Does my undergraduate univ.?

Question

affect if I get into UCL?

I live in the US but I really want to attend UCL for my graduates.

I know its a tough school esp. for international students so does what univ. I come from matter greatly?

Is it better to attend a more prestigious univ. with mediocre grades or a state univ. with outstanding grades?

thanks in advance. =)

Answer 1

It's not whether you pick a state university or not. And no, going to a prestigious uni and getting mediocre grades won't do it.

In general, UCL's graduate programs require you to have the equivalent to an upper second class honours degree (aka a 2.1 degree) or higher, from a strong school. But that strong school could certainly be a state university. A lot of state universities rank within the top 100 or so universities in the US, and any of those would be completely acceptable. So if the state university you're considering is Rutgers, UMass Amherst, UConn, U Florida, U Michigan, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Stony Brook, or something along those lines, you're fine. Look at rankings lists like the US News and World Report list to see how the colleges you're looking at place.

The rough equivalent to an upper second class honours degree is a GPA of around a 3.4. That's a very rough equivalent. And naturally, if your GPA is higher than that, all the better.