Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
I mean, it really isn’t. My daughter at Trinity is having a much better time than her friends who stayed in the US. Live music everywhere, big walkable international city with easy access to European cities, booming job market, great clubs and societies, you can go to pubs without worrying about fake ids, and above all a great education. It’s not for everyone, but the chauvinism of assuming that the US college experience is the best could not be more wrong-headed. |
Anonymous
mom, I don't want for you to play out your rush fantasy through me anymore. |
Anonymous
Disagree. There is a commonality to going to college in the US whether you went to Williams, USC or Cornell. Similar philosophy and all that |
Anonymous
lol ok, I’m sure she is having a better time than all her friends. |
Anonymous
Oh no you read that wrong sweetie. I’m trying to give you your last vestige of hope for a college education because you’re a dumbass B student even in this grade inflated century that we live in. |
Anonymous
DP: Are you sure that fees are based on nationality and not residence? I think it's the later. It's not enough to hold an EU passport (or even as Irish passport), you need to be an active resident in an EU territory for three (or five?) years prior to entry . . . . |
Anonymous
My daughter just finished a fantastic semester abroad. She absolutely loved it but was also thrilled to come back to her U.S. university. I was glad she was able to have all of those experiences, both here and overseas. She said she considered it the "best of all worlds". |
Anonymous
Very true. My DC spent a fortune going out in the UK. |
Anonymous
| My feeling is that the US system encourages students to stay being kids instead of growing up. I personally liked it, but I think it depends on the kid. My neighbor's kids, for example, are still kids, even though they're 28 years old, still no real job and mostly imho because school was a a resort. And it wasn't like they studied useless degrees either. So just the whole environment doesn't encourage growing up. |
Anonymous
As opposed to football games, tailgating, and greek parties? Legal drinking age is 18 over there. No need for fake IDs, and the possibility of getting into trouble for underage drinking. |
Anonymous
Tuition — UK/Ireland: Universities in the UK and Ireland tend to charge non-resident prices equivalent to OOS costs for UVa., with tuition category based on location of residence, not passport. So, UK-US dual nationals who grew up in Bethesda pay a lot. Dual nationals who grew up in Dublin pay $2,500 per year. Tuition — The Continent/English bachelor’s: English-language programs “on the Continent” (example: the Netherlands) tend to charge what they think are exorbitant non-EU student prices but might only be $15,000 per year, or something like in-state UMd. tuition. The Netherlands, at least, bases the tuition category on the student’s passport, not the student’s location. So, Dutch universities are a great deal for Dutch dual nationals. Tuition — The Continent/Non-English bachelor’s Bachelor’s programs in the EU that aren’t in English or aren’t flooded with international students may charge international students about $2,500 tuition per year. Tuition — Housing: Even in the places with expensive dorms or student apartments, the costs might be comparable to what you’d pay at UVa. or UMd. So, $18,000 per year all in for housing and food — if you can find the housing. The problem isn’t the cost as much as the difficulty of finding any room in a place with a dysfunctional housing market. And, obviously, if Covid flares up, WWIII starts, etc. Aid: One huge problem is that many countries in the EU and elsewhere have cheap university tuition for their nationals and no tradition of providing financial aid. Because of that, a lot of non-U.S. schools that are perfect for families that can pay $30,000 per year are terrible for families with budgets under $25,000 per year. Some of the non-U.S. schools are set up in such a way that they can use U.S. student loans and 529 plan cash. But many non-U.S. schools can’t connect with U.S. aid programs at all, and they may make it difficult or impossible for international students (or, in the case of EU schools, non-EU students) to work for pay. Broke students: Say there are good, organized, high-stats students who have some savings or family financial support, are up for an adventure and will do anything to get a bachelor’s degree without going to community college. I think it’s possible to get a bachelor’s degree from an English-language program in a country like Slovenia or Greece for less than $10,000 per year, all in, not including travel. This might not be a very good degree. No one in the United States will have heard of the schools. But that might be an option for students who want to break away from the pack. |
Anonymous
I went to both USC and Cornell. Transferred after my Sophomore year. I’m sorry. There is ABSOLUTELY NO COMMONALITY between these two….might as be U of Sydney |
Anonymous
For many people. I went to university in the Uk and had many friends that didn’t drink alcohol at all. That is like saying that US college life is all about frat parties. |
Anonymous
The post above was not me. I’m the OP. My kid is a great student. Not sure if he will be t25. He has done well so far on SAT/ACT. But he is in a very competitive HS and despite a high SAT already, he wont make top 10% of his class. It will be close. We are just trying to hedge our bets. There is a world of difference between no getting Merit at a t75 Private and LSU, I’m sorry. |
Anonymous
First poster with a kid at TCD -- my understanding is fees in Ireland are based on residence and qualifying for EU fees requires residency in an EU country for three out of the last five years. That said, the international fees for TCD are 22,000 euros for my DC's course this year, which even with the cost of living in Dublin works out to a total cost of attendance that is less expensive than, say, St Andrews or LSE. My humanities student has some classes with <20 students while others, which draw students from multiple majors, are larger. They are the only American in their suite -- other students are from Ireland, the UK, India and China -- but met a number of other Americans during the "Smart Start" week for international students. Their main response about other students, so far, is "everyone is so smart". |