracurricular, internship and volunteering activities.
Duration
What had excited me about the UK system was the fact that I could graduate in just 3 years time! With the exception of Scotland, it might have benefited me to save my family a year’s worth of university tuition fees and use it for other purposes, like starting my own business or traveling abroad. On the other hand, it generally takes about four years for students in American colleges to finish a degree, unless you had good IB or AP standing and enrolled yourself in summer school for additional credits.
Types of Courses – General or Specific?
For the first year of American universities, students are required to take general education courses from various departments, giving the certitude to start their semester with majors undeclared -- a relatively better choice for those who are yet to decide on what major to pursue. Experience and participation are far-reaching, and final grades are the culmination of exams, extra quizzes, inventive class projects, and research.
Unlike US universities, though, universities in the UK have smaller classes (what the British refer to as “modules”) and a pre-determined major from the beginning. This narrows the chance for students to explore courses from different departments and renders switching major far more difficult. This is one trait that stands out in the British system-- that students are expected to decide what major they want to study before applying.
“We had compulsory modules in our first year and therefore were not allowed to choose classes. We had more freedom in the second and final year, and the modules were all relevant to the degree,” wrote Gabriela Warpsinski, a Cardiovascular Medicine postgraduate student at King’s College London, via interview.
“I was allowed to choose three courses in first and second year, and decide what I wanted to major in the third year,” wrote Marcella Marci, who studied Psychology at University of Glasgow.
In terms of grading, British admissions have a straightforward mechanism and gradings that are mostly based on test scores and final exams. “Each module is assessed at the end of the semester, and each test accounts for 100% of the grade, which means that there are limited assessment criteria for each module,” Marci added.
University Experience
Driven by the culture of the student body, American universities have a bigger dedication to social activities such as clubs and fraternities. Many of them are involved with political movements happening around campus, and they take sports as seriously as the other college majors. In the context of life as students, living costs can be high but workable, people around are culturally friendly and easy to get along with, college counselors are available for students who still need further guidance throughout their academic journey, and vacation spots are available in every US State.
Whereas in the UK, sports are treated more like a hobby than professional activities. Fraternities don’t exist in their college culture, but this doesn’t mean a variety of student organizations are non-existent. In fact, some of the UK alumni have gone on to join exciting activities from rugby, football, liberal and religious societies to entrepreneurship competitions.
“My whole living experience was great! Beautiful university, but food and academic experience were not that great. Academic system was not what I would particularly enjoy, but this might differ across universities in the UK,” said Marci.
Sonia Emilia, who majored in Nutrition at King’s College London said that she benefited so much from the tutors assigned for every student in her department. Aside from that, she enjoyed her time as a student in the UK. “Living costs can get a little bit more expensive but cooking at home really helps cut the cost down! Also this is definitely true for London, it just never gets boring!”
Bottom Line: To untangle a layer of intricate dimensions that affect your decision-making process, a great place to start is to consider these 4 factors: admissions, duration, type of courses, and university life at the very least.
