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CHOOSING A COUNTRY If you were attending a public or private school in your home country, the odds are that you would apply to universities within a couple of hours from your home. But being at LCS has probably made you realize there is a world of opportunity waiting for you. In fact, you have so many choices it’s often difficult to know where to begin. While the largest percentage (roughly 40%) of LCS graduates attend colleges in the US, others go to the UK (25%), Canada (20%), Netherlands (5%), or their home country. The following provides a brief overview of universities in these countries. Additional information and links can be found on the LCS counseling website.
US Universities As you may have noticed, the words college and university are used interchangeably when referring to US institutions. To be precise, college usually refers to an institution devoted primarily to undergraduate education. You are an undergraduate until you graduate with a degree (called a bachelor’s degree). A university, on the other hand, is usually a larger institution offering a combination of undergraduate and graduate (master’s or doctorate) degrees. Universities are frequently committed to research as well as teaching. One is not better than the other - they both offer four-year bachelor degrees. So you are not sure which major to choose. No problem. The majority of students who begin college in the US do not declare a major. There is latitude to try different courses in the first year or two and choose a major later. Many students apply as undecided, waiting until their second year to declare a major. Except for certain majors (such as engineering), most students take a variety of courses during this time. General education or core requirements help ensure all students have a breadth of knowledge when they graduate, in addition to their specialized area. The flexibility of changing majors also allows students to transfer between different institutions. If a student chooses to transfer at the end their second year, for example, the new school may accept almost all earned credits. Transfer acceptance decisions are usually based on grades earned in college. In the US, colleges and universities each set their own criteria for determining who gets admitted. Each one designs its own application, asks different questions, has a variety of deadlines, and sets its own policies. This can become rather complicated as you attempt to keep track of what each school wants. Even schools accepting the Common Application usually ask for individualized supplements specific to the college. US universities think the best predictor of college success is high school performance. Therefore, grades earned and high school courses taken and the rigor of these courses are the most important factors considered. Standardized test scores, if the college requires them (many don’t -- see www.fairtest.org), are always considered less important than your transcript.
UK Universities There are several major differences between the UK and US university systems. The majority of degree programs in the UK (except for Scotland) take three years to complete, and students focus solely on the one or two subjects they have chosen to study. Thus, there are no general education requirements in university as there are in the US. If you are someone who is certain of the subject you want to study in college, a UK university could be a good choice for you.
