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I need a bit of help here...

I'm seriously considering moving out of the UK, dropping my current course, and persuing a degree in America. I'll be aiming to study an undergrad degree in nanotechnology. I have fairly average A-level (UK pre-university) grades in biology, chemistry and physics. (I could have done better but I was a slacker back then)

My question is, what are the academic entry requirements like in American universities? A few people told me that you can just take a SAT test which analyses your verbal reasoning and math skills. If you pass, you get in, and if you get a high score you become eligible for scholorship grants. Is this true?

Funding is out of the equation for now, I'm just trying to figure out feasibility from an academic standpoint.

Thanks

Yea, the SAT is good to help colleges know what to expect from you, but I did bad on the SAT and I am doing really wel in HS! I don't think they pay as much attention to the SAT anymore as they used to, but you still prob need to take it. Depending on how many credits you have already earned in college, you may not even need to take it. Sometimes if you have a certain amount they just go by you college work and forget the SAT. Also colleges have their own assesments once you get there, but what of those you have to take, if any, also depend on the amount of credits you have.
Good universities that have what your looking for are any techs. Like in my state, there is VIrginia Tech, a very good school.
Hope this isn't too confusing . . . PM me if you like and I'll try to explain better.
Also, you said funding is out of the question, but there is a website that you can search for scholarships on by preferences related to you, and its very helpful for that. it is: http://www.fastweb.com
Hope this helps! ^_^'

...colleges have their own assesments once you get there, but what of those you have to take, if any, also depend on the amount of credits you have.

Over here credits are a measure of how much you've achieved in a degree, and aren't used for any pre-college education. Do you earn credits before you go to college in America?

When you are talking about credits, do you mean pre-university education, degree level education or a bit of both?

I personally like the idea of a SAT test, I tend to be quite good in exams. It would also remove the uncertainty about whether my current qualifications can get me in or not... UK qualification conversions could get quite complicated.

Thanks for the help anyways.

Straylight wrote:I'll be aiming to study an undergrad degree in nanotechnology.

To be honest, I have never heard of a "nanotechnology degree," but I have heard of engineers and scientists whose specialization is nanotechnology. So my question is in what position do intend to pursue this area of study (engineer, scientist, etc.)? Also, I do not look into nanotechnology that often, but my understanding is that this technology is still primarily in the research phase. So, if that is the case, it would be wise to go to a school with a good research program in this area.

Straylight wrote:I have fairly average A-level (UK pre-university) grades in biology, chemistry and physics. (I could have done better but I was a slacker back then)

I am assuming the following with that statement: "pre-university" is college prepartory courses like the AP (Advanced Placement) or IB (International Baccalaureate), "A-level" meaning you mainly get A's. If that is the case, I think you are on solid ground with your grades when you fill out your application.

Straylight wrote:My question is, what are the academic entry requirements like in American universities? A few people told me that you can just take a SAT test which analyses your verbal reasoning and math skills. If you pass, you get in, and if you get a high score you become eligible for scholorship grants. Is this true?

Academic entry requirements is dependent on which school you apply and which major you want to enter in that school. So you are going to have to look at their websites and they should tell you.

As for standardized testing, the SAT is the most popular and famous standardized test, but it usually does not stop there (especially for you since you want to go to a nanotechnology program). You will also probably have to take the SAT II (yes, "two") in the Math and various science areas. These scores will be asked for with your application. My opinion about standardized tests is that if you do fairly/really well on them, then they do not mean much. However, if you do mediocre/poorly on them, then you probably dug yourself a deep hole. (In other words, they can guarantee that you will not go somewhere, but they do not guarantee if you got in somewhere.) You can always try these tests again, and they will only report your best scores. So there is no worry if you give yourself enough time. For more information on the standardized tests like SAT, you should go to http://www.ets.org/ since they administrate the test.

In addition to these tests, you will usually need three letters of recommendation from three of your former teachers and you will have to write some type of essay (to a usually vague question). I think these letters, your essay, and your grades are far more important in your admission chances than your SAT scores (but you still have to do well on the SAT).

Straylight wrote:Funding is out of the equation for now, I'm just trying to figure out feasibility from an academic standpoint.

