European colleges

Anonymous
A friend's kid went to a selective school in the Netherlands that accepts 250 per year, all classes in English. 3 year program, uner 15,000 Euros per year, they can afford to fly the kid home for all holidays and whatnot.

We told ours they could go abroad for grad school, but not undergrad. If there was a crisis of any sort, I didn't want 18 year olds trying to deal with that a flight and border away. One is doing just that, applying to grad schools across Europe now
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Had relatives and friends in America with EU passports study at Science Po, ESCP, Sapienza, Bocconi and UvA (Amsterdam).

Yes, they can be pretty cheap. ESCP and Bocconi a little more expensive, but still, a drop in the bucket compared to US colleges for the education you get.


And how did things work out with internships? Employment? Grad school? thanks


My Science Po nephew works for a DC based think tank.

The Sapienza Rome one went to grad school at LSE and is now working in Brussels at an international political consulting firm.
Bocconi kid is at a NY Investment firm.
ESCP one just graduated and is finishing up a 1-yr masters degree at Imperial in London. Not sure what the final job outcome will be….all Americans kid who happened to have a EU passport.
The best deal of them all was Sapienza…basically $2k per year tuition….for the price of a Michelin 3 Star Dinner she got a great IR/Politics degree
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Had relatives and friends in America with EU passports study at Science Po, ESCP, Sapienza, Bocconi and UvA (Amsterdam).

Yes, they can be pretty cheap. ESCP and Bocconi a little more expensive, but still, a drop in the bucket compared to US colleges for the education you get.


And how did things work out with internships? Employment? Grad school? thanks


My Science Po nephew works for a DC based think tank.

The Sapienza Rome one went to grad school at LSE and is now working in Brussels at an international political consulting firm.
Bocconi kid is at a NY Investment firm.
ESCP one just graduated and is finishing up a 1-yr masters degree at Imperial in London. Not sure what the final job outcome will be….all Americans kid who happened to have a EU passport.
The best deal of them all was Sapienza…basically $2k per year tuition….for the price of a Michelin 3 Star Dinner she got a great IR/Politics degree


Did the Sciences Po one study in Paris or Reims? How was their experience? French level?
Anonymous

French person here.

If he has French citizenship, he might not be treated like an international student and he might be asked for his Bac. So please do your research to make sure that his American school transcript can be accepted by a French university. It's not so easy as you might think - please do your research early on the process to apply as a French expatriate.

I agree that French universities, like many in other parts of Europe, are bare-bones academic institutions. If you are not an international student, you are responsible for your own room and board. There are no dorms on campuses, it's not the same thing at all as US colleges. There is no hand-holding. Universities are not extensions of high school like they are in the US. Your kid is on their own to meet all deadlines and talk to professors.

My oldest was accepted at McGill, which currently offers Canadian tuition rates to French citizens (not the lower Quebec tuition, and it was never free, contrary to what PP said), but chose to study locally, at GW in DC, then do a semester at Sciences Po in Paris, to test whether he might want to do a Master's there in the future. My second also wants to start undergrad in the US.

If it's too complicated and too much of a leap to attend a French uni right out of high school, I highly recommend you visit McGill and other Quebec universities, which to my understanding all offer that discount for French citizens. One reason my son turned down McGill was that his intended major was International Affairs, which is better done at GW. But if your kid has other majors in mind... it might be worth a look.

Sciences Po is a respected political science institution. It accepts many foreign students on its satellite campuses, with courses in English. My son was eligible to study in Paris, with courses in French and English, since he is entirely bilingual. He had a great experience there.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Not Europe so much at our private, but Canada is very hot right now!

McGill
U of T (and there's a variety of colleges you apply to within it)
UBC
Queen's
Western

Waterloo - for engineers


If only OP had asked about Canadian colleges, this might actually be useful. Would you also like to share your thoughts about universities in New Zealand?


Well OP said her DC has French citizenship so she might be interested to know that French citizens can apply and get FREE TUITION at McGill if accepted. (Quebec has a special arrangement with France.)


They changed the policy within the last several years. You can qualify for Quebec-resident tuition rates which are very low (like $5k per year), but it's not free tuition.


Got it! Still an amazing opportunity to go to a world class university for a very low price ($5K + USD is awesome deal)!


No. For French citizens, it's Canadian tuition. Not Quebec tuition. Still lower than what they charge for other foreigners, but not quite as steep of a discount. In effect, we calculated it would come to about the same price as attending our in-state flagship.

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Had relatives and friends in America with EU passports study at Science Po, ESCP, Sapienza, Bocconi and UvA (Amsterdam).

Yes, they can be pretty cheap. ESCP and Bocconi a little more expensive, but still, a drop in the bucket compared to US colleges for the education you get.


And how did things work out with internships? Employment? Grad school? thanks


My Science Po nephew works for a DC based think tank.

