How do Americans view universities abroad such as McGill, St Andrews, or similar?

[Anonymous]

I earned my master's degree from LSE and find that it works well for this city and my field (policy). That said, most of my friends and family who don't work in policy had never heard of it and were very skeptical about my decision to study there. I don't regret it at all! I think I received an excellent education there and I think it has given me an edge in my career because I had an education that was international in focus. My kids are young now but I already plan to get them thinking beyond U.S.-based institutions once they're older. Universities abroad are often less expensive, you can use U.S. federal loans there, and you can find just as good an education. (Plus, many U.K.-based bachelor's programs are three years instead of four!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I earned my master's degree from LSE and find that it works well for this city and my field (policy). That said, most of my friends and family who don't work in policy had never heard of it and were very skeptical about my decision to study there. I don't regret it at all! I think I received an excellent education there and I think it has given me an edge in my career because I had an education that was international in focus. My kids are young now but I already plan to get them thinking beyond U.S.-based institutions once they're older. Universities abroad are often less expensive, you can use U.S. federal loans there, and you can find just as good an education. (Plus, many U.K.-based bachelor's programs are three years instead of four!)

And see, I don't know where or what 'LSE' is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 34 ACT, 3.9 UW student got into Edinburgh, St. Andrews, UCL, as well as top ranked US schools - although not Ivies, which were never a consideration because of cost. My DC chose St. Andrews over Edinburgh because it's ranked much higher (in the UK rankings), has a much, much better student satisfaction score, and felt like a community, which was important. Going to university with fancy people with lots of money wasn't a determining factor. Yes, there are rich Americans at St. Andrews, but also at most top-ranked US schools. And honestly, if US employers don't pay attention to universities outside of the top 20 US schools, they will be at a disadvantage when recruiting for an increasingly global workforce.

No. That’s not how it works. That’s not how any of it works. US multi-nationals with satellite offices in foreign countries will recruit for those sites from the local universities. Ie Hague if an outpost in Netherlands. University of Bath for offices outside London. But a Pharma company without a presence in the UK is not going to fly out to the UK to recruit its openings in NJ USA. That’s just dumb. You were doing fine with your response until the last bit when you went hyperbolic with something you clearly don’t have experience with or understand

Ah, PP here. And the funny thing is, I do have experience and understand quite well, since I recruit for a consulting firm. And my company most certainly values degrees from McGill, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews, even when hiring for US based positions. Sorry.

The question is *who* do you recruit for? What is your area? That makes a difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I earned my master's degree from LSE and find that it works well for this city and my field (policy). That said, most of my friends and family who don't work in policy had never heard of it and were very skeptical about my decision to study there. I don't regret it at all! I think I received an excellent education there and I think it has given me an edge in my career because I had an education that was international in focus. My kids are young now but I already plan to get them thinking beyond U.S.-based institutions once they're older. Universities abroad are often less expensive, you can use U.S. federal loans there, and you can find just as good an education. (Plus, many U.K.-based bachelor's programs are three years instead of four!)

And see, I don't know where or what 'LSE' is.

DP. Honestly, that's just ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I earned my master's degree from LSE and find that it works well for this city and my field (policy). That said, most of my friends and family who don't work in policy had never heard of it and were very skeptical about my decision to study there. I don't regret it at all! I think I received an excellent education there and I think it has given me an edge in my career because I had an education that was international in focus. My kids are young now but I already plan to get them thinking beyond U.S.-based institutions once they're older. Universities abroad are often less expensive, you can use U.S. federal loans there, and you can find just as good an education. (Plus, many U.K.-based bachelor's programs are three years instead of four!)

And see, I don't know where or what 'LSE' is.

DP. Honestly, that's just ignorance.

Nope nope nope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I earned my master's degree from LSE and find that it works well for this city and my field (policy). That said, most of my friends and family who don't work in policy had never heard of it and were very skeptical about my decision to study there. I don't regret it at all! I think I received an excellent education there and I think it has given me an edge in my career because I had an education that was international in focus. My kids are young now but I already plan to get them thinking beyond U.S.-based institutions once they're older. Universities abroad are often less expensive, you can use U.S. federal loans there, and you can find just as good an education. (Plus, many U.K.-based bachelor's programs are three years instead of four!)

And see, I don't know where or what 'LSE' is.

DP. Honestly, that's just ignorance.

Nope nope nope.

^^gotta google it to understand. Kinda like 'HYP' being a DCUM-thing. Outside the DC and northeast, people don't talk this way. In the real world, that is.

[Anonymous]

Schools like UBC, Toronto, McGill, Waterloo, etc. will be known by those that need to know - graduate admissions and industry - as good schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I earned my master's degree from LSE and find that it works well for this city and my field (policy). That said, most of my friends and family who don't work in policy had never heard of it and were very skeptical about my decision to study there. I don't regret it at all! I think I received an excellent education there and I think it has given me an edge in my career because I had an education that was international in focus. My kids are young now but I already plan to get them thinking beyond U.S.-based institutions once they're older. Universities abroad are often less expensive, you can use U.S. federal loans there, and you can find just as good an education. (Plus, many U.K.-based bachelor's programs are three years instead of four!)

And see, I don't know where or what 'LSE' is.

DP. Honestly, that's just ignorance.

Nope nope nope.

^^gotta google it to understand. Kinda like 'HYP' being a DCUM-thing. Outside the DC and northeast, people don't talk this way. In the real world, that is.

Good lord. LSE is its actual name like MIT. Not a a DCUM thing. Who didn't know that Mick Jagger went there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I earned my master's degree from LSE and find that it works well for this city and my field (policy). That said, most of my friends and family who don't work in policy had never heard of it and were very skeptical about my decision to study there. I don't regret it at all! I think I received an excellent education there and I think it has given me an edge in my career because I had an education that was international in focus. My kids are young now but I already plan to get them thinking beyond U.S.-based institutions once they're older. Universities abroad are often less expensive, you can use U.S. federal loans there, and you can find just as good an education. (Plus, many U.K.-based bachelor's programs are three years instead of four!)

