UK or Ireland for college?

[Anonymous]

Anyone looked into it? For a whole degree program not just a semester/year abroad? We are thinking about it but could it work out more expensive?

[Anonymous]

are you talking about the one that is an exchange program? YOu keep paying your fees to your university to pay for the studies of someone from that country and then your kid gets to attend that kids school abroad?

I think it is a rip off because the cost of education in those countries is a lot less. You should only be paying the tuition costs of the host country, that is so much less

[Anonymous]

I think it was Forbes Magazine or the WSJ that recently did a story on how much cheaper it is for Americans to go to school abroad (even with the exchange rate considered).

[Anonymous]

If you are looking at the UK I would consider very carefully what school you choose. Just like here, not all are great and not all are strong in every subject. The more prestigious ones in the UK are generally considered to be those in the Russell Group http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Group but I'd add to that the University of St Andrews and Durham University as worth considering

Fees in the UK for overseas students can be high (and are certainly higher than those charged for home students). Living costs will depend on where the university is (London is very very expensive, Bristol also pricey). Of course in the UK you avoid things like Greek societies but with the drinking age at 18, campus life particularly in the first year can revolve around alcohol!

[Anonymous]

Many universities in the UK require you to specialize in a single subject. Whereas the degree in Scotland is more like the US, i.e. more like liberal arts.

[Anonymous]

I respectfully disagree with 14:03 and 19:46. Non-Russell Group York Uni here, did Politics, Philosophy and Economics (Equal, called "PPE") degree, obviously not single-subject. Did not get a First, no one I knew personally was awarded this honor. York is always in the Times Good Uni Guide year after year. Centrally located, breathtakingly lovely part of England with so much to do in the City of York and environs. Just might be worth a look.

[Anonymous]

I did my undergrad at GW and spent my junior year at the University of Manchester, which is generally considered a better university for the UK than GW is for the U.S. I found my classmates at Manchester to be noticeably sharper, on average, than those at GW, but the teaching and facilities were much better at GW. On balance, probably a wash between the two schools, but my takeaway is: I wouldn't choose a UK school over a U.S. school unless the UK school were really much better regarded than my best U.S. option.

[Anonymous]

19:46 here again. My cousin teaches at a Scottish university, and we've talked about the differences between Scottish and English schools, especially in terms of requiring you to specialize in one subject early on. FWIW, Fiske's book on colleges (which I recently got for DC) says the same thing about Scottish vs. English schools.

Could it be that the PPE degree is a recognized degree that is widely understood to combine several subjects? You can see how these 3 subjects would make sense in combination. As opposed to other degrees, like chem or maths, where in England you mostly take that subject.

[Anonymous]

Oxford and Cambridge offer an education which cannot be matched elsewhere in the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did my undergrad at GW and spent my junior year at the University of Manchester, which is generally considered a better university for the UK than GW is for the U.S. I found my classmates at Manchester to be noticeably sharper, on average, than those at GW, but the teaching and facilities were much better at GW. On balance, probably a wash between the two schools, but my takeaway is: I wouldn't choose a UK school over a U.S. school unless the UK school were really much better regarded than my best U.S. option.

I am originally British - moved to the US at 12. My now husband and I both went to the University of Texas at Austin and spend our juinor year at Lancaster University. I think they are about the same standing - UT in the US and Lancaster in the UK. We had a blast and found that our academic skills translated well. Other American friends had a harder time academically - particularly a friend who was premed. He had to take organic chemistry with chemistry majors and struggled to pass the class (and he went to very well respected, highly ranked US liberal arts college). I don't think I would suggest my kids get their degrees in the UK - but I would definitely recommend studying abroad. We made life long friends and loved traveling in the UK and Europe. Because the clulture and language between the UK and US are similar (same language), one might assume less of a culture shock than going somewhere more foreign. I didn't experience that much while studying abroad, but it was HUGE when I first moved to the US and went back to the UK on vacation. I honestly think I basically lost a year academically and socially because I was so traumatized by the move - I wouldn't want this to happen to my kid in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oxford and Cambridge offer an education which cannot be matched elsewhere in the world.

Oxford is way overrated. (Speaking as a graduate).

[Anonymous]

Invest in America. We have the greatest educational system in the world, the envy of others.

[Anonymous]

The problem is that the top U.S. colleges want students from overseas, so there are fewer spots for Americans. Other nations' universities should be open to us to the same degree as ours are to foreign students. This is not the case for Oxford and Cambridge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the top U.S. colleges want students from overseas, so there are fewer spots for Americans. Other nations' universities should be open to us to the same degree as ours are to foreign students. This is not the case for Oxford and Cambridge.

And it is not true for Harvard or the ivies
Foreign students do not have legacy status

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the top U.S. colleges want students from overseas, so there are fewer spots for Americans. Other nations' universities should be open to us to the same degree as ours are to foreign students. This is not the case for Oxford and Cambridge.

And it is not true for Harvard or the iviesForeign students do not have legacy status

But the foreign students they admit are overwhelmingly from wealthy and highly connected families that are part of their countries' elites. Some of them are legacies, they pay full price and contribute to the institutions' prestige abroad since the children of the self-perpetuating elites all go there.

College is becoming so unaffordable here that state universities are also increasingly recruiting full pay kids abroad--never mind out-of-state students. There was an article recently (I think in the WP?) about exactly this issue.