The U.S. has thousands and thousands of schools to choose from, do not be ignorant and limit yourselves. There are tons of schools with exceptional reputations that go under the radar for international students. Also, 'colleges' there should be considered the same as unis if you are a undergrad.

MRB, New York City, U.S.A

Tara at GrammarCity should resist the urge to correct the grammar of others until she learns the difference between 'your' and 'you're'.

A. Moore, York , UK

With 3 good A-Level results you should get enough credits to be able to knock off one semester of study in the US. Don't worry about SAT and the likes. For foreign students, GOOD US schools will look at A-levels and IB first. Your class ranking is also important.

Fred Speirs, Grand Cayman , Cayman Islands

"The system is completely different so comparison is not an appropriate unit of analysis."

You're sentence needs rephrasing.

And both sides of the Atlantic need a heck of a lot more grammar teachers.

Tara, GrammarCity,

Prospective University students from Britain would do well to checkout the strict laws on alcohol consumption in the USA. How does 21 sound as the age when you can order your first ever beer!
Still it should keep you focused on your studies..

Paul, Houston, USA

On the contrary, US education at this level is quite different than the UK system. In the US one had to take liberal studies which means going outside of your field and working in all areas as well as your own area of study.

Sam, Washington DC, USA

...'leave enough time for you’re A-level examinations'. And a grammar check.

Lilibet, Ipswich, UK

"leave enough time for you’re A-level examinations."

And 11-plus English test....

Jake, London, UK

I'm from the UK and attended college in chicago. The process isn't! The quality of education is very variable so the choice of college is critical. It then takes about 2 years and costs upwards of $4000 for the application process ..then you still have to get an F1 visa. Not for the faint hearted

Sameer, Chicago, USA

The U.S. undergraduate system offers more breadth, the U.K. system more focus. Here in the States, we reserve focus on a specific academic or professional subject for graduate-level study, aside from the undergraduate major. U.S. undergraduates are required to take courses outside of the major.

Lili, Chicago, USA

Come on over to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. They will take you and a great midwestern university. Its not that hard to apply as you say. Good luck!

merle ayres, Humboldt, Iowa, USA

The main difference is that in the US in your first year you take loads of courses you may have no interest in (but might find you have an interest in) for 'credits'
and then choose a major whereas in the UK it is full-on one or two subjects from the get go. No idea which is the better approach

watkins, bangkok, thailand

Another point worth mentioning is that there is often the option of "Summer" terms for the students who want to speed up their graduation, as I did when I was in USA. The SAT is not as difficult as one thinks. There might also be a "Miller Analogies test, too.
Patrick Bagot in Istanbul

Patrick Bagot, Istanbul, Turkey

In British university education you study only one, or possibly two, complimentary courses in depth with a lot of independent study. US higher education is quite a bit different with required classes and courses, and even with the introduction of tuition fees in the UK, usually ends up costing more

Elizabeth , Portland, USA

I should add that departmental fellowships, and teaching/research assistantships are generally available only to graduate students in arts and sciences M.A. and PhD programs. The application process for grad students and the exams required are also different. Send inquiries to the department.

Lili, Chicago, USA

Hi

Any chance of a similar article on Australian universities? Thanks!!

vicki, manchester,

Why would anyone from the UK want to go to an american university - the great evil empire? Stay at home.

Blackhawk
U.S.

John, Lafayette,

As a recent graduate from an American University, I can also tip that one legally can only work 20 hours a week on the campus, though many squeeze by at "kick back" jobs under the radar.
Also, UNLV requires $32,000 of proven funding while UCSC requires around $23,000. So make sure to have cash.

Bryan Moody, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Tips for the SAT and ACT (or GMAT and GRE for graduate level work)...order the big college board study book and read from front to back. The test is more about how clever you are than how much you know. They mostly test algebra and geometry and reasoning skills.

Nora, Norfolk,

The SAT/ACT thing is really the preference of the University. Most accept either though from what I remember the Mid-West was a bit more liking to the ACT.

What I noticed was that the Brits specialize a lot earlier in their education thus allowing them to complete a degree in 3 years instead of 4

Adam, Loveland, USA

I disagree that US undergraduate programs produce students who are educated to similar standards as their British peers. The system is completely different so comparison is not an appropriate unit of analysis. The main advantage in the US system is the flexibility and interdisciplinarity of courses.

Laurence Moore, Stanford, CA, USA

Taking both the SAT and ACT is not necessary. Some students do better on one kind of test than the other, but taking both is never more advantageous than taking one and doing well at it. Most students begin with the SAT and take the ACT if they find that the SAT testing method disagrees with them.

L, Farmington, USA

At the undergraduate level US universities produce students who are educated to similar standard to British institutions. The difference however is that UK fees are vastly less and a UK undegraduate degree takes only three years as opposed to four.

Kevin Smith, Southampton, England