Question - how to get into a UK college

Ok, so.. I only will be having a high school diploma to work with here. When I've been looking at qualifications and such for entry into a college, I find quite a bit of an 'undergraduate' as a qualification or 'At least five GCSE passes at Grade A*-C.' or 'A minimum of 240 tariff points with at least 2 A2 (A-level) qualifications. At least one A2 qualification must be an art and design related subject supported by passes in four other subjects at GCSE level (grade C or above.' Ok, what the hell is that? Seriously, might as well be speaking another language as I have no idea what that is. Another thing that is not helping is I've been very sheltered from things since I've been schooled at home since the 6th grade (aka, the start of middle school).

So, I have no idea how this all works. No. Freaking. Idea. I don't think it's a good idea to go applying to schools when I'm a tad confused about the qualifications. I did find one or two where the qualification was to have a portfolio, do an interview, and a have a few drawings to showcase. Liked the those ones, haha.

But.. reeeeally hope I don't sound like too much of an idiot.. oh well.. I'm trying to do the best research I can online, but some of that can get confusing and frustrating when you're doing it alone. It's five in the morning now (so if I spell anything wrong and a few sentences don't make sense, don't judge, is my insomnia at work) and I can't sleep because I keep stressing about everything, lol.

SO, my main point is, thought I'd come to the forums when in doubt since people here are already students, I'd figured there has to be someone that can help. I really like the looks of some of these colleges and like the fact that some of them are in Norwich, which is very close to where I'll be residing in the UK. I want to start college over there as soon as I can, if I get loans and such, is there a way to do this? Pleeeasse tell me I can! I really don't want to spend a full year back home.
Any possible options? I'm all ears!

Hi there!

Your best bet for getting the answers to your specific questions would be to contact the college/university that you are interested in, or someone in the department who runs the course you are interested in.  Every school has different requirements, but many of them will be familiar with international students and international qualifications, so they might be able to give you advice as to how to go about applying.  Just send them an e-mail, I'm sure you'll find that they will be more than happy to help you through it.

As far as loans are concerned, you'll need to submit a FAFSA (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) so that the government can assess how much in loans you are eligible for.  I'm afraid that they won't supply funding for every college or university in the UK, so you'll really need to do your homework and make sure that you can get the loans for the school you would like to attend.

And just for the sake of saying it, undergrad can be REALLY expensive in the UK, and you might find that not all of it will be covered by student loans.  There are a few that have had to take out private loans as well, which is really not ideal.  I would honestly consider waiting a year or two and just work to save up a good chunk of money.  It could be that by the time you get a visa, students may not be allowed to work, so the more you have socked away, the better.

This sort of thing requires a good amount of planning, so I would be sure to get all your ducks in a row rather than committing yourself to such a strict time frame.  Good luck! 

Was your homeschooling approved and recognised by your state?

Or did you have to take state exams?  Or did you complete any AP exams?

If not, you will probably need to take GEDs.  

The UK does not have a large homeschool population and those that do still take the A level exams to get into university.

There is a service that will translate your US grades into UK ones, but if they aren't recognised by your state I'm not sure what they will do.

Have you looked around UCAS?  I don't know if you would have to apply for Univeristy through it, but I know that most UK citizens make their University applications through UCAS.  I have a friend who has come over here to do her undergraduate degree and when I next see her, I will ask her what her process was and see if I can do a little digging on how she got here.  However, it still might be useful for you to have a look around the UCAS website and maybe they can answer a few questions as they have an enquiries email address. 

Best of luck!

http://www.ucas.ac.uk/

NoseOverTail, Thank you very much! I have contacted them and sent them a few questions. Hopefully they'll be able to help me out. I'll definitely be having a look at that website. Oh, don't worry, I'll make sure to look into that for every college that peaks my interest. I know they're all expensive but.. hopefully I can find one that isn't too expensive.

bookgrl, Yes, my home schooling is recognized by the state, so that's all taken care of. Yeeah, I figured as much. I, personally, hated being schooled at home so good for the UK that they don't have many kids doing it. Was horrible.

persephone, I have not, but I will take a look now that you've mentioned it! Oh really?? That would be awesome if you could do that! Thank you!

