We are seeing more and more students interested in pursuing their undergraduate degree internationally—which is a great thing! There are so many outstanding higher education institutions outside the United States, many of which have even stronger international reputations than top US schools.
In many ways, international applications tend to be simpler—but those students who are interested in international universities should be informed about the different processes and plan ahead. Below, we highlight some of the key differences between the UK application process and the domestic one.
Topics covered:
- Overall differences
- Preparing for the application process
- Timeline
- Application review
- Personal statement
- Interviews
- References
Overall Differences
Level of specialization
Generally speaking, UK university education is more specialized than American higher ed. Students apply directly to courses (what we call majors), and have far fewer general education requirements. While there are a growing number of more general programs, on the whole, UK university students have to commit to their academic path when they apply, as opposed to US schools, where students can usually wait until the end of sophomore year to declare a major.
Length of study
In the UK, a bachelor’s degree is 3 years; in the US, it is 4 years.
Collective vs. independent learning
At many UK institutions, there is a greater emphasis on independent student learning and research than on synchronous / instructor-facilitated learning.
Grading system
There are different marking criteria in the UK, which can be a huge adjustment for American students. At many institutions, a 65% is a very good grade; an 80-90% is publishing level.
Campus life
Campus life can be quite different at UK institutions, with more students living off-campus after the first year (Oxford and Cambridge, with their college systems, are notable exceptions).
Preparing for the Application Process
Here are our top tips for students preparing to apply to schools in the UK.
Major first.
In the US, many students identify colleges they like first, then consider their majors. When considering UK schools, you should choose your course first, THEN the university. The UCAS website (UCAS is the rough equivalent of the Common App in that it is a centralized application portal) is a great resource for this — put in your subject of interest first, then look at the differences between the degree programs.
Look at entry requirements!
The system is very transparent, even harsh. When they say minimum entry requirements, they do mean it. If the minimum entry requirement is a 32+ on the ACT and 4 AP scores of 5 or more, they won’t consider you if you have a 31 and won’t have AP scores.
Think carefully about your program list.
On the UCAS platform, students can apply to up to 5 programs. These can be different courses within a university, or different universities. You only have ONE application, which cannot be customized, so students should be applying to similar programs.
Because you may only apply to 5 schools, it is critical to have balance on your list, and ensure there are a couple for which you easily meet or exceed entry criteria.
Timeline
Here’s everything you need to know about a typical application and admissions timeline for UK schools
You can submit your application beginning in August, and submission deadlines will be either October 15 or January 15
- The UCAS system opens in the spring, but students can’t start submitting until August. Applicants have until October 15 for Oxford or Cambridge (note the “or” here – students must choose and may not apply to both universities!). For everyone else, the deadline is January 15. Don’t leave it for the end! After that deadline, they’ll be marked as late, so while some may still read it, it’s unlikely to gain entry.
You might hear back soon — like, super soon
- Students can start hearing back within a few weeks—for example, for any student interested in St. Andrews, we have seen them return decisions as early as October (for those who submitted at the very start of the school year).
- UK schools try to get all decisions made by March 31.
- Sometimes there’s an interview component that occurs before decisions come out — Oxford, for example, interviews just about everyone with academic potential.
Know the difference between conditional and unconditional acceptance
- If admissible to all five UCAS choices, the UK system doesn’t allow students to keep all 5 options — they have to narrow down to 2, a firm choice and an insurance choice, which is a backup for if exams don’t go as well as expected. These are conditional offers upon receipt of final grades and exams, and then offers become unconditional.
- If granted a conditional offer and a student does not ultimately meet the entry criteria, the student will no longer have their spot at that university. This is very different from the US, where final grades are more of a formality. For US applicants to the UK, conditional offers are most likely to fall through if students don’t get expected scores on their AP or IB exams.
Application Review
Here’s everything you need to know about how UK admissions will evaluate your application. Hint: it’s different from the US approach!
Focus on the future
UK application review is not holistic like so much of American application review. In the UK, they are very focused on predicted grades — they want to know where students are going to get their final year, and want to see their final set of AP or IB scores. It’s much more about what are they going to finish with, not what they’ve done.
Emphasize subject-specific curiosity
Because students are applying to specific courses, they are expected to demonstrate enthusiasm and passion for that subject. They should show focused intellectual curiosity.
Tests matter — a lot
In the UK, they don’t have the ability to look in depth at high school context, so they’re more rigid and more interested in the testing. This means that if a student attends a high school without APs and is interested in UK schools that require AP scores, there will not be any exceptions for them—students must make provisions to test on their own.
Extracurriculars schmextracurriculars
UK schools are not interested in a list of extracurriculars. As an admissions officer from Oxford shared, “We don’t care if you danced five hours a week.”
Personal Statement
Here’s everything you need to know about writing a stand-out UK personal statement, which, though it goes by the same name, is a very different essay than the US personal statement.
Evidence over emotional narrative
This is an opportunity to show the admissions committee interest in a particular course. They are not interested in formative experiences. It makes no difference if you have loved law since you were three or since last month: what have you done to pursue it?
The process of brainstorming and writing a UK personal statement allows students to discover if they truly love the subject. If you draw a blank, you’ve probably chosen the wrong course.
One statement for all programs
This statement can’t be customized to specific schools — so, don’t mention any schools by name!
Specificity above all
UK personal statements need to be very specific. Saying “I really love biochemistry” is not useful for UK committees. What aspects? What books, documentaries, podcasts does the student explore? They are looking more for super-curricular, rather than extracurricular, connections. 80-90% of the essay should be academic; 10-20% extracurricular is fine.
Professors will read your essay
Yes, professors read these in the UK! This puts an additional burden on students to really dive deep into their area of study. Academics are used to spotting made-up things! They have to truly believe that your interest in and commitment to the subject is sincere. Simply saying you read a book isn’t enough — what did you gain from it, in specificity? For many students, it is better to engage with fewer texts so they have something deeper to say.
Go for a more formal tone
Whereas in the US, admissions favors a more personal, informal tone, the UK application is more formal. There is still student voice, but UK admissions officers specifically advise applicant not to try to be quirky or to go for some kind of dramatic opening sentence. Moves like this can backfire and be off-putting.
Interviews
Many UK institutions do not use interviews. However, Oxford and Cambridge can’t make an offer without an interview. As with the rest of the process, these are highly academic in nature, and the interviews are with academics, not the admissions office. This is not a test of polished social skills—it’s an academic conversation. Can the student talk fluently about their subject? Can they have a back-and-forth conversation and come up with interesting ideas? UK professors want to see how the student thinks.
References
Your recommending teacher should be subject-specific
The UCAS system only takes one academic letter of reference, and they expect it to be as subject-specific as possible. For American applicants to UK schools, this may mean asking a different teacher than the one(s) writing your American letters of rec, depending on the course to which you are applying.
Keep your guidance counselor in the loop
If you are considering UK schools, make sure to speak with your school guidance counselor as early as possible to make sure they have the information they need about the differences in the process. Some US high schools have a great deal of experience with UK applications; others may have none. The burden will be on the student to share key information.
Our #1 tip for students considering UK schools — plan ahead and investigate early! As we noted above, entry criteria are firm. Students may have to plan ahead to ensure they will have the requisite coursework and potential scores to be eligible for admission. If and when they do, the UK process is actually far more transparent and easy to navigate than the holistic mess we have here—but it requires lots of planning well in advance!
Need more personalized guidance on brainstorming or crafting your application? Contact our college admissions team.
