Studying in the UK as an American: Key differences you need to remember

I remember being shocked when I first arrived at the University of Warwick and seeing lots of pubs on campus because, of course, in the US you’re not allowed to legally drink until you’re 21. I’ve also been out for pints with my professors after class which was mind-blowing because that would never happen in the US. Although there are parties at US colleges, the drinking culture can feel weird at first because of the legal differences.  

Freshers’ week is definitely a bigger deal in the UK, whereas we didn’t have that in the US. We have some sort of orientation week where you move in, meet everyone and get involved in fun activities but it wasn’t much compared to Freshers’ week, especially with drinking culture. The closest thing that we would have in the US is Greek life, which is things like fraternities and sororities.  

In the UK, you take your A-Levels and when you’re applying to university, you’ll have some idea of what you want to study for those three years. It’s different in the US where most people might have a rough idea of what they’re interested in. 

Many colleges, especially smaller ones, will make you take modules that aren’t related to your field of study. As Bryn Mawr is a liberal arts college, I had to take classes in a range of disciplines in order to graduate. So, for example, I had to study French for a year, but I continued afterwards because I ended up really enjoying it. After two years of exploring different subjects, you then declare your major.  

I didn’t know what philosophy was before studying it at Bryn Mawr and was surprised to find that I loved it a lot more than math or science. I wouldn’t have discovered philosophy if it hadn’t been for the liberal arts requirement. A lot of students in the US don’t entirely know what they want to do until the end of the first year and can then specialise from there.  

I would have been very stuck at college if I had gone in thinking I wanted to do math and ended up hating it, so I absolutely love the fact studying in the US means you have the freedom to find out what you enjoy.  

One of the biggest differences I’ve noticed is the role of sports in university life. Sports at the college level is just huge in the US compared to the UK. I have a friend, for example, who performed well academically but she got into a specific university because of her sports performance. She did rowing and was recruited by coaches to be a top rower at that university.  

Football was also huge and the entire university would come out to watch a game, and there would be parties afterwards. There are societies in the UK if you want to play sports specifically but it’s on a much larger scale in the US.  

The general cost of British education is a lot cheaper than the American higher education system. During my undergraduate degree, I was paying $50,000-$60,000 a year for four years, which is half a million dollars just to pay for college. But if you’re a UK citizen, it only costs around $10,000 to study there (or it’s free at Scottish universities if you’re from Scotland), so the cost is astronomically different.  

If I wanted to do a master’s in the US, it would probably be around $30,000 minimum, but in the UK, even as a non-citizen, it’s only $15,000. I would have also had to take the GRE exam to apply for a master’s in the US, which is a big, nationalised exam that covers math, reading and writing.  

I really didn’t want to do it, and at the end of my final year at college I had already missed many application deadlines. England seemed like a much better option because it was cheaper, quicker, there were no exams and Warwick had a rolling admissions process, so it worked out perfectly when I applied for philosophy.  

I also regretted not having done the full study abroad experience as I enjoyed aspects of it when I did a summer exchange programme in France. It’s led me to where I am now - I very much feel like the UK is my home and never want to leave!