Ok, so.. I only will be having a high school diploma to work with here. When I've been looking at qualifications and such for entry into a college, I find quite a bit of an 'undergraduate' as a qualification or 'At least five GCSE passes at Grade A*-C.' or 'A minimum of 240 tariff points with at least 2 A2 (A-level) qualifications. At least one A2 qualification must be an art and design related subject supported by passes in four other subjects at GCSE level (grade C or above.' Ok, what the hell is that? Seriously, might as well be speaking another language as I have no idea what that is. Another thing that is not helping is I've been very sheltered from things since I've been schooled at home since the 6th grade (aka, the start of middle school).

Okay, a quick (basic) breakdown of the qualifications:

GCSEs are 2-year courses taken in several different subjects between ages 14 and 16 (English, English Literature, Maths and Science are compulsory, plus most students also take a language, a humanity subject, a technology subject and one or two others). A C grade is a pass at GCSE, so that's why the universities ask for grade C and above.

In terms of US education, if you have a US high school diploma, that is generally considered to be equivalent to '5 GCSEs at grade C or above'.

A levels are 2-year advanced level courses taken in 3 to 5 subjects between ages 16 and 18 and they are the requirements for getting into a UK university. Students take the subject(s) that they are considering studying at university as they may well need to have in depth knowledge of that subject to get offered a place (i.e. the requirement of having an A level in Art in order to get into an art-related university course). The first year is called AS level and the second year is called A2 level... most universities require that you have taken both years of A level to get offered a place

The A level points system is a little bit confusing, but basically each grade is worth a certain number of points: A* = 140, A = 120, B = 100, C = 80, D = 60, E = 40. So, if you need 240 points, this could be made up of 2 A grades; or 2 B grades and 1 E grade; or 3 C grades etc.

In terms of US education, A levels, are approximately equivalent to either AP classes in high school or possibly the first year or so of college. The UCAS website has a table of equivalent A level points for US AP grades on this page http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/ucas_tariff/tarifftables/ (4th table down).

Even with the basic break down it's still kind of a lot to take in I think, lol. Would have been SO much easier to just have born there, eh? Well, I haven't taken any AP tests, but I'm sure there is probably somewhere I could go, or somewhere online where I could take them if I really needed to. Also, I just found a question on yahoo answers, that asked "What is the UK equivalent to an US community college?" Which is something I've been wondering for a while.

The person replied back and said that really there is no equivalent, but that "if your problem is that you can't get right into a UK degree program right now, you could do a foundation year at a UK uni, and if you do well in it, you'd get right into the degree program - so if that's the issue, then there is a way around it."

Is this true? What exactly is a foundation year and could you do this abroad? Gaah, this is seriously stressing me out. >

I think your title should be 'How to get into a UK University?' as 'college' in the UK means something completely different.

The first two years of US University or the 2 year Community College 'General Education' Programs are somewhat comparable to the A levels taken in the UK as they allow you to move on to 'University'. So it would be similar to the UK 'college' for 16-18 year olds before moving on to University. Which is why most Bachelor degree programs in the UK are only 3 years, rather than 4 years as in the US. By taking AP Exams you earn credit toward your 'General Education' courses and can (if you score well enough) skip a year or two of classes, which might allow you to apply directly to University in the UK.

Your best bet (especially if you've not taken any AP Prep) is to go to your local Community College and do their 2 year 'General Education' program, then you'd be about on the same footing as everyone else in the UK that would be applying to University. Also taking the SAT's & ACT's would probably benefit you as well as they are used by Community Colleges for placement & most US Universities for acceptance into their programs. You would want to leave your options open in case your future determines that you should remain in the US for your education.