Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been over this so many times. It’s clear what’s happening. Your kids can’t get into the Ivies or other top privates and you’re too embarrassed to say they’re going elsewhere in the USA, so you send them abroad and having made that decision you now insist that their educations are better, they’re having more fun, their job prospects are better etc.

What’s really going on is that instead of going to college with the unwashed American masses they’re doing it with the unwashed European ones for less money.


Your kids are going to school with millions of other kids. They’re not going to Harvard.

What you’ve chosen to do is fine. Great. You do you. But it doesn’t make you special, it doesn’t make your kids special, and it certainly provides no license to tear down kids who aren’t doing the same thing. I guarantee you most kids at most everywhere are “having fun.“

I'm always fascinated by the confidence with which some people psychoanalyze the complex financial and educational decisions of hundreds of families they've never met.

The central premise that this is a 'backup plan' for students who can't get into top US schools is a tired, easily disproven myth. As I and many others here have shared, DD turned down two Ivies to study in the UK. Her story isn’t unique. This is not about rejection; it's about a different set of priorities with a desire for real-world global experience, not just one stamped with a familiar US ranking.

Frankly, the idea that all the world's 'top students' only clamor for US schools is an incredibly US-centric view of the world. Brilliant students everywhere have different goals and different definitions of 'the best.'

Ultimately, praising one path isn't an attack on another, and it certainly isn't a license to tear down the choices of others.

Anyway, for those of us who are actually interested in the productive conversation the OP started, let’s ignore these trolls.

Just because you say it anonymously doesn’t make it true. Very very few American families are turning down Ivy League schools to study in Europe. If your kids are, you are a real exception to the rule.

And that you are seriously asserting that the USA isn’t far and away the preferred destination for foreign students means that you have no credibility.

You clearly do not possess the ability to engage with what is actually written.

To be clear for everyone else following along:

1) My point was never that the US isn't a popular destination. My point was that the world's 'brilliant students' have many goals, and to assume they all prefer the US is a US-centric view. These are two very different statements.

2) You are arguing against a point nobody made, which is the definition of a strawman argument.

This is no longer a productive discussion. I won't be engaging with you further. I'm going back to the actual topic

It’s not only a “popular” destination. It’s THE MOST POPULAR and by a long shot. We import way more students than we export and with good reason. That you refuse to concede that is very telling.

[Anonymous]

Amazing. I feel like I’m taking to my 9 year old kid.

Anyhow, back to the topic at hand.

@ OP, to answer your question. If your kid attends any of the schools mentioned here (Top 15 UK unis or other top EU unis) you wont have any issues with graduate school placements back in the US or with careers prospects in here at any large firm. Yes there will be more work for your kid to do to get back here. If that is what he wants to do.

The point being, I wouldn’t rule it out due to graduate school admissions (unless it is Medicine) or career prospects.

And please, ignore the trolls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a degree from a solid British university that you’ve never heard of. I’ve had no problems getting jobs in the US. And as a hiring manager I care much more about experience and presentation of a candidate than what college an applicant attended. The don’t even remember the colleges any of the people I’ve hired attended.

Agree. As a hiring manager, I did not care about the school a candidate attended. If I had wanted to know more, I could have searched the internet. However, I never did that.

Another mom “hiring manager” here in the Bay Area for a well known tech firm. I apologize, but yes, we do care. we dont rank schools, but we do select where we are going to recruit from. It is a select group of about 20-25 schools in the US. WE do the same thing in Canada, UK and the EU. You might not like it, but this is how the world works in the upper echelons of corporate world. We have hired kids from the t15 UK schools mentioned in the other DCUM thread ahead of kids at t25-t50 in the US.

And yes, we know who ETH, TUM, Delft, KU Leuven, KTM is and all of the top UK unis discussed here. We have hired from all of them. And the vast majority of times, these are American kids coming back home.

Sure, while regional employers and others dont care, there is still a big segment of the market that does.

Just wait until Hater Mom reads this. Be ready for the absurd comments….

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure it's much simpler than this...they would rather go to college in London than Binghamton or Buffalo or other SUNY locations.

