Oxford University and The University of Edinburgh US Tour

The Oxford University and the University of Edinburgh US Tour has now ended and our representatives are looking forward to planning the 2014 tour. 

Students wishing to do an undergraduate degree in the UK apply to study a specific degree (for example History and Politics); so from the outset of the programme they only study the subject(s) that they are passionate about. In Scotland, students can also pick up and drop outside subjects in the first two years and then decide on their major based on the subjects they have studied. UK universities do not generally offer a core curriculum and there are no general education requirements, so humanities students do not have to do science courses and vice-versa.

Studying in the UK is good value for money and there are opportunities to study subjects such as Law or Medicine at undergraduate level which is not possible in the United States. If you would like to find out more about studying in the UK please visit the UCAS website. (UCAS is the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, which processes all applications for undergraduate study at UK universities.)

Our itinerary is detailed below:

Thursday 5 September- Lakeside School, Seattle, WA (7pm)

Saturday 7 September- French-American International School, San Francisco, CA (2pm)

Sunday 8 September- Viewpoint School, Los Angeles, CA (2pm)

Monday 9 September - Alamo Heights High School, San Antonio, TX (6:30pm)

Tuesday 10 September - Awty International School, Houston, TX (7pm)

Wednesday 11 September - Atlanta International School, Atlanta, GA (6.30pm)

Thursday 12 September -National Cathedral School, Washington, DC (6:30pm)

Saturday 14 September- Lycee Francais de New York, New York City, NY (two sessions: 1.00pm & 3.30pm)

Sunday 15 September -  The International School of Boston, Boston, MA (4pm)

Tuesday 17 September- Lycee Francais de Chicago, Chicago, IL (6:30pm)

Sessions are intended for the following:

College Counsellors, Junior and Senior Year students and parents: In this session we will cover applying to university in the UK, entrance requirements and how to make a competitive application, as well as give attendees the chance to talk with recent alumni from the US.

Advance booking for the US Tour has now closed and the Oxford representative Dr Eleanor David is currently in North America. All events are open to interested high school students, parents or guidance counsellors.  No booking is required, and those who would like to attend should simply choose the most convenient location and come along at the time and date listed.

If you have any other enquiries regarding the tour, please contact Dr David at eleanor.david@admin.ox.ac.uk.

Detailed information about Oxford University and about The University of Edinburgh can be found on our websites, though we have also included a brief introduction below:

Oxford University

Oxford University is world renowned for outstanding teaching and research. As the oldest English-speaking university in the world, Oxford has long attracted and recruited the brightest students to its beautiful city. Alumni include President Bill Clinton, scientist Sir Stephen Hawking and author Philip Pullman.

We are a collegiate university, allowing students to be part of a close-knit academic and social community. International students from over 140 countries make up 14% of our undergraduate student body. One prestigious opportunity for students wishing to start a second undergraduate degree or Masters course is the Rhodes Scholarship. Each year, 32 US citizens become Rhodes Scholars and take degree courses at Oxford University.

We offer a focused set of 220 degree programmes in traditional academic areas. Details of these can be found at in our undergraduate courses section. Course areas include Arts, Humanities, Sciences and Medicine.

Entrance to Oxford is exceedingly competitive and the academic entrance requirements for students studying in the US can be found at in our international qualifications section.

The University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh is one of the world's leading research universities, featuring in the top five in the UK and top in Scotland in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), and ranks as one of the world's top twenty universities in the QS World University Rankings 2011. Set in the heart of Scotland's stunning capital city, it is one of the most popular destinations in the UK for undergraduate study. It is a large public university with over 30,000 students, and more than 35% come from 140 countries outside of the UK. There are many reasons for students from America to choose the University of Edinburgh, including: the quality of our degrees, our flexible 4-year programme structure and the opportunities for international exposure. Plus, employers value our graduates for their intellectual ability and highly developed transferable skills.
We have built an enviable reputation for excellence in both research and teaching, attracting some of the world's leading thinkers to work and study here.

The University of Edinburgh's staff, students and alumni have been influencing the world since 1583. By joining our cosmopolitan community you could play your own role in shaping the innovations of the future - just like Sir Ian Wilmut, whose pioneering research led to Dolly the Sheep, or authors Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle and J K Rowling, whose novels have been read around the world.
We offer over 600 different undergraduate degree programmes so there is a huge choice of courses available. Admission is competitive. Information on our degree offering and policies can be found at www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate.
This website provides guidance on international qualification requirements as well as other key information: http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/international/country/north-america/usa/hs-qualifications