Which one has the advantage of studying in the United States or the United Kingdom?

As for studying abroad, the UK and the United States each have their own advantages. It mainly depends on which one you prefer. You can consider the following aspects:

School system

British school system It is three years for a bachelor's degree and one year for a master's degree; in the United States, it is usually four years for a bachelor's degree and two years for a master's degree. Therefore, it takes much less time to obtain a complete master's degree in the UK, making it the best choice for those who want a quick study. But it is not difficult to guess that under such an academic arrangement, the experience of students from the two countries and the value of their degrees cannot be the same.

Fees

Fees in the UK are significantly lower than in the US. Without considering any scholarships, the cost for international students to study in the UK is 15,000-20,000 pounds (equivalent to 24,000-30,000 US dollars) per year; for three years, it is 45,000-60,000 pounds (equivalent to 70,000-90,000 US dollars). ). In the United States, private schools cost US$50,000 to US$60,000 per year, which is US$200,000 to US$240,000 for four years; public schools are slightly cheaper, but they are still US$30,000 to US$40,000 per year, and US$120,000 to US$160,000 for four years. In the United States, except for a few such as the University of California, Berkeley, the schools that are good and highly recognized in the country are still mainly private.

Difficulty of application

In general, for schools of the same quality, the threshold in the UK is lower than that in the United States in terms of recommendation letters and academic background requirements, or is more flexible. Moreover, many schools in the UK offer various forms of preparatory courses, where you can study for one year and then proceed to undergraduate degree. The threshold for matriculation is even lower. The general reason is that all British schools are public schools and are not well-funded (or even in embarrassment), so they are very keen to attract international students (the fees levied on international students are legally higher than those on local British students).

School Selection and Mainland China’s Recognition of Degrees

Don’t be superstitious about the ranking in a specific year, because it changes. Not to mention the ranking of the major you focus on - for undergraduates, it doesn't matter much. Mainly depends on historical reputation. Here, there are far fewer good schools in the UK that are recognized around the world and well-known in China than in the United States. The two most elite universities, Oxford and Cambridge, and others including the London School of Economics, Warwick, Imperial College, and UCL are all listed in the second tier, followed by universities such as Manchester, Sheffield, Lancaster, Newcastle, Durham, and Bath. , are all good schools. In fact, except for Oxbridge, the differences between other schools in the UK are relatively small and very homogeneous. As a Chinese student, the criterion for selection is nothing more than whether you are well-known in the country.

Recognition of degrees

As mentioned above, because the British academic system is shorter and the threshold is not so high, the recognition of British degrees in the mainland is not as high as in earlier years (for example Late 1990s or early 2000s). There are a large number of British students in the job market every year. At this time, two things are more important: first, ranking as high as possible (such as Warick, Imperial College, UCL, etc.); second, graduation results must be good (considering that in recent years, British universities have become more and more inferior in degree levels, and outstanding students Should get FirstClassDegree; at least not less than 2:1). Since more people have returned from studying in the UK in recent years, everyone is becoming more and more familiar with British degrees and they are becoming more and more demanding.

As for the United States, the reputation and recognition of American schools are still much higher than those in the UK. The strength of the United States can be seen from various global university rankings. Basically, the top 30 universities in the United States are all very high-quality universities with very high social recognition; undergraduates who graduate from the top ten universities can basically be automatically recognized as "elite" (in contrast, for British international students There will be more questions). Another thing to mention here is that the United States is divided into universities and colleges. University is a comprehensive university, which is comprehensive and focuses on academic research; college pays more attention to teaching. Many middle-class and upper-class elites in the United States choose to attend college (for example, Hillary graduated from Wellesley College). These schools are characterized by high teaching standards and are well-recognized by Americans, but their reputation in mainland China is average.

Learning and teaching quality

Undergraduate education in foreign schools is different from that in China. For example, the general concept of classes is that students choose courses and the organization is relatively discrete. The relationship between teachers and students is not close, and there is a lot of spare time, so it relies heavily on students' own study habits.

Those with good study habits, positive people, and good use of school resources can learn very well in an ordinary school in the UK; those with bad study habits may not be able to learn in an Ivy League school in the United States.

Back to class.

To sum up, for those who really want to get the best education, American colleges are the best choice; British universities are generally relatively reliable, and American universities (including Harvard and Yale), majors, courses, and professors The difference is quite large.