For my son, going to Buffalo or our state flagship would have simply been a lot more expensive than going to the EU university he went to.

But upstate New York and western New York are gorgeous. And, for a shy, bookish student who studies a lot and minimizes spending, student life in Buffalo might be a lot more luxurious than student life in London.

I think it’s important that students going to non-U.S. schools know that a school is a school, and student life in what sound like fancy cities can be as boring as student life in Omaha or a small town in North Dakota. Students have to be prepared to find ways to entertain and comfort themselves wherever they go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amazing. I feel like I’m taking to my 9 year old kid.

Anyhow, back to the topic at hand.

@ OP, to answer your question. If your kid attends any of the schools mentioned here (Top 15 UK unis or other top EU unis) you wont have any issues with graduate school placements back in the US or with careers prospects in here at any large firm. Yes there will be more work for your kid to do to get back here. If that is what he wants to do.

The point being, I wouldn’t rule it out due to graduate school admissions (unless it is Medicine) or career prospects.

And please, ignore the trolls.

So you’re in a position to generalize about all of this how? What’s your expertise derived from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amazing. I feel like I’m taking to my 9 year old kid.

Anyhow, back to the topic at hand.

@ OP, to answer your question. If your kid attends any of the schools mentioned here (Top 15 UK unis or other top EU unis) you wont have any issues with graduate school placements back in the US or with careers prospects in here at any large firm. Yes there will be more work for your kid to do to get back here. If that is what he wants to do.

The point being, I wouldn’t rule it out due to graduate school admissions (unless it is Medicine) or career prospects.

And please, ignore the trolls.

So you’re in a position to generalize about all of this how? What’s your expertise derived from?

Does having 3 kids who went to school in the UK (UCL and Edinburgh) and EU (Bocconi) and are all now back in the US working qualify? I have a 4th one applying this year.

Each one of my kids had dozens of American friends that also came back to the US after graduation. This was an over a 5 year period. So yes, that is pretty good evidence that I know what I am talking about. And quite frankly, you dont. Do you want their addresses too?

[Anonymous]

McKinsey now does on campus recruiting at St Andrews.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McKinsey now does on campus recruiting at St Andrews.

Don’t tell DCUM STA Hater MOM…..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally I really value my college memories. You do not get the US college experience overseas. It’s something I want my kids to be able to experience.

The US College experience at Williams is different the one at USC or Cornell. So difficult to generalize it.
Has it ever cross your mind that maybe, just maybe, some people do not want the so called college experience?

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

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

Interesting. Tell us more. I’m curious. How are Cornell and USC so different from each other

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm pretty sure it's much simpler than this...they would rather go to college in London than Binghamton or Buffalo or other SUNY locations.

For my son, going to Buffalo or our state flagship would have simply been a lot more expensive than going to the EU university he went to.

But upstate New York and western New York are gorgeous. And, for a shy, bookish student who studies a lot and minimizes spending, student life in Buffalo might be a lot more luxurious than student life in London.

I think it’s important that students going to non-U.S. schools know that a school is a school, and student life in what sound like fancy cities can be as boring as student life in Omaha or a small town in North Dakota. Students have to be prepared to find ways to entertain and comfort themselves wherever they go.

No doubt. College can be a very challenging and lonely time. All the more so if you go abroad with unrealistic expectations of how easy it will be. That is why it isn’t for everyone. But for the right kids it can be an amazing experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally I really value my college memories. You do not get the US college experience overseas. It’s something I want my kids to be able to experience.

The US College experience at Williams is different the one at USC or Cornell. So difficult to generalize it.
Has it ever cross your mind that maybe, just maybe, some people do not want the so called college experience?

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

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

Interesting. Tell us more. I’m curious. How are Cornell and USC so different from each other

Not the pp but do you really have to ask? Why people feel the need to change the direction of the thread…..so bizarre

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amazing. I feel like I’m taking to my 9 year old kid.

Anyhow, back to the topic at hand.

