KE June newsletter

We don’t have an absolute cut-off point, but we would just suggest that:

• You check with us that we do still have places for your particular choices;
• You make sure that you have time to arrange flights and, if necessary, visas.

If you can decide by early June, that will certainly be best.

Although many students are now in the midst of exams, do remember that there will soon be a very long holiday.  Maybe spend most of it relaxing and recovering from all your hard work, but maybe spend some of it doing something really worthwhile.

Of all the opportunities available in the summer season, KE’s academic programmes are the ones which are most focused on university entrance, with a challenging range of course options, and the chance to visit a great selection of leading universities.

And KE programmes are not just useful, they are also fun!   OK, so we don’t have the casino nights, discos or dating competitions which many summer schools offer.   Instead, we have great activities which will get you thinking, doing and interacting with other bright students.  For example:

• The chance to explore some famous cities in different parts of the country
• Team challenges
• Group presentations
• Conversations with current students from some of the universities visited
• The chance to try sports and activities typical of the country visited

…  And plenty of time to make new friends from different countries!

This is a pretty big subject, so here are just a few bullet points…

Some similarities

• There’s a keen awareness in both countries of university rankings; it’s not official, but it’s very real.  You’ll see a huge difference in what you need to gain entrance to higher-ranking as opposed to lower-ranking universities.
• In making an application, you are expected to ‘sell yourself’ through a personal statement (UK) or a personal essay (US).
• In both countries, extra-curricular achievements are really important (though even more so in the US than in the UK).
• Both countries are likely to require evidence of your English language skills if you have not been educated through the medium of English.  TOEFL is originally American, IELTS is originally British (and Australian), but most universities in both countries will now accept either.

Some differences

• UK: With just a few exceptions for specialised subjects, you don’t need to take a special test to gain a place.
• US:  Most universities will require you to take a special test, usually either ACT or SAT, to show your general suitability for a degree-level programme.

• UK: Most programmes run for three years.
• US: Most programmes run for four years.

• UK: Your course of study is likely to be quite specific from the very start; you may well be studying just one subject for the whole of your degree programme.
• US: You are likely to start off with quite a broad academic curriculum, specialising more as you progress, often focusing on a ‘major’ and one or more ‘minors’.

• UK: Right from the start of your undergraduate study, you can study more professional subjects such as law and medicine.
• US: First of all, you take an undergraduate degree, pretty much in any subject, and then after that, you apply to, for example, law school or med school to qualify professionally.

• UK:  There are very few private universities, and all institutions which bear the name ‘university’ have government recognition.
• US:  There’s a mixture of state and private universities; in both cases, some are high-ranking, some are low-ranking.  There are also ‘unaccredited’ universities.

Would you like to go into a lot more detail?   To find out exactly what’s required, join a KE programme in your country of choice!