And see, I don't know where or what 'LSE' is.

DP. Honestly, that's just ignorance.

Nope nope nope.

^^gotta google it to understand. Kinda like 'HYP' being a DCUM-thing. Outside the DC and northeast, people don't talk this way. In the real world, that is.

Good lord. LSE is its actual name like MIT. Not a a DCUM thing. Who didn't know that Mick Jagger went there?

Seriously, LSE is the london school of economics, LSE is an acronym widely known among the educated. And it's known for far more than mick jagger. Countless world leaders and nobel prize winners have studied there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I earned my master's degree from LSE and find that it works well for this city and my field (policy). That said, most of my friends and family who don't work in policy had never heard of it and were very skeptical about my decision to study there. I don't regret it at all! I think I received an excellent education there and I think it has given me an edge in my career because I had an education that was international in focus. My kids are young now but I already plan to get them thinking beyond U.S.-based institutions once they're older. Universities abroad are often less expensive, you can use U.S. federal loans there, and you can find just as good an education. (Plus, many U.K.-based bachelor's programs are three years instead of four!)

And see, I don't know where or what 'LSE' is.

DP. Honestly, that's just ignorance.

Nope nope nope.

^^gotta google it to understand. Kinda like 'HYP' being a DCUM-thing. Outside the DC and northeast, people don't talk this way. In the real world, that is.

Good lord. LSE is its actual name like MIT. Not a a DCUM thing. Who didn't know that Mick Jagger went there?

Seriously, LSE is the london school of economics, LSE is an acronym widely known among the educated. And it's known for far more than mick jagger. Countless world leaders and nobel prize winners have studied there

And I still contend that most won't know that LSE stands for London School of Economics. My IL went there but noone in the family referred to it as LSE. Maybe didn't want to sound pretentious (?). And to say that everyone knows that Mick Jagger went there - are you a Brit? Because who knows that?? I love the Rolling Stones but knowing where (or IF) Mick Jagger went to college is far down the line of caring. DCUM continues in its bubble...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I earned my master's degree from LSE and find that it works well for this city and my field (policy). That said, most of my friends and family who don't work in policy had never heard of it and were very skeptical about my decision to study there. I don't regret it at all! I think I received an excellent education there and I think it has given me an edge in my career because I had an education that was international in focus. My kids are young now but I already plan to get them thinking beyond U.S.-based institutions once they're older. Universities abroad are often less expensive, you can use U.S. federal loans there, and you can find just as good an education. (Plus, many U.K.-based bachelor's programs are three years instead of four!)

And see, I don't know where or what 'LSE' is.

DP. Honestly, that's just ignorance.

Nope nope nope.

^^gotta google it to understand. Kinda like 'HYP' being a DCUM-thing. Outside the DC and northeast, people don't talk this way. In the real world, that is.

Good lord. LSE is its actual name like MIT. Not a a DCUM thing. Who didn't know that Mick Jagger went there?

Seriously, LSE is the london school of economics, LSE is an acronym widely known among the educated. And it's known for far more than mick jagger. Countless world leaders and nobel prize winners have studied there

And I still contend that most won't know that LSE stands for London School of Economics. My IL went there but noone in the family referred to it as LSE. Maybe didn't want to sound pretentious (?). And to say that everyone knows that Mick Jagger went there - are you a Brit? Because who knows that?? I love the Rolling Stones but knowing where (or IF) Mick Jagger went to college is far down the line of caring. DCUM continues in its bubble...

If people here don't know what LSE is, when it is one of THE TOP schools in the UK, then we are basically proving the point that UK schools just don't rate to most Americans. St. Andrews included - it just doesn't matter much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Minimum American entry standards sure are low compared to Oxbridge-LSE for St A’s: 36 IB score, 28+ ACT, 650+ SAT 2s, As and Bs grades

They're comparatively low for two reasons:

1) This is the baseline, difficulty of admission varies greatly by subject. IR and Medicine for example are much harder than some others. And if you want to get in you better have 5s on APs/high SAT II scores in subjects relevant to the subject you apply for

2) Standards are a bit lower for Americans and other international students

Of course it is. Because it is a money grab! Duhhhh!!!
Serious students don't go to St. Andrews. It's where rich kids go to screw off. At my kid's international school, the smart kids were gunning for Oxbridge, LSE, Bath, Warwick, Edinburgh. Not a single applicant to St. Andrews.

[Anonymous]

Americans, and much of the world outside of the Anglosphere, do not care one bit about schools like St Andrews, McGill, et cetera... sorry to say. American universities have been at the cutting edge of higher education since about the turn of the last century. I say this as a foreigner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most people in the USA never heard of it.

St. Andrews? That's a golf course right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Minimum American entry standards sure are low compared to Oxbridge-LSE for St A’s: 36 IB score, 28+ ACT, 650+ SAT 2s, As and Bs grades

They're comparatively low for two reasons:

1) This is the baseline, difficulty of admission varies greatly by subject. IR and Medicine for example are much harder than some others. And if you want to get in you better have 5s on APs/high SAT II scores in subjects relevant to the subject you apply for

2) Standards are a bit lower for Americans and other international students

Of course it is. Because it is a money grab! Duhhhh!!!
Serious students don't go to St. Andrews. It's where rich kids go to screw off. At my kid's international school, the smart kids were gunning for Oxbridge, LSE, Bath, Warwick, Edinburgh. Not a single applicant to St. Andrews.

The entry requirements suggest otherwise.