@ OP, to answer your question. If your kid attends any of the schools mentioned here (Top 15 UK unis or other top EU unis) you wont have any issues with graduate school placements back in the US or with careers prospects in here at any large firm. Yes there will be more work for your kid to do to get back here. If that is what he wants to do.

The point being, I wouldn’t rule it out due to graduate school admissions (unless it is Medicine) or career prospects.

And please, ignore the trolls.

So you’re in a position to generalize about all of this how? What’s your expertise derived from?

Does having 3 kids who went to school in the UK (UCL and Edinburgh) and EU (Bocconi) and are all now back in the US working qualify? I have a 4th one applying this year.

Each one of my kids had dozens of American friends that also came back to the US after graduation. This was an over a 5 year period. So yes, that is pretty good evidence that I know what I am talking about. And quite frankly, you dont. Do you want their addresses too?

I'm grateful you posted on this thread. I'm also someone whose kids are (currently) at college in the Uk. Things change every year but the parochial minds of many DCUM posters just don't. Thank you for standing up to them.

[Anonymous]

I wanted to add one final commentary to this thread. Nobody here is claiming that going abroad for college is inherently "better" than staying in the US. This isn't a 'yellow is better than green' debate. It is simply a personal decision each family makes, often driven by a student's interest in a life beyond their familiar comforts.

The narrative that this is a backup plan for kids who "didn't get in" to a T25 school may be true for some, but it's certainly not the rule.

In our family, all three of our children were competitive athletes, had 1500+ SATs, high GPAs, and very high IB scores, yet they chose not to apply to a single school in the US.

They each had their own reasons for wanting to go away, and there is nothing wrong with that. As a parent, my role is to support my kids in the decisions they've earned through their hard work, as long as those decisions are sound.

The benefits aren't just theoretical. The world is too small to pretend that the foundation for a truly global worldview can be built solely from the perspective we gain close to home.
For a student with any inclination toward an international career, this is not the only path, but it is an incredible path. The worldwide network of contacts my kids have built is amazing.

In fact, after working in the US for three years, one of our children was just offered a major promotion to lead a division for his American firm back in the EU and he is just 26.

With all its faults, the US university system is still the best in the world. But that doesn't mean there aren't outstanding options elsewhere for those who want to explore them.

One path isn't better than the other. It just takes a different kind of kid to want the less-traveled one. And that is perfectly okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, curious why you aren’t considering your instate universities? $250k is absurd.

That is not bad!

many people are looking at almost 400k!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to add one final commentary to this thread. Nobody here is claiming that going abroad for college is inherently "better" than staying in the US. This isn't a 'yellow is better than green' debate. It is simply a personal decision each family makes, often driven by a student's interest in a life beyond their familiar comforts.

The narrative that this is a backup plan for kids who "didn't get in" to a T25 school may be true for some, but it's certainly not the rule.

In our family, all three of our children were competitive athletes, had 1500+ SATs, high GPAs, and very high IB scores, yet they chose not to apply to a single school in the US.

They each had their own reasons for wanting to go away, and there is nothing wrong with that. As a parent, my role is to support my kids in the decisions they've earned through their hard work, as long as those decisions are sound.

The benefits aren't just theoretical. The world is too small to pretend that the foundation for a truly global worldview can be built solely from the perspective we gain close to home.
For a student with any inclination toward an international career, this is not the only path, but it is an incredible path. The worldwide network of contacts my kids have built is amazing.

In fact, after working in the US for three years, one of our children was just offered a major promotion to lead a division for his American firm back in the EU and he is just 26.

With all its faults, the US university system is still the best in the world. But that doesn't mean there aren't outstanding options elsewhere for those who want to explore them.

One path isn't better than the other. It just takes a different kind of kid to want the less-traveled one. And that is perfectly okay.

Meh. There are plenty of Americans doing all of this without having foreign degrees.

Going to college abroad is the latest craze for some, because they feel they have to be special and different but top colleges in the USA are too difficult of an admit for their kids. That's all that's going on here.

Most of us are applying abroad because it is way cheaper, a better college experience, and the opportunity to get out of a country as it nosedives into complete dictatorship. Plus AI is taking jobs in the US. So there is no future here.