Preparing for Grad School in the UK

So, I was planning (hoping     on finishing my BA abroad..  but after going through this forum, i've decided that it may not be the best thing.. particularly my lack of enough money and the fact that most if not all of my gen eds taken now would all go to waste..   SO!

I am hereby preparing to earn my MA or PHD (haven't decided yet) in the UK...  i'm a good year and a half away which allows me plenty of time to get my ducks in a row.. 

Are there any websites that specialize in financial aid to international students??  or is most of the financial aid given in private scholarships??

Also, what are the differences between an MA in the states vs. in the UK??  I'd really like to hear what everyone has to say/suggest..     

HELP!     THANKS!!!

Sorry, I don't know of any websites that gathers that info in one easy place. Look around this forum, financial aid is a popular topic here.

Masters degrees here (M. Litt. is the most popular in my department - don't know if that is universal) are one year, with courses during the autumn and spring and then a thesis during the summer. In my program we had one general seminar ( sort of the "How to think like a historian class" ) and one specialized topic each semester - so less courses than I was used to in the US. The PhD programs are then all research, no course work, so the Masters serves the purpose of the courses that make up the first couple of years in many US PhD programs. However, I'm just trying to figure out how my own program works, so others here might be different.

Same here for less courses.  I've got 3 organised lectures this term (one being our "core" class), but only 2 next term (including the core course, which runs the full year).  The spring is designed to start preliminary work on the thesis, with the chunk of it being done in summer.  Ours is due the beginning of September, and I think that's fairly normal.

That said, my housemate is doing his management MSc, and he's in class a LOT more than I am.  I think the less lecture time mainly applies to humanities & social sciences, but we have heavy loads of outside reading.  He has less homework as such, but a lot more organised classroom time.  Your mileage may vary!

http://www.teri.org/

These guys are your best bet for loans for study abroad. As for scholarships, I guess that would depend upon your area of study but my experience is that you are pretty unlikely to get anything for a humanities degree.  So, if you only do an MA, Teri are pretty good. But if you do a PhD, think long and hard about the amount of debt you will accrue.

You can also get Stafford Loans for use at overseas schools. They have low interest rates and you don't have to pay them back until after you graduate. I would highly recommend that you plan on getting a master's first, see how that goes,then decide if you want to put the time and money into a phd.

And an FYI on picking a school -- Scotland has a program called Fresh Talent that makes you elgible to get a job after you graduate and if you get any kind of job (not just one in your field of study), you can stay up to two years. So if you wanted to experience working and living overseas for longer than your year of study, that's a good way. Last thing I heard (it's been a year since I looked into all of this), England still wants students from the U.S. to leave ASAP when they finish their studies (you might be able to stay on through some Bunac program, but I think has various limits on age or how long you can stay or something).

Last thing I heard (it's been a year since I looked into all of this), England still wants students from the U.S. to leave ASAP when they finish their studies (you might be able to stay on through some Bunac program, but I think has various limits on age or how long you can stay or something).

If you study for a postgraduate degree in the UK (England, Scotland or Wales, it doesn't matter) you're eligible to stay an extra year and work after your degree is over.  (Undergrads can only apply if they're studying certain science and engineering subjects, but all postgrads, regardless of subject are eligible.) 

The science and engineering thing has been around for a while, but the new rules applying to postgraduates only applies to those who started their degrees after May 1, 2006.