Im a pupil applying for university in the uk this year and am apalled with the attitude shown to the concept of education. Prestige is what university seems to be all about, which university is the most prestigious ect. i certainly believe that the best universities are not just oxbridge or the lse but lesser known underrated institutes such as SOAS and upcoming new institutes such as the University of Warwick.
Also it is clear that not only are alevel grades important but GCSES too (I am predicted three As at alevel but only achieved 4 A's, 4 B's and 3 C's GCSE, dashing my chances of being excepted in a top 10 university).

i think there should be less emphasis on Prestigious institutes such as Oxbridge and more emphasis on the fact that you make your life, not the reputation of your university. And that anyone who doesnt get into Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial, Edinburgh ect is not a failure.

kate, london,

People that are bashing the US seem to forget that Harvard is the number one university in the world, but even though the Ivies are great schools, they are not the top destination for most of the country. As time goes on, they are losing their sparkle and becoming more of a symbol of the unreachable. Let's face it, you can only get in by either being incredibly smart and getting in on scholarship, or your family builds them a building or makes a huge donation in return for your acceptance into the school. Harvard has an average of over 90% rejection rate each year and it is progressively increasing.

In the US, the Ivies are sort of viewed as Oxbrige is. Many prospective students don't even bother applying because of the cost and knowledge that they can get a better education somewhere else.

I'm a high school senior this year (next year I will attend university). My family history includes many Harvard alumni, but I didn't even bother applying this year because it's not worth it.

Laney, Boston, MA, USA

I went to Cambridge to study for the degree of M.Phil, but did with the intention of continuing my studies beyond this to a Ph.D, for which I was accepted and received a Commonwealth scholarship.
Unfortunately, I realized there wasn't good technology/engineering research as the rankings and all the publicity about it said there was, which was when I moved to Stanford in the US.
Today I have come to realize that Edinburgh and Manchester produce much more high impact technological research as Stanford, MIT or Berkeley does.
There is something odd with the British perception, which needs to change.

Jess , Bangalore, India

Your A-levels are equivalent to our Freshman (first year) college courses. Which means that if you've taken enough A-levels you start here as a Sophomore, and then college is only three years.
The reason they are equiv is that our high schools end with grade 12. Your A-levels are the same as ending high school at grades 13 or 14.
UCLA is not an Ivy League university, but even their students can spell "professional".

Peter, Georgetown, usa

Is there not something fundamentally wrong with the idea that students who go to the fee paying schools that you have quoted should be able to go to the US on a scholarship?

I Daly, Cambridge, UK

"The problem with American universities is that they are in America." Exactly.

If you want a rigorous education (regardless of the financial bonus of the US) apply to BRITISH univerisites. If you want to take advantage of the huge sport stadiums and extra-curricular endeavours available then go to a university such as UCLA. Why waste a year repeating or learning stuff that the lousy US schools wouldn't (or couldn't) teach pre-college level? UK A-levels surpass the US pre-college system with flying colours, as does undergraduate level. However, the US Ivy League for proffesional graduate schools are superb as are the the big chunks of dollar thrown at you for research.

Jeremy Darkson, Bedford, United Kingdom

Interesting article but one correction: one can get a Bachelors of Science in Architecture. I took degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering from the Univesity of Pennsylvania.

Randall Ainsworth, Exton, Pennsylvania

Here in the states, Harvard is considered to be better for graduate students than it is for undergraduates. For undergraduates it is not what one might call a nurturing environment as professors are involved in their own research, and are not expected to concentrate on being accessible to students. The competitive smaller colleges may provide more personal attention and assistance with students' plans for the future. An important way in which US and UK schools do differ is, as pointed out, medicine, law and architecture are not offerings at the undergraduate level. Students go on to schools of medical, law, and architecture after they have their undergraduate degree. Successful candidates for these places must have an exceptional undergraduate record, score well on pre-admission tests, and do well during personal interviews.

S., Norwich, Vermont, Norwich, Vermont

Can anyone say from looking at these comments? Typical English arrogance? One would think falling from world's No.1 to No. 5 and would teach you some humility.

Anyhow, that said, as a American Student at the London School of Economics, I must say on a standards level the top English schools surpass the Ivy League. You also get a much more international experience and a healthy elitist atmosphere that excludes the riff raff. The simple matter is, the US is wealthy and its private schools much better integrated into a market society, so it automatic that they will have £. American universities couldn't compete with the British ones in the 19th century, at least British ones do in the 21st.

Dorian Key, London, UK

Latch - Do I detect in your case the hubris of an arriviste? I can see how you're proud of your achievement but please don't trot out the old "bitter reject" line. Oxbridge doesn't necessarily teach all the subjects that the brightest and best might want to study nor does it do so in the way they want to study them. If a student is truly interested in their subject and it's either not catered for at Oxbridge or simply isn't done well by them then to my mind that student shows more initiative by going to the Uni that suits them rather than sacrificing integrity for kudos.

BTW - Generations of my family have achieved Oxbridge places and I can safely say that those who went there are no brighter or more successful than those who chose different paths.

Iain, Edinburgh, UK

UK Students

L, Columbus, USA

UK students

L, Columbus, USA