European universities

[Anonymous]

Has your dc applied to Edinburgh, Glasgow, London School of Economics? What happened? Would love insight into this process.

[Anonymous]

Gee, you've been reading the Post.

[Anonymous]

Great backdoor entry to a prestigious US university in future if the student doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell for admittance at present. Traditional strategic pathway taken by the underachieving American gentry.

[Anonymous]

Sounds awesome to me. Wish I could have done that rather than the usual year abroad. Will definitely consider encouraging my own even though they will definitely be able to get in here as well.

[Anonymous]

Why so snarky, 21:51. Stop with the negativity.

[Anonymous]

What are you talking about Alice in Wonderland? Have you had any discussions with high school college advisors about trends or does the truth bother you? What does acknowledgement of this trend have anything to do with snarkiness? Is snarky the only word or concept in your mind?

[Anonymous]

Why so snarky, 21:51. Stop with the negativity.

Grow up and stop with the maudlin sensitivity

[Anonymous]

Some on the board do appreciate knowledge about various strategies to position our children in the best positions for university admission and life experiences. Sorry you feel some snark is letting out your secrets.

[Anonymous]

1. The UK isn't really Europe no matter what you may have been told.
2. DC would be covered by the God-awful NHS while studying there.
3. Quid to dollars, dollars to quid absolutely outrageous. Don't see how we would be saving money long-term unless went traditional English, not Scottish route (three years of undergraduate study versus four years of undergraduate study.)
4. In case of an emergency I shudder to think about being that far away from DC.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Yes, I read about this in the Post (of course!). I'm hoping to get more insight from those families who've actually gone this route. From that article, it sounds like Scottish, Canadian, etc. universities are a very good deal compared to U.S. universities, particularly when the family will not be receiving any financial aid. DC is interested in international relations, and many of these schools (particularly LSE) appear to have very good reputations for this area of study. Also, has anyone studied at the Institute des Etudes Politiques in Paris (forgive mispelling -- it's been years since I studied French).

There are so many international students at U.S. universities these days; it seems only fair that we should take advantage of what their countries have to offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great backdoor entry to a prestigious US university in future if the student doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell for admittance at present. Traditional strategic pathway taken by the underachieving American gentry.

Right but also very wrong. There are lots of straight-A, high SAT kids who don't have a snowball's chance of getting into the Ivies - because they didn't also bring peace to the middle east or aren't diverse or recruitable athletes. Many of these aren't "underachieving" kids at all. We know one of the kids in the article.

[Anonymous]

True. UK doesn't have affirmative action policies and I daresay never will.

Hope the kids can deal with the strong tide of anti-Americanism at university in spite of Obama's election...be prepared to debate, defend and drink.

[Anonymous]

Yes, as somebody who studied abroad ages ago, I can say that you spend a lot of time defending the US. It's actually useful in it's own way. I'm a liberal dem, but it helped me define what's good and not-so-good about this country, what I care to defend and what I wouldn't even try to defend. And yes, there is stuff to defend, and a lot of misconceptions about us.

I can think of several reasons to get a degree in Europe besides not being able to get into an Ivy.
1. Fun
2. Travel
3. Some great universities
4. Cheaper than in the US (still will be, even after Britain increases tuition)
5. The US needs people with foreign experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. The UK isn't really Europe no matter what you may have been told.
2. DC would be covered by the God-awful NHS while studying there.
3. Quid to dollars, dollars to quid absolutely outrageous. Don't see how we would be saving money long-term unless went traditional English, not Scottish route (three years of undergraduate study versus four years of undergraduate study.)
4. In case of an emergency I shudder to think about being that far away from DC.

1. True, but lots of brits still despise the US (some of them are my relatives), so it's not like you're attending a school where you automatically fit in.
2. And the NHS is worse compared to the student health service on many campuses?
3. In dollar[i] terms, tuition is maybe $5K, slated to rise to $14K max. Still cheaper than most US privates.
4. It's about 6 hours. Not a whole lot different from having DC go to Stanford, except for the customs stuff.