Read the Times Good University Guide 2009

American universities dominate the world rankings and are a natural alternative to Oxbridge for the most able students from Britain seeking a little added value for their CV. Such is the enormous wealth of some Ivy League universities that they have set themselves the task of scouring the world for the best students, regardless of nationality, offering “needs-blind” admission to ensure that high fees ($50,000 a year is typical) do not exclude students from poor families.

It is for this reason that Ivy League representatives have become frequent visitors at the top independent schools in Britain and, recently, a few state schools.

Entry standards are so exacting, however, and competition from the rapidly expanding numbers of internationally mobile students of all nationalities so intense, that only the most brilliant students can expect to win a place.

While the United States is the top destination for international students, Britain is next in popularity.

With the number of 18-year-olds in Britain projected to fall by 2020 – removing 70,000 potential students from the further education system – British universities have a powerful incentive to recruit even more students from the international market to help to make up the shortfall.

Britain has begun a drive to persuade the super-rich to make multimillion-pound donations to their former universities and both Oxford and Cambridge have started their own US-style fundraising campaigns. But they still have several billion dollars to go before they can match the levels of financial support and the facilities on offer in the US.

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