Virtually all universities are state funded, they are not state run, the government have no say what so ever in what a university teaches, how they teach it or when they teach it.
Cambridge is the 2nd best university in the world, University college London the 4th, Imperial college of London 5th and Oxford 6th. So personally, I don't see why a university somewhere else in the world can charge £20,000 a year when these lot charge £3,400 a year and are in the top 10.
There are very few private universities here, why bother when you can get a better education at a more respected university for a smaller price? None of the UK's private universities are even in the top 100 uni's in the world.
I don't what applying to uni is like over there, but here you write a personal statement within 250 words, your teachers write references (which you never see) and give your predicted grades, then this form is sent to your top five university choices. The universities you apply to do not know where else you have applied, so they don't know if they are your first or fifth choice.
Then you are sent offers from the uni's, you can pick two, your first choice, which you will then attend if you get the grades required, then an insurance, normally with lower entry grades just incase you don't do as well as expected in your exams. Normally though, if you miss a grade within a few marks and a university has already said, yes we want you, you will most likely still be accepted, Jack one was two marks from getting an A in biology and for his course he needed, AAA, when he actually got AAB, but he was still accepted. It does cost £15 though for the form, which is a bit of a bummer.
You do have to sit an entrance exam for Oxbridge though, there is no fee for this obviously.
We don't have scholarships either, no one has to raise a large amount of cash or take out loans with high interest rates, so they aren't needed really.
In recent years British Universities have become really popular as it is cheaper to study here at a good university, it costs international students £10,000 a year as clearly the British government aren't going to fund them.
What I should say though, is at our university 18-21, is a higher level or education compared to American college.
What American's study at college, we study from the ages of 16-18 at a college/sixth form, which is free and voluntary, as here everyone leaves school at 15/16.
What we study at university is the same as graduate study in America, so medical school, law school etc.
they aren't waiting a while like a year oh no, they are going to get married at the start of April and then go to Barcelona for a week and then Prague and what does it coincide with oh yes, study leave from university just before his years final exams, very sensible Jack! 
