p3nguin is

Aren't you?

No. I graduated in 2011 and have been working since.

What is with US' education system that makes students want to further their studies in that country and rejecting the UK?

The only major difference I know of between the US and UK is that the UK is very exam-based while the US incorporates coursework as well. It's possible that these students know that they aren't good exam-takers and prefer the help of coursework for grades.

It depends on what you want to do, where you want to be, what degree you are pursuing. If you want to be close to family, Australia is better and they have good universities. If you're a good exam taker and want to be done with university in three years, the UK would be a good choice.

These are gross simplifications of the three systems, but you get the gist.

This post has been edited by spunkberry: Apr 4 2013, 10:43 PM

Some people have the impression that it is easier to academically score in the us than the uk = us is of low quality... Kinda annoys me a little.

I wonder what it means when people say the us' education system is more liberal...

There are good and bad universities in both countries. If you go to the top tier universities, the competition is more intense.

The education system in the US is more liberal in the sense that your conditions to graduate in a certain field hinge upon taking a bunch of core subjects and some electives.

However, it does not stop you from taking classes in other fields like dance, jazz and anything else they are willing to offer. You are also mandated to take some general education classes in some cases which comprise of fields in the sciences,arts and humanities. But the subject matter is mostly your choice. For example, I might need to take a history class, but I can chose to study either latin american,african or asian history.

Also, things like FYPs are not really there. There may be 1 class that is solely focused on doing a big project but there are many mini projects spread across different classes throughout the 4 year degree.

And you can even chose to hang around for 5 or 6 years if that's how long you take to graduate. I've heard of people graduating in 2.5-3 years even though it's supposed to be a 4 year program.



In comparison, a UK degree is tailored more towards a "practical" education where you are taught the things you need to know when you are on the job. It's more focused but a little less flexible because of that.

happy_berry,

UK / Australia system is focused..

USA system's goal is to produce well rounded person.

In term of Engineering,

UK / Australia system teach more engineering in undergraduate.

USA system force engineer to take classes like Social Science and so on. Less engineering classes. You focus on Engineering when you do master degree.

I have BSEE and MSEE from USA.

I studied History, Politic, Economy and so on in addition to Engineering for my BSEE. Over the long run, this serves me well. I had 10+ jobs over 20+ years across technical, sales, marketing, and product management. This would had been harder if my undergraduate engineering degree is in the UK / Australia system.

Anyhow, I am an UNIQUE person. I read and kept thousands of books on many subjects at home. It may not apply to others.

Dreamer

while I agree with your other descriptions regarding the UK, Australian and graduate school (masters), I disagree that the US system has less engineering classes in undergraduate years. Sure, they throw in required electives, but I don't feel that I had as many to take than I did engineering classes. Most electives can be cleared out in the first year foundation courses or even test out or transfer credits, leaving the next three years to be solely focused on your chosen engineering field - which ends up being similar to the UK system.

I was not one of those fortunate ones with the ability to do away with many elective classes (I received transfer credit for only one and it wasn't a class I would have taken anyway). Even so, for every three engineering classes that I was required to take, I had only one or no electives, so I reiterate my disagreement that the US system has less undergraduate engineering classes.

A masters or even PhD in engineering (in the US at least) focuses on a specific area of interest within engineering, hence the totality of engineering classes taken in graduate school. I opted for specialization in the industry, rather than school, though I still am toying with the idea of a masters.

But happy_berry, like marubox said, the difficulty (or ease) in obtaining a US degree depends entirely on two things: the caliber of the school and your abilities.

This post has been edited by spunkberry: Apr 5 2013, 02:20 AM

spunkberry,

I got my BSEE and MSEE 20+ years old. So, things may had changed. I was the last batch of BSEE that do not have to choose a SPECIALIZATION of EE in the undergraduate program. Most people in my batch had to use 5 years of full time study to get their BSEE. After my batch, people in BSEE program had to pick one EE specialization. Then, they can finish in 4 years.

There is another difference too which may or may not exist now.

In UK system, you get into the university after form 6. In USA system, you only need 12 years of schooling plus SAT/ TOFEL. So, technically, you can get into US college after form 5.

So, it may be 3 years after form 6 for UK. But, it is 4 years after form 5 in USA. In the end, it is the same.

