If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Options
Postgrad in America?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Sooooo to cut a long story short, meeting people from all over the world has made me want to travel and I am toying with the idea of going to America to do my Postgraduate after I finish. Universities are getting ever more expensive in the UK and living costs in the States are cheaper and often have food included.
So I was wondering if anybody could offer me advice...
Is it extortionately expensive and can I get financial aid to help with the costs?
Is 'special needs'/learner support better in the states?
I heard that universities are better funded, is this true?
Is it hard for British students to get in to American universities?
How do I get a scholarship?
Any suggestions on places to go?
I am a first year, but my Learner Support tutor has told me I should be aiming for a First... So hopefully will get good grades. :angel:
So I was wondering if anybody could offer me advice...
Is it extortionately expensive and can I get financial aid to help with the costs?
Is 'special needs'/learner support better in the states?
I heard that universities are better funded, is this true?
Is it hard for British students to get in to American universities?
How do I get a scholarship?
Any suggestions on places to go?
I am a first year, but my Learner Support tutor has told me I should be aiming for a First... So hopefully will get good grades. :angel:
Post edited by JustV on
0
Comments
BUT, you do get a lot more teaching experience than on a UK PHD course, however, there is a down side to this, in that you basically work for your tuition on very very low wages teaching classes, which is why it takes so long.
Yes, Uni's there are (mostly) better funded because they can charge stupidly high fee's to undergrads and get PHD students to teach for next to nothing.
Getting a PHD there will take ages but the qualification will be worth quite a lot and you will (potentially) have a better chance of getting a teaching job. And of course if you stay there to teach then the wages are higher than here.
There are scholarships, though I dont know of many other than the Fulbright, which is very prestigious but relatively hard to get. You might want to go to their website and have a look they have lots of information which might help you.
I hope that helps.
There are also more scholarships available but these would inevitable be heavily contested. Just having a first may not be enough, you will probably have to be pretty brilliant to get a scholarship to fund you.
A friend of mine is currently looking to do her PHD in New York - here is what she had to say:
Obviously in the US, universities are like private businesses so rather than going through a UCAS styled system you apply directly to the institution you are interested in. Also, all the institutions cost different amounts dependent on how prestigious they are etc. But, it's not a myth that they support students far more effectively than UK institutions. Each institution will have scholarships and bursaries, and an American friend of mine told me that there are many specifically for international students to encourage them to come over. US universities rely greatly on donations, which many British academics criticise, however, the advantage of this is that they are able to offer students from all over the world (many from third world countries) opportunities to study as they can finance them.
So, probably the best thing for you to do would be to pick a geographical area that she’d like to study in e.g. New York – and then google the universities and their scholarships. You can then apply for as many as you like as far as I know.
Also, as a postgrad, there are far more opportunities given to US students to work at the uni, e.g. as lecturers or learning assistants to support themselves.
As you are hoping on getting a first and can aim high, then you could try for something like a Kennedy scholarship – which also gives you money for travelling during your summer months.
http://www.kentrust.demon.co.uk/scholarships.htm
Also, the Fulbright commission is set up for helping Brits fund travel to the US.
http://www.fulbright.co.uk/
Hope this helps - good luck
Not really, certainly it does this, but Britain is far from the only country, and it sends Americans to other countries too. Get your facts straight.
She said "the Fulbright commission is set up for helping Brits fund travel to the US" but it wasnt, it was set up to help foster better relations with the US with people from loads of countries.
And anyway, I was only pissing about. *Helen* is a good Mod.
I'd like to go to California as it is quite liberal, but to be fair Australia is looking more affordable and betterto me.
And because of this I didn't get good A level grades.
No no NO NO NO NONO NO
Fulbright does have a reputation for this, but its totally wrong, they do take quite a few Oxbridge people because they are the biggest group which applies.
Yeah then it sounds cool... Teaching experience would be pretty sweet. They seem to like extra curricular people... I am the university's Environmental and Ethical Officer for next year and anextra-curricular whore so hopefully they'll like me.
I checked out the Co-op and they do loans... So maybe, just maybe it's possible!
They are looking for bright people of course, and people who get more than just good grades, people who are going somewhere - but that does not mean just Oxbridge grads with rich parents.