University in England or College in the US: How the Systems Differ
Thinking about college or university in either England or the US, and not sure how the systems are different? The two countries have built higher education on different ideas about what an eighteen-year-old should be asked to decide, and that difference is the best place to start.
For a family with a foot in each country, the question is often, “UK or US?” and students and parents find themselves thinking in terms of each country’s most famous institutions and trying to compare them. It is more useful to begin with the philosophy of each system and what it asks of a student at the point of entry, because that is what will shape the three or four years that follow.
College in the US: breadth first
For the sake of brevity we will say “college” here, and you can substitute “university” if you prefer. Strictly, American colleges are four-year undergraduate institutions, often private, while universities combine undergraduate colleges with graduate and professional schools. For an applicant, the distinction matters less than the shared philosophy: American higher education encourages students to study across a range of subjects before committing entirely to one.
Traditionally, most students spend their first year or two meeting general education requirements in the humanities, sciences, social sciences and arts, and declare a major only in the second year. The idea behind this Liberal Arts model is that a student educated broadly across content can apply a solid education to any field and specialize later, at graduate school or in work. Depending on your perspective, this is a great strength of the American system or a great inefficiency. For the many eighteen-year-olds who do not yet know what they want to do in life, it can be a gift because it offers the possibility of exploration. For the student who has known since they were twelve what career they want to pursue when they grow up, it can feel like a detour.
It is also worth noting that higher education in the US, like elsewhere, is evolving rapidly, given changes in the world of technology and employment. Increasingly, US schools are offering programs that offer more specialization earlier on, so that graduating students are more fully trained in a particular area. Given the large number of options in the US, there is really something for every kind of student.
University in England: depth from the first day
In England, the philosophy underpinning higher education is very different. Undergraduate study is called university, or Uni; “college” refers to the two years before it. Students apply to study a particular subject, are admitted to that field, where they will spend three years. There are no general education requirements, and a student reading history will not take a mathematics class unless the history department asks them to.
This is in keeping with the years leading up to higher education. English students finish their GCSEs at sixteen and then spend two years specializing, usually in three A-Level subjects; by the time they apply to university, therefore, they have already made choices that an American student makes later as a college Sophomore. A growing number of universities now offer joint honors and more flexible combinations, but the underlying expectation is still that a student enters university intent on studying a particular subject.
How you apply
The English application runs through a single national service, UCAS. A student lists up to five courses, submits one application, and receives conditional offers based on predicted A-Level grades. For students who change their minds or don’t achieve their predicted A-level results, there is a round of “Clearing” during the summer after A-level results are published, but most students know earlier which university they will attend.
Very recently, the personal statement that is part of the application process has changed from a single essay into three structured questions about why the student wishes to follow a particular field, how their studies have prepared them, and what they have done outside school.
The American application is decentralized and holistic. Students apply to individual colleges, most through the Common Application, with essays, recommendations, activities and a transcript. Admission is based on a student’s overall achievement: academic, extracurricular, athletic, etc. Standardized testing, which was generally suspended during COVID, is now either required or optional, depending on the college or university. At the time of writing, seven of the eight Ivy League universities and many other selective institutions once again require the SAT or ACT for 2026 and 2027 entry. Some large public systems remain test-free, so the picture varies institution by institution.
What it costs
In England the tuition fee for “home” students is capped by the government: £9,535 a year in 2025-26, rising with inflation for 2026-27. International students, which includes an American family without settled status, pay considerably more and should check each university’s fees. In the US, the range is far wider, from state universities for in-state residents to private colleges whose published price is several times the English figure but can often be discounted in a package called “financial aid.”
The question to ask first
When we work with students coming from England who are considering an American college, we often hear some version of “I’m not sure whether I’d rather go to Uni here or college there, but I know that I don’t want to decide my whole career at seventeen.” When we work with American students considering options in England, we hear the opposite: “I know exactly what I want to study, and I don’t want two years of unrelated requirements first.”
As always, our advice is to base the decision on the student and their goals for higher education. How does the student in question feel about specializing? If the answer is that they already know what they want to study, England offers them three focused years and an immediate immersion in their field of interest. If the answer is that they would rather explore different areas of study, the American system may be a better fit.
Where to Begin
For the school years that lead up to this decision, see how the English school system is structured. Our senior college counselor’s guide to coming to the US for college covers the American side in depth.
Elizabeth Sawyer is the CEO of Bennett International Education Consultancy. She acquired the company in 2009 and has grown it into a global practice of more than 70 consultants, expanding its reach with the acquisition of School Choice International in 2018. Elizabeth spent the first twelve years of her life overseas, moving through five different education systems between Ireland and New York, and went on to teach English, French and Spanish at private high schools in the US for fifteen years. That combination of firsthand experience as a relocating child and a career in the classroom shapes how Bennett works with families, and with the corporate and RMC teams supporting them.
Bennett International Education Consultancy works directly with hundreds of families each year across the globe. We support families by helping them make informed decisions about the best-fit schools for their children; with our guidance, they secure placement in preschools, private day schools, public/state schools, boarding schools, colleges and universities, including schools with particular programs, such as special needs support.