Dreamer

Folks,

In summary, UK / Australia system is highly structured and inflexible. You are fixed into what to learn and when. There is a fixed schedule.

In USA system, it is flexible. You pick what to learn and when to learn. You can go slow or fast. You learn as much or as little. You graduated with more or less knowledge.

Dreamer

Hello there!

I would like to know, has anyone here taken the MCAT before?

Sorry if I'm jumping into a repeated question. As far as i read through this thread, I didn't find anyone that currently do PhD in US. I'm quite unsure about their system for PhD program. I'm planning to do it at Southern University of Illinois in the near future, but I still worried that I didn't fit with US edu system. As I'm fully supported, I'm afraid that, if I didn't finish my PhD in the time frame given, I need to pay back all the cost spent on me.

This post has been edited by latworx: Jun 8 2013, 12:13 AM

what will you be coming with? you have a bachelor's already? Masters? My understanding is that you have to complete Masters requirements on the way to your PhD.

Just want to know that which Uni in the states are good for biotech? I am more interested towards the business side of biotech and my current first aim for the Uni is Purdue University. Any help?

And is there any internship for such major?

Friendly reminder: If you're serious about studying and eventually working in the U.S, please register every year for the Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery. It should open around October this year. Think of it as a golden ticket towards an American dream. Why?

A green card allows you to apply for all financial aids just like domestic U.S. students, and you could potentially fund your entire education with scholarships. Also, upon graduation you're already a PR with a green card, so you aren't limited by the OPT and H-1B rules. You can stay as long as you want and work anywhere, even off-campus while studying. F-1 international students are usually limited to working on-campus or risk losing their status unless they're doing CPT or OPT. There's dozens of other benefits of a green card. Here's a website that shows all the benefits of a green card: http://www.immihelp.com/greencard/benefits...ident-card.html

For Asia, the winning chance per year for this permanent residence green card is 0.84%(1/119). If you are selected, you have a 50% chance of getting one of the allocated 50,000 slots. So if you try every year, you have a higher chance of winning. It's not impossible, just a matter of probability. I would know, since I got it after trying a couple times.



Lastly, I previously wrote some other advice here if you're interested.
Best of luck to fellow American dreamers~!

This post has been edited by AmericanDreamer: Aug 11 2013, 12:33 AM

hello guys. thinking of pursuing my masters, and i've looked at UK/Aussie already. Was thinking of trying for uni's in USA too.

Is there anysite similar to http://www.prospects.ac.uk/ where i can search for a course, and the uni's that offer it are shown?

i keep trying to look for uni's that offer what i want (msc in information/computer/cyber security) but when i do, only UK based unis pop-up. i did try to query for US based uni's but not much luck lol.

Thanks!

Purdue University? Looking at their website, there is no "Biotechnology" major. What exactly are you planning to do?


Biochemistry

Biological and Food Process Engineering

Biological Engineering - multiple concentrations

Biology

Biology - Biochemistry

Biology - Biology Education

Biology - Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology

Biology - Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Sciences

Biology - Genetic Biology

Biology - Health and Disease

Biology - Microbiology

Biology - Neurobiology and Physiology

Biomedical Engineering

Brain and Behavioral Sciences

Quick question , sorry to chime in .

I kinda interest to pursue graduate study in U.S. so I'm currently planning to sit for GRE , since the knowledge of the past still intact in my brain cell , so straight way to the exam hall but the problem is , I tried to contact one which is the nearest to my house , smart test (M) , but they don't seem to respond .


Can I just go to the test centre , book the date and just take the exam , is it mandatory to go the classes ?

What's the cost taking the exam only ?

I plan to study on summer ? Should I already , begin to apply now ?





Thank you for your time guys !

This post has been edited by Cap Jones: Aug 6 2013, 11:25 PM

Cap Jones, I took the GRE once but that was in the United States.

I found a Kuala Lumpur test center on the official website:
http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/reg.../centers_dates/
Call them if you have any questions.
Fees: http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/fees/



There's no need to take any classes, just buy a GRE study book and go for it.
Review your study book, estimate preparation time and then reserve the exam. It took me a week of intense study.



Test structure: http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/content/cbt
Quantitative Reasoning section was easy, nothing above trigonometry.
Analytical Writing was fun but Verbal Reasoning was troublesome.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

This post has been edited by AmericanDreamer: Aug 11 2013, 12:29 AM