Actually, funding is probably the biggest part of the equation, but okay, I will leave that alone... somewhat. As for scholarships, they are usually not just tied to your standardized test scores. They are similar to your admissions applications.... I think someone else has posted a website pointing to quite a few.

Since you would be a foreign student, there might be some other requirements for you. However, I cannot state what they are. I believe Mave is a foreign student in the U.S., and if that is the case, she should be able to give you more information on that aspect.

Straylight wrote:Over here credits are a measure of how much you've achieved in a degree, and aren't used for any pre-college education. Do you earn credits before you go to college in America?

When you are talking about credits, do you mean pre-university education, degree level education or a bit of both?

Usually, if you have high AP or IB tests, a school might go ahead and grant you credits for their course that already covers that area. For example, if you score high on the AP Calculus exam, a school will most likely already give you credit for their Calculus course (which counts toward completing your degree). I earned about a semester's worth of credits at Georgia Tech with my AP and IB scores. If you took college courses (at a college) in your pre-university curriculum, a school might grant you credits for their equivalent courses (nothing is guaranteed though).

However, Straylight, do not even let this affect your decision on which school to go to. Treat this as purely "icing on the cake," if you are serious about your nanotechnology education.

Straylight wrote:I personally like the idea of a SAT test, I tend to be quite good in exams. It would also remove the uncertainty about whether my current qualifications can get me in or not... UK qualification conversions could get quite complicated.

You have to do well on the SAT, but everything else counts more, in my opinion, just like I stated previously.

Straylight wrote:Thanks

No problem. If you want to pursue nanotechnology from an electrical engineering perspective, I can give you a list of schools here with top electrical engineering programs, and then you can research on their nanotechnology programs.

Hope that gave you some insight.

I am assuming the following with that statement: "pre-university" is college prepartory courses like the AP (Advanced Placement) or IB (International Baccalaureate), "A-level" meaning you mainly get A's. If that is the case, I think you are on solid ground with your grades when you fill out your application.

A-Level refers to a type of course in the UK that most people take before they go to university. I took three subjects, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, with final grades of CCD which is fairly average.

These grades are not good enough to study at Oxford/Cambridge (UK's top two universities) but they can get me into almost every other university in the UK with a science course, because I basically studied pure science. (all six university applications that I made were accepted).

In addition to these tests, you will usually need three letters of recommendation from three of your former teachers and you will have to write some type of essay (to a usually vague question). I think these letters, your essay, and your grades are far more important in your admission chances than your SAT scores (but you still have to do well on the SAT).

I'm fairly confident I can produce a convincing essay, as my academic motivation has never been stronger, letters should be fairly easy to sort out as well...

If you want to pursue nanotechnology from an electrical engineering perspective, I can give you a list of schools here with top electrical engineering programs, and then you can research on their nanotechnology programs.

I'm more after a science-based approach really, as that's what I'm familiar with. As far as pickyness goes, I'm not to bothered about the overall academic reputation of institutions, instead I'm more interested in what the syllabus contains.

This is a bit of a tangent and I apologise if you know this already, however there are essentially two branches of nanotechnology - MEMS (micro electrical mechanical systems) and MNT (molecular nanotechnology). MEMS focuses on making small devices, these can quickly enter the market. On the contrast, MNT is about manufacturing products that are atomically precise by using carefully engineered molecular devices. Research in MNT does not usually yield marketable products because like the Apollo project, the final product is the sum of many smaller research breakthroughs. Many courses that are labelled as "nanotech" today only focus on MEMS, not MNT which is my interest. MNT is a multi-discipline subject that draws from chemistry, physics, mechanics, and computing.

My main worry is the possibility that the nanotech courses in the US only allow really exceptional students, which will exclude me. If I can find a foothold somewhere though, I'll be extremely happy.

Thanks for the reply, it was really informative.

My best advice to you is to find what school you want to go to--be it Princeton, MIT, Virginia Tech, the University of Houston--wherever it is you are aiming for, talk to the deans of that (those) schools and ask them what their school asks. That will probalby save you the most time and money.

I'm sorry I'm not much more help to you, but my college admissions was completely different. In Texas, if you graduate in the top 10 percent of your class, as long as you can pay tuition you are guaranteed admission into any state university. So I didn't have any essays to write or test scores to get, etc.

