The world’s leading universities now compete for students far beyond their own boundaries, just as they have for many years where star professors and Nobel Prizes are concerned.

With American universities dominating the world rankings, they are a natural alternative to Oxbridge for high-flyers looking for a broad education and something extra on their curriculum vitae. There is also a stream of British students crossing the Atlantic for sports scholarships, often at less glamorous state universities.

It was the controversy over Laura Spence’s recruitment by Harvard University seven years ago, after she had been rejected to read medicine by Magdalen College, Oxford, despite predictions of five A grades at A level, that alerted many parents and schools to the possibility of an American education. Since then, Ivy League representatives have become frequent visitors at the leading independent schools in Britain.

But, while the numbers crossing the Atlantic have been growing, it is still an option limited mainly to wealthy parents or those with American connections. Although there are generous bursary schemes at all the leading universities, degrees are a year longer than in England and, even with discounted fees, the US experience does not come cheaply.

As at Oxford and Cambridge, potential students who would qualify for free education – those from the poorest families – are the least likely to consider it. And, such is the wealth of many American students at Ivy League universities, they would find themselves in a minority of a minority if they did go.

A few of the top universities, such as Harvard and Yale, offer “needs-blind” admission regardless of nationality, to ensure that high fees do not exclude students from poor families. But few such students meet the exacting entry requirements, partly because (as in Britain) they often attend the least successful schools, while middle-income Americans have struggled to meet the costs.

Yale, in particular, has stepped up its efforts to attract state school applicants. Two of the university’s seven English recruits this year were from the state system. But it is those who are too affluent to qualify for state support in England who may find the American alternative increasingly attractive, as top-up fees rise.

Others turn to the top American universities for postgraduate education after a first degree at home. With postgraduate fees already deregulated in England, the difference in cost can be less than at undergraduate level, especially since the course will last one or two years, rather than four. At Yale, for example, Tony Blair’s son Euan is among 150 British postgraduates, who far outnumber their undergraduate countrymen.

Those who opt for an Ivy League education are often amazed by the facilities on offer. Princeton, for example, which is small even by British standards, has three swimming pools. Student residences at leading universities have more in common with plush apartment blocks than traditional halls.

This is because fee levels of up to $50,000 (£25,200) a year have created expectations far in advance of those in Britain – and the funding received from alumni, as well as the state, has enabled the top private universities to keep the customer satisfied. Universities on this side of the Atlantic will find it hard to compete until they can convince their graduates to dip into their own pockets.

The United States is the top destination for the rapidly expanding numbers of internationally mobile students of all nationalities, although Britain is next in popularity. The sheer size of the American higher education system made that inevitable, but visa restrictions have led to a drop in numbers since the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Growth has now resumed, and British universities will encounter increasingly stiff competition, both for home students and those from other parts of the world.

John O’Leary is the editor of The Times Good University Guide and a former education editor of The Times

When to apply

Each university is different and potential applicants must check with the one in which they are interested but, broadly, the timetable is:

— End of December deadline for applications for a university place (some schools do have earlier application processes)

— End of February deadline for applications for financial aid

— April Successful applicants find out that they are being offered a place

— May Potential students must decide whether to take up the place

— End of August University terms start (although Harvard’s is later)

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