Research - American students abroad

[TheEarl]

Hey all. Research help needed.

If an American student was on a year abroad in an English university, would the marks they got here affect their degree back in America? I know that American universities require you to get a certain grade level to keep a scholarship and I've got a character who's on a year abroad that I would ideally like to be able to screw up her scholarship by failing in England.

Is that possible?

The Earl

 

[cloudy]

I would think so, yes. If they are studying at a certified University, and taking classes for credit, then I think that grades would be just as important abroad as they are at home.

 

[Salvor-Hardon]

as a candidate for such a program, yes the grades at the host university are just as important. So much so before you even go ( or at least in my case) you had to submit syllabi and grade scales to the registrar's office at least 4 months in advance to make sure everything was compatible and that they could translate the host university's program into our programs and curriculum.

 

[TheEarl]

Fantabulous. You guys rock.

The Earl

 

[JamesSD]

If an American student was on a year abroad in an English university, would the marks they got here affect their degree back in America? I know that American universities require you to get a certain grade level to keep a scholarship and I've got a character who's on a year abroad that I would ideally like to be able to screw up her scholarship by failing in England.

Is that possible?

I'll just add that it's not true of every university. My college, which was a small liberal arts school, just treated grades earned abroad as Pass/Fail. There's no one strict policy, so unless your character is from a specific University, you can almost make up anything you want that's convienient.

 

[3113]

I only had a summer abroad and it was the pass/fail situation (also some time ago). But, ah, how I remember it. All these long tables in the dining room (terrible food. Has it gotten better?), all this history in every building (few U.S. schools are older than 200 years), the buttery just downstairs from our dorm, which didn't have ice for drinks--but oh, did the American students love that place. It was our own private bar! The bath with all the big tubs, the afternoon tea break with tea so strong it could take off your tongue.

And getting really, really homesick for a good hamburger

 

[TheEarl]

I only had a summer abroad and it was the pass/fail situation (also some time ago). But, ah, how I remember it. All these long tables in the dining room (terrible food. Has it gotten better?), all this history in every building (few U.S. schools are older than 200 years), the buttery just downstairs from our dorm, which didn't have ice for drinks--but oh, did the American students love that place. It was our own private bar! The bath with all the big tubs, the afternoon tea break with tea so strong it could take off your tongue.

And getting really, really homesick for a good hamburger

Which university did you go to? There's a hell of a lot of variety in how they work in England and that one sounds nothing like mine. More like Cambridge, tbh.

And yes, I was educated on the way of the hamburger when I was in SF. I will openly admit that our hamburgers are pale imitations.

The Earl

 

[Huckleman2000]

My son did one of these last summer. Two weeks in Paris, one in Dublin (at Trinity College) and one in Galway. I believe he was graded, but it was not a program at the schools he visited. The curriculum was of his University here in the states.

He had the time of his life, btw.

 

[3113]

More like Cambridge, tbh.

Hit it on the nose. It was Cambridge. I suspect that a lot of American students would look into going to a Cambridge or Oxford if they were going to study in England, just for the name recognition. In my case, Cambridge had an on-going connection and deal with my university and that's why we ended up there.

An American student would likely pick a less well-known British university if his own school had such a deal with them, or if he was researching and found a good deal (like room, board, meals included in tuition cost), or if that school were in some interesting (to him) place or had classes specializng in some obscure thing he couldn't learn elsewhere.

And yes, I was educated on the way of the hamburger when I was in SF. I will openly admit that our hamburgers are pale imitations.

Now and then, my husband manages to lure one of his closest, British friends over to this side of the pond. The first thing this guy asks for once he's cleared customs and gotten into the back seat of our car: A Hamburger.

I sometimes think the only reason he comes to visit us is so that he can sit at the counter of some greasy burger place and indulge

 

[rawr_rae]

Being graded or not depends upon whether you are traveling abroad through your Uni, or if you are traveling with a unique program set up by some random company. The University's study abroad programs normally accept transferred credits, which are usually pertinent to your intended major. But if you are traveling within a specialized program, this is not always the case. These companies try and sell these programs to us college kids by calling the curriculum "a self improving, eye-opening experience (I took this straight from one of my study abroad packets)." Which really means they're buttering us up so we'll pull out our checkbooks.

So, if she's studying abroad through her Uni, she better keep her grades in check. If not, it's her money going down the drain.

Also, a bit of change of topic, but I am considering traveling abroad to either England or France. If I choose England, which college would you recommend?

 

[colddiesel]

Also, a bit of change of topic, but I am considering traveling abroad to either England or France. If I choose England, which college would you recommend?

It depends on :-

1 What you want to study.
2 Whether the college/University thinks you are smart enough.
3 How much money you want /have to spend.