Well that field of study is certainly in it's infancy as we speak right now, personally I've never heard of it. I would suggest taking several physics, biology and chemistry courses. And courses in physics it would certainly be beneficial to you, like mechanics, E&M, thermo/stat mech, and quantum mechanics. I suggest holding a double major in phys/chem, that way you can get a two-way feel in both areas. Make sure you go to an institution that offers a relatively strong research facility and department. Again, since this particular realm of study is still new; researchers or scientist are most prominent due to their new findings and such. I've taken a Physics I class...which is certainly not on-par with what you have to go into, I learned one thing, math is not as essential or shall I say required. Just some standard Calculus courses and perhaps some Abstract Algebra concepts should suffice just fine.

Lastly, I heard some good research schools are MIT, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Cornell University and the University of Michigan. Most of these are state funded schools, so applying for scholarships and grants shouldn't be as hard as a process as opposed to a purely 'Ivy' league school like Yale or Princeton.

Good luck in finding out what you need to buddy. I sure hope your one of the people in the future that uncovers this subjects fascinating theories.

Thanks for the advice guys. I did a bit more investigation and found that the majority of MSc courses in nanotechnology (England and America) will take anyone with a good degree (2:1 / first) in a biochemistry related course, due to the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Therefore I've decided to carry on studying Bioinformatics, and then perhaps move off after I've got my degree.

Good luck in finding out what you need to buddy. I sure hope your one of the people in the future that uncovers this subjects fascinating theories.

That's where my motivation comes from..

Wish me luck in my exams

Aww, we have Bachelor of Science (Nanotechnology) degree offerings in Australia... Well, US probably has better facilities. Maybe not, due to such new-ness of nanotech.

Good luck anyway

Nanotech in Oz? You got any links, i'm fairly interested.

I indeed do.

http://www.nanotech.unsw.edu.au/

Since it seems you are considering getting a graduate degree in the U.S., let me make a few recommendations.

First, the application process is similar. The standardized test for graduate school is the GRE (and they have their separate subject tests too.) Again, consult the ETS website I linked eariler for more info.

Second, since it seems your area of interest is under a good deal of research, if you can, try to do some research work under a professor now and try to get your name as an author to a published article for a journal. This would take more effort and work, but such accomplishments are considered gold in the graduate level application process here in the U.S. and considered even more important than your academic grades (within reason, of course). Doing such work and getting it published will enhance your chances in admission to U.S. graduate schools tremendously (especially, if you feel you are not near the top in grades).

Those are a few things to consider, if they apply to your situation.

I wish you the best, Straylight.

Straylight wrote:Over here credits are a measure of how much you've achieved in a degree, and aren't used for any pre-college education. Do you earn credits before you go to college in America?

When you are talking about credits, do you mean pre-university education, degree level education or a bit of both?

I personally like the idea of a SAT test, I tend to be quite good in exams. It would also remove the uncertainty about whether my current qualifications can get me in or not... UK qualification conversions could get quite complicated.

Thanks for the help anyways.

No, when I am talking ahout credits, I mean these are really classes, lol. You know how you get so many pints or credits foreach class you take . . .
Sorry, different countries can get confusing when it comes to this, I know becuase I took yr 12 in Australia.

> yr 12 in Australia

Really?? Where?

Omega Amen wrote:..if you can, try to do some research work under a professor now and try to get your name as an author to a published article for a journal.

Thanks for the advice. There are plenty of opportunities for research here, and producing a journal is one of the projects for the third year.

I don't think you'll find much as an undergraduate in the field of nanotechnology, at least in terms of coursework. You'll need to spend a lot of time on the fundamental physics and chemistry first. Engineering Physics ( http://engphys.mcmaster.ca/ ) is probably the sort of program you'd like to start with as a foundation. As far as nanotech goes, I know that the University of Alberta has a program, and the McMaster is thinking about starting one. Toronto also one.

Incidentally, many of the top engineering university programs in North America are Canadian (my own school is ranked 8th for Elec. Eng.). The same goes for other programs as well. Of course, schools like MIT do just about everything. It will also depend on the direction you want to take your research into, as some schools will have slightly different foci based on their expertise (e.g. biomedical, device physics, etc)

Yr 12?
It was in Alice Springs Australia, in the Northern Territory.
^_^