I'm in my third year at university now, in the UK. One year left. I have a job waiting for me, but I'm still quite young, and I want to travel a bit more first.

I have always wanted to experience life in America. I looked into acquiring a visa, and from what I gathered, getting a student visa shouldn't be too difficult.

The hardest part will be finding a university/college to accept me. I have no idea where to go, and how much it will cost. Don't have to pay for university in Scotland. Things are different across the sea though...


Whats the average age of college/university students? I'll be 21 when I graduate here, I don't want to be sitting in a class of 17 year olds, feeling like an old foreigner.

Not sure what the average course length is in the states, here it's four. On average, how much would this cost? Do prices differ course to course, or university to university?

I will be studying something computing based, most likely a branch of computer arts.

Thanks for any help.

College students are usually between ages 17 -23. Those are both of the extremes, so most will fit in the middle somewhere. The exception to the rule is older people who just started coming to school.

The course length is something like 16 weeks, which is about 4 months. The prices of classes vary from institution. Over here, we pay per credit, which is (usually) a flat rate.

The normal course load is 15 credits per semester. You need 12 to be considered a full time student, which affects your financial aid. Don't be detered by the cost though. Most universities offer generous aid to foreign students. But you have to look into it, not everybody is the same.

Since you said you are about to graduate, I take it you are taking all your upper level classes. You shouldn't worry about being stuck with a bunch of freshman. You will be taking your courses with people your own age, and since the classes are usually small, it might be easier for you to make friends. The only time you will be stuck with younger people is if you take a low level class.

Thanks for the reply. Are you serious about a course lasting 4 months? Or did you mean one semester?


Any institutions in mind for computer arts? Are there any that are accepted as the best?

Yeah, a semester being about 16 weeks. A minority of schools use the quarter system, where classes last 10 weeks.

Do you want to finish your degree in Scotland and then come here and take some classes? I'm kind of confused....Or are you saying you want to transfer to an American university and graduate from there?

An easier option might be to look into study abroad programs at your current university, so you could earn credit in your current university and towards your major. They most likely have programs set up with at least one university in America, and could send you there for a summer, a semester, or a whole year.

As far as costs, WELL, heh...I go to Ohio State University. I just checked the website, and average annual tuition for an international student is $21,000. Plus living expenses...I'd say around $6,000 to $8,000. But with a study abroad program through your Scottish university, it would probably be considerably less and they would take care of all of that stuff. I think.