International Universities

[appianway]

I know that considerable financial aid is available for undergraduate students in the USA, but does anyone know if anything's around for Oxbridge?

[ninwa]

Ummm, I'm assuming Oxbridge is Oxford and Cambridge? (never heard of "Oxbridge" before...)

Google says:
Oxford:

• Oxford Opportunity Bursaries (for UK students though)
• http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/studentfunding/undergraduate/

Cambridge:

The financial support available for overseas students is limited. Few full scholarships are available at undergraduate level; most support is a partial contribution to your overall costs and is means-tested.

Cambridge Commonwealth and Overseas Trusts
The Cambridge Commonwealth Trust and the Cambridge Overseas Trust offer awards (mostly part cost) to overseas students, including affiliated students, who have been accepted for admission by a Cambridge College. You cannot apply for funding through the Trusts until you have been offered a place at one of the Colleges. At this point the College will send you full details of the Trust awards and an application form. All awards are means-tested.

College awards
Some Colleges also offer partial financial support for overseas students. Further information about Trust and College awards can be obtained from College admissions offices.

College admissions offices

[appianway]

Yeah, Oxford and Cambridge are generally referred to as Oxbridge...

Thanks I did click on the trusts page on the weekend and it seemed as though most of it was geared towards post graduate students, but perhaps I wasn't looking at the right thing...

[humph]

Yeah, you'll struggle to find scholarships for Aussie undergrads going international (because let's face it, it's undergrad...). Even at graduate level they're ridiculously competative as well

[NE2000]

Thanks I did click on the trusts page on the weekend and it seemed as though most of it was geared towards post graduate students, but perhaps I wasn't looking at the right thing...

Yes there's not all that much available for undergraduate students from Australia looking to study at Oxbridge, so it's going to cost a lot. For the USA there is extreme competition for undergraduate scholarships, but you can get significant financial aid. That said, unless you particularly want the generalist nature of the American degrees (which is fair enough, I can understand why you would) it might be a better idea to apply at graduate level, but that's completely up to you, given that it is also competitive.

[appianway]

Ah, I think I read on either the Harvard/some other American university's website that 92% of the available financial aid was in the form of scholarships. I'd like to go to either Harvard, Cambridge, Princeton or MIT for undergraduate because they're really strong in the areas that I'm interested in (and I think the intellectual culture and access to high level researchers would compensate for the generalist nature in earlier years). That said, I don't think I'll get in at all (I haven't even sat the SATs yet), but there's no harm in trying. I'll probably end up going to ANU (if I get in there!), but I may as well try out for overseas... I can always turn it down if I somehow get in and can't afford to go

[NE2000]

Ah, I think I read on either the Harvard/some other American university's website that 92% of the available financial aid was in the form of scholarships. I'd like to go to either Harvard, Cambridge, Princeton or MIT for undergraduate because they're really strong in the areas that I'm interested in (and I think the intellectual culture and access to high level researchers would compensate for the generalist nature in earlier years). That said, I don't think I'll get in at all (I haven't even sat the SATs yet), but there's no harm in trying. I'll probably end up going to ANU (if I get in there!), but I may as well try out for overseas... I can always turn it down if I somehow get in and can't afford to go

It's perfectly ok to try. You seem to have the cocurricular activities and achievements to lodge a fair claim, although some of your competition will have even more such achievements. And while you're correct about the intellectual culture, I do personally think that the American undergrad option is perhaps less appealing if you don't particularly want to do a generalist degree. If you want a more rounded education though, and want to supplement your science with a touch of economics and social sciences and other things, perhaps to evaluate your options a bit more, then the US is perfect. Of course this is not universally the case with all of the US universities, so I'll leave you to do your own research.

Harvard, Princeton or MIT are all notoriously difficult to get into though lol, good luck

[appianway]

Thanks... I'll need it! I have a few national competition prizes/international conferences which I can put on my applications, but I still have to sit the SATs, and if those don't go well (and they probably won't, seeing as my mum doesn't want me to spend much time studying), I don't have any chance whatsoever. And I heard that an IChO gold medallist was rejected from MIT...

Hmm, I think the physics and chemistry covered at MIT, Harvard and Princeton would probably be more advanced and in depth than what's covered in Australian universities... only because they can make the courses exceptionally difficult due to the nature of the cohort. In all honesty, I'll probably end up at ANU/Monash/UniMelb, but I may as well see if I have the option.

[NE2000]

Yeah I don't doubt that the science will be advanced and intellectually stimulating, I was just mentioning the need to do stuff outside the science realm. The PhB(Hons) for example I would say is more focussed on science. Melbourne has compulsory breadth subjects, but still not as much breadth as Harvard. Regardless, it's not much of an issue. If anything it might be a bit refreshing to learn a few different things.

And yeah olympiad medallions aren't quite enough on their own, although they are a very nice card to have lol.....

[appianway]

Yeah, I still can't get over the fact that the applicant was a gold medallist but still didn't get in...

Oh well. I doubt I'll get in (and even if I do, I might have to decline), but it's an option to consider