English girl in an American university?

Question

I'm 16 and i'll be starting college next month.

I already know what I want to do with me life and I have it all planned out!

But... i'm kinda sick of England!

And I was thinking that I'd love to go to university in America.

I have another 2 or 3 years before university yet, but i've already got things planned.

I want to be a journalist, so really I could work in any country, depending on the language restrictions.

I don't really want to stay in, go to university in or work/live in England.

Because i'm an English citizen, would I be able to study at an American university depending if they have a journalism course?

Also, if I can... how hard will it be to apply!?

Any other information will be great too!

Answer 1

of course you can apply for an american college, the thing is, find out where, the US has many universities and constantly has foreigners coming over to study in american unis, my sis is going to the University of Michigan and she allready knows someone from Poland attending. the difficulty of applying would depend on how much credentials you have, if you were one of the top in your class in an elite school then you could find your way into some scholarships, with your journalism skills, try going for some scholarships. it shouldnt be hard to apply or get info considering Unis today, especially in the US have special programs for foreign students to check out.

Answer 2

Sell yourself.

Answer 3

International students can attend any college or university in the U.S.  

But there is a catch: the cost of studying in the U.S. can top $40,000 U.S. a year and financial aid for international students is limited. Only a few colleges offer it, and those that do tend to be highly competitive in terms of admissions, although there are some exceptions.

Let's assume for a moment that you can pay your own way, and won't need financial aid. I'd suggest that you start your college search by checking out universities that have journalism programs accredited by The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. There are about 140 such programs, and you can find the full list here:

http://www.ku.edu/~acejmc/STUDENT/PROGLI...  While any accredited program may be a good choice, some of the most respected programs include: Syracuse University, University of Southern California, Northwestern University, University of Missouri-Columbia, and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, so those would be good ones to investigate first (BUT there are MANY great schools for journalism, so don't limit yourself to these only!)

As you look through the various colleges, go to their websites and research their locations, their size, and their application requirements. I'd also suggest you do some research on different areas of the country, as the U.S. has many different regions. Consider what you want out of your U.S. educational experience, including location, size of the school, etc.

You will almost certainly need to take either the SAT or the ACT college entrance exams for most journalism programs, and both tests are offered at various locations in the UK and Europe. You can find information on the SAT at www.collegeboard.org and the ACT at www.actstudent.org.

Many colleges will also ask you to submit recommendations from teachers and an administrator or counselor at your high school. You will also need to submit transcripts. Many U.S. colleges will also ask you to write essays about yourself. These are somewhat different in approach than the essays for U.K. schools, so do some research to understand what colleges in the U.S. are looking for (the www.collegeboard.org site is a good place to start).

Finally, after you're admitted, you'll need to apply for a student visa from the U.S. government. You will have some restrictions on your ability to work (another reason why the issue of financial aid is so important) and you will need to apply for a different visa should you decide you want to continue to live in the U.S. after you graduate.

A good resource for learning about the U.S. application process if you are an international student can be found by googling EducationUSA - that will connect you with the U.S. government site explaining the American education system for international students.

Good luck!

Carolyn Lawrence, AdmissionsAdvice.com, the blog about college admissions