Going to Europe for college?

[Anonymous]

I know this is a very general question but does anyone here have experience with sending a kid to Europe (specifically the EU), for college?

My kids are recently dual US/EU citizens and we are seriously considering having that as an option for the lower costs as well as to strengthen their roots there.

Does anyone have an insights as to:

- overall costs
- lack of fluency in the local language
- quality of the education
- ability to use their degrees in the EU and in the US to secure jobs

Any other thoughts appreciated as well!

[Anonymous]

Costs are significantly less ($18,000 per year for 3 years instead of 4)

Quality is same as here, there are great schools, good schools and meh schools

Some are taught 100% in English, some are not

Friends daughter currently working in the Hague, employment is not an issue

[Anonymous]

To PP, where did the friend's daughter go to school? Does she have any family ties to Europe and did she do any special preparation -- did she do, for example, an IB diploma?

[Anonymous]

With pandemic travel saga and all, i would rather keep my 18 year old here in US, money isn't everything. You can find affordable colleges here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With pandemic travel saga and all, i would rather keep my 18 year old here in US, money isn't everything. You can find affordable colleges here.

What travel saga? That htey may get delayed on their way over by a day due to a missed flight connection?

[Anonymous]

Just about every major university in the EU has some majors taught in English also, because they participate in the Erasmus (foreign exchange) program. Just look at potential schools to see if they can do a full degree in it in English, or just a year of coursework.

I have lots of friends in various EU countries at university. One is doing a PhD in cybersecurity, entirely in English (he's American) in Croatia.

[Anonymous]

- overall costs
Costs vary a lot by country, but are uniformly lower than the US, and sometimes free.
- lack of fluency in the local language
There are courses, even universities, in English in many places. You need to look into the specifics.
- quality of the education
also varies, from substantially worse than the US to significantly better for some subjects. Impossible to generalize.
- ability to use their degrees in the EU and in the US to secure jobs
Again, depends on the degree and subject. Obviously the better the university, the easier it will be to get a job here. Well-regarded universities are also an advantage when it comes to getting into good grad programs here or in Europe.

[Anonymous]

Just googled EU countries. Surprised that Switzerland is not a member of the EU.

[Anonymous]

Which country? Each country has a different educational system.

We're French and not sending our kids to French unis as direct admits. The system was reformed a few years before the pandemic, to deal with an influx of students, and the reform was a disaster, worsened by Covid. ParcourSup is a system of ranked choice that supposedly depends on your Baccalaureat performance, but in practice some very high-scorers sometimes don't get their preferred university choice (or any uni!), which has led to some really bad press in recent years, and deservedly so. High schoolers coming from abroad without the Bac were initially not recognized by the system, and now don't have priority in the system so may not end up getting any of their preferred university choices. It's a complete mess.

Additionally, coming from the American system which does not teach students how to write long essays, admissions counselors generally advise expats not in an accredited French high school to avoid a totally French, writing-heavy, university system, but pick other unis in their countries that have exchange programs with the best French unis instead. Exchange programs cater to international students, which makes them a better fit (and they have classes in French or other languages). Unless you're going for STEM degrees, but then you still run into the ParcourSup issue.

We are looking at British and Canadian universities, particularly McGill, since Montreal is French-speaking.

[Anonymous]

Some differences: I have heard that there is a lot less hand holding. Like kids need to find apartments to live in often (i.e., handle housing and meals on their own). Many classes have one test at the end. That can be nerve-wracking, in terms of knowing how you are doing/having no chance to correct mid-course. In the UK, drinking can be taken to extremes/unhealthy levels.

Last but not least, you may be kissing them goodbye for the rest of their lives. My friend's kid met and fell in love with an EU boy. Now they live together and work over there. Makes for few visits, if close contact in your old age (when you have grandkids) was something you had hoped for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With pandemic travel saga and all, i would rather keep my 18 year old here in US, money isn't everything. You can find affordable colleges here.

What travel saga? That htey may get delayed on their way over by a day due to a missed flight connection?

+1 No one prevented US citizens from coming back to the USA during COVID.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some differences: I have heard that there is a lot less hand holding. Like kids need to find apartments to live in often (i.e., handle housing and meals on their own). Many classes have one test at the end. That can be nerve-wracking, in terms of knowing how you are doing/having no chance to correct mid-course. In the UK, drinking can be taken to extremes/unhealthy levels.

Last but not least, you may be kissing them goodbye for the rest of their lives. My friend's kid met and fell in love with an EU boy. Now they live together and work over there. Makes for few visits, if close contact in your old age (when you have grandkids) was something you had hoped for.

Given where the United States is at this time in history, I'm encouraging my kids to live elsewhere. I would be thrilled if they did that and would visit them/their families, wherever they are, including for weeks or months at a time in a nearby Airbnb.

[Anonymous]

My dual-citizen kid is looking at Trinity College Dublin. Non-resident tuition is still significantly cheaper than a private university in the US (as well as many of the top publics OOS). Travel costs would obviously be significant, as would living costs in Dublin. We have family in Dublin, as well, so kid would have some support in an emergency.

The big factor in our kid’s mind is travel and ability to come home easily. The DC-Dublin flight isn’t much longer than DC to the west coast, but the whole trip feels more stressful and challenging because of the international factor. We did it recently, and it had an impact on my kid’s feelings about the reality of going to school in Europe. But still seriously considering it (and will almost certainly apply).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some differences: I have heard that there is a lot less hand holding. Like kids need to find apartments to live in often (i.e., handle housing and meals on their own). Many classes have one test at the end. That can be nerve-wracking, in terms of knowing how you are doing/having no chance to correct mid-course. In the UK, drinking can be taken to extremes/unhealthy levels.

Last but not least, you may be kissing them goodbye for the rest of their lives. My friend's kid met and fell in love with an EU boy. Now they live together and work over there. Makes for few visits, if close contact in your old age (when you have grandkids) was something you had hoped for.

Given where the United States is at this time in history, I'm encouraging my kids to live elsewhere. I would be thrilled if they did that and would visit them/their families, wherever they are, including for weeks or months at a time in a nearby Airbnb.

Got back from Europe last week. A lot of major European countries are having more and more heatwaves due to climate change, and they aren't prepared for it. Stayed at mulitple hotels and was in places like malls or airports where the A/C systems simply couldn't keep up -- they were never sized capacity-wise to assume the heat like they have now.

It's 81 in Stockholm today for example -- only slightly cooler than here, but few dwellings on Stockholm have a/c.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dual-citizen kid is looking at Trinity College Dublin. Non-resident tuition is still significantly cheaper than a private university in the US (as well as many of the top publics OOS). Travel costs would obviously be significant, as would living costs in Dublin. We have family in Dublin, as well, so kid would have some support in an emergency.

The big factor in our kid’s mind is travel and ability to come home easily. The DC-Dublin flight isn’t much longer than DC to the west coast, but the whole trip feels more stressful and challenging because of the international factor. We did it recently, and it had an impact on my kid’s feelings about the reality of going to school in Europe. But still seriously considering it (and will almost certainly apply).

NP
There’s a huge housing crunch that I wasn’t aware of! Loved TCD and its many strong programs.