The Sapienza Rome one went to grad school at LSE and is now working in Brussels at an international political consulting firm.
Bocconi kid is at a NY Investment firm.
ESCP one just graduated and is finishing up a 1-yr masters degree at Imperial in London. Not sure what the final job outcome will be….all Americans kid who happened to have a EU passport.
The best deal of them all was Sapienza…basically $2k per year tuition….for the price of a Michelin 3 Star Dinner she got a great IR/Politics degree


tell us more! you should start a topic on this
Anonymous
Some Americans we know with EU citizenship have gone to the Netherlands like Maastricht or Utrecht.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Trinity College Dublin would be a good option for someone with an EU passport. At least worth looking into.

Other than that, our school sends several each year to Uk universities, but an EU passport is irrelevant for the UK.


FYI, non-residents still have to pay the international tuition, even if you have an EU passport.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Trinity College Dublin would be a good option for someone with an EU passport. At least worth looking into.

Other than that, our school sends several each year to Uk universities, but an EU passport is irrelevant for the UK.


FYI, non-residents still have to pay the international tuition, even if you have an EU passport.


True, but the EU passport will make your life a lot easier if you want work/intern in the EU during your time in the UK, specially with the uk rejoining the Erasmus program.

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Are any on your kids interested in going to college in Europe or have any of your kids gone to college in Europe? If so how is it going/what were the applications like?
My son wants to go and he has a French citizenship so it would be WAY cheaper and probably good culturally.


American with an Italian passport here. Some schools in the EU do not care where your passport is from, they care about residence before you apply. So a EU passport with residence in the US counts as international in places like Ireland…
In the mainland EU, it is a little different. Some private colleges like ESCP give EU passport holders a 20%ish discount, others are the same price as EU residents. It really depends on the school. Science Po has a sliding scale based on what you can afford to pay. Either way, most of the EU is much much cheaper than any US college without Merit/Financial AID.

My kid applied to ESSEC, HEC, Bocconi, Science PO, ESCP, Amsterdam, St Galen, IE and ESADE. Then 5 more in the UK.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:What’s the purpose of enrolling to a European school? Save money on tuition, international exposure?

I wouldn’t do it for the lower tuition alone. If [/b]you plan on returning to US after graduation stick to a school that is well known here. [b]Also the economy, youth employment, internship opportunities are much better in US. There’s a reason the net flux of students is from Europe to US.

For international exposure you can do one semester abroad instead.


True if DC can get into HSY. But a GMU or Directional State U degree is not more marketable than a rando EU university degree.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:What’s the purpose of enrolling to a European school? Save money on tuition, international exposure?

I wouldn’t do it for the lower tuition alone. If you plan on returning to US after graduation stick to a school that is well known here. Also the economy, youth employment, internship opportunities are much better in US. There’s a reason the net flux of students is from Europe to US.

For international exposure you can do one semester abroad instead.


For dual-passport students, the full cost of tuition for a bachelor’s at a top EU school, with a narrow educational program but sort of American-like classes, might be less than $9,000.

I think employers in places like the DMV and New York are going to have to get used to seeing EU school grads, because the economic pressure on students to go to the EU schools is so intense.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What’s the purpose of enrolling to a European school? Save money on tuition, international exposure?

I wouldn’t do it for the lower tuition alone. If you plan on returning to US after graduation stick to a school that is well known here. Also the economy, youth employment, internship opportunities are much better in US. There’s a reason the net flux of students is from Europe to US.

For international exposure you can do one semester abroad instead.


For dual-passport students, the full cost of tuition for a bachelor’s at a top EU school, with a narrow educational program but sort of American-like classes, might be less than $9,000.

I think employers in places like the DMV and New York are going to have to get used to seeing EU school grads, because the economic pressure on students to go to the EU schools is so intense.


There is nothing to get used to in NYC, Chicago or LA. There are tons of graduates from places like Science Po, Bocconi, etc working in the US. These are strong names that unless you have been leaving under a rock, you understand these are no T50 average US schools….
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Both kids are still in HS here, and they have dual citizenship. One already passed the test to directly enter university in Europe and the other likely will too, later this year.

Unfortunately, neither has shown a strong inclination toward undergrad studies in Europe. It would have cost us very little, but oh well. Maybe they will reconsider for grad school.


Just make sure your kid is a real self-starter.

When you start at most American colleges, there is often a week or so of orientations, academic advising, & social events to force students to get to know each other. In other words, an intensive, well-organized effort by professionals to make sure the student’s’ transition to college life is informed & productive.

In my experience, such efforts are not common at European universities.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:A friend's kid went to a selective school in the Netherlands that accepts 250 per year, all classes in English. 3 year program, uner 15,000 Euros per year, they can afford to fly the kid home for all holidays and whatnot.

We told ours they could go abroad for grad school, but not undergrad. If there was a crisis of any sort, I didn't want 18 year olds trying to deal with that a flight and border away. One is doing just that, applying to grad schools across Europe now


Great strategy. The European universities are much better suited for graduate study than undergrad.
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