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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are many excellent public universities in the US that will end up being cheaper than the international schools you list above, even if you are OOS.

I know when we looked at Toronto two years ago for a STEM major it was going to be around US$62k/year. Cheaper than privates, but more than many public options in the US.

On the job front, it's really only the first job...but Toronto, McGill, UBC, Waterloo, Oxbridge, UCL (and like 10+ other UK schools), Zurich (the tech school that is like the MIT of Europe) et al are all generally known. I can't imagine your kid would really be looking at random European colleges anyway.

Right. I realize Toronto is expensive. Although I mentioned Canada, we really were not looking at Canada. EU prices are a fraction of that and considering English universities are just 3 years, they end up being much cheaper even with the current exchange rate. Unfortunately neither kid wants to stay in-state. So I’m trying to be open about this and get others perspectives with experience at colleges other than Oxbridge/Imperial/LSE.

a three year degree from eu is considered an associate degree in the US and not the equivalent of a four year college degree for either higher education or first time jobs.

Thank you needed a good laugh to start the day.

Me, too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are many excellent public universities in the US that will end up being cheaper than the international schools you list above, even if you are OOS.

I know when we looked at Toronto two years ago for a STEM major it was going to be around US$62k/year. Cheaper than privates, but more than many public options in the US.

On the job front, it's really only the first job...but Toronto, McGill, UBC, Waterloo, Oxbridge, UCL (and like 10+ other UK schools), Zurich (the tech school that is like the MIT of Europe) et al are all generally known. I can't imagine your kid would really be looking at random European colleges anyway.

Right. I realize Toronto is expensive. Although I mentioned Canada, we really were not looking at Canada. EU prices are a fraction of that and considering English universities are just 3 years, they end up being much cheaper even with the current exchange rate. Unfortunately neither kid wants to stay in-state. So I’m trying to be open about this and get others perspectives with experience at colleges other than Oxbridge/Imperial/LSE.

a three year degree from eu is considered an associate degree in the US and not the equivalent of a four year college degree for either higher education or first time jobs.

Thank you needed a good laugh to start the day.

That ^PP is seriously ignorant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are many excellent public universities in the US that will end up being cheaper than the international schools you list above, even if you are OOS.

I know when we looked at Toronto two years ago for a STEM major it was going to be around US$62k/year. Cheaper than privates, but more than many public options in the US.

On the job front, it's really only the first job...but Toronto, McGill, UBC, Waterloo, Oxbridge, UCL (and like 10+ other UK schools), Zurich (the tech school that is like the MIT of Europe) et al are all generally known. I can't imagine your kid would really be looking at random European colleges anyway.

Right. I realize Toronto is expensive. Although I mentioned Canada, we really were not looking at Canada. EU prices are a fraction of that and considering English universities are just 3 years, they end up being much cheaper even with the current exchange rate. Unfortunately neither kid wants to stay in-state. So I’m trying to be open about this and get others perspectives with experience at colleges other than Oxbridge/Imperial/LSE.

a three year degree from eu is considered an associate degree in the US and not the equivalent of a four year college degree for either higher education or first time jobs.

This is most idiotic post of the year. Congrats!!!! Oh my god…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It makes sense if one of the reasons for doing it is to broaden the kid’s experience by living abroad or some other similar reason (e.g., learning a foreign language).

It makes very little sense if it’s purely to save money. Yes, these foreign schools have a sticker price that’s a fraction of the sticker price of an American private school. But dig deeper & you will find the foreign schools have expensive transportation costs, crappy living conditions (most foreign universities think undergrads should live in hovels), pressure-filled degree programs (everything’s based on a few major exams), & isolated social lives (often not a lot of locals are eager to be buddies with Americans). (None of these drawbacks really apply to Canadian universities, which aren’t all that different from schools in the US.)

If the goal is just to save money, I’d recommend your in-state publics or a solid American public university in another state that has a low sticker price & gives good merit aid to bring the net price down significantly (Arizona, Kansas, Florida State, Nebraska etc).

—American who attended universities in US, Canada, & Scotland

kids want to go abroad for a variety of reasons. None of it is related to being cheaper. My husband doesnt care. I’m the one who brought up cost being an additional factor (for my little brain) to consider.

Other than my husband, my only other reference point here is son of a colleague who went to Bocconi for undergrad. Yes, they saved a TON of money for a pretty decent degree. He did not have expensive transportation costs or crappy living conditions. His dorm was actually amazing and his social life was great. So not sure where you went to school, but my point is that it is tough to generalize (American is amazing, everything else is terrible). My kids do not want to stay in-state. Our in-state options are not great (we dont live in DC).

OP, it is tough to find a better program with a better cost benefit than Bocconi’s undergrad programs. One of the TOP B schools in Europe. Recognized worldwide. Amazing international cohort, taught in English, graduates working for the top firms in the world. All of this for less than 65k for all 3 years!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It makes sense if one of the reasons for doing it is to broaden the kid’s experience by living abroad or some other similar reason (e.g., learning a foreign language).

It makes very little sense if it’s purely to save money. Yes, these foreign schools have a sticker price that’s a fraction of the sticker price of an American private school. But dig deeper & you will find the foreign schools have expensive transportation costs, crappy living conditions (most foreign universities think undergrads should live in hovels), pressure-filled degree programs (everything’s based on a few major exams), & isolated social lives (often not a lot of locals are eager to be buddies with Americans). (None of these drawbacks really apply to Canadian universities, which aren’t all that different from schools in the US.)

If the goal is just to save money, I’d recommend your in-state publics or a solid American public university in another state that has a low sticker price & gives good merit aid to bring the net price down significantly (Arizona, Kansas, Florida State, Nebraska etc).

—American who attended universities in US, Canada, & Scotland

kids want to go abroad for a variety of reasons. None of it is related to being cheaper. My husband doesnt care. I’m the one who brought up cost being an additional factor (for my little brain) to consider.

Other than my husband, my only other reference point here is son of a colleague who went to Bocconi for undergrad. Yes, they saved a TON of money for a pretty decent degree. He did not have expensive transportation costs or crappy living conditions. His dorm was actually amazing and his social life was great. So not sure where you went to school, but my point is that it is tough to generalize (American is amazing, everything else is terrible). My kids do not want to stay in-state. Our in-state options are not great (we dont live in DC).

OP, it is tough to find a better program with a better cost benefit than Bocconi’s undergrad programs. One of the TOP B schools in Europe. Recognized worldwide. Amazing international cohort, taught in English, graduates working for the top firms in the world. All of this for less than 65k for all 3 years!

You need to look at the most recent international fees for uk colleges. My son is taking a humanities course for 3 yrs that costs 25,800 per year uk sterling plus 10k per year accomodation and food. So that is what, about 108,000

and his course is on the lower end of costs. Another of my kids is taking a STEM course that is 31,000 sterling per year and its is a 4 yr course, plus 10K per year acccomodation and food

none of these add up to your imaginary 65k which would have been the case pre 2019, like I say, costs have gone up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It makes sense if one of the reasons for doing it is to broaden the kid’s experience by living abroad or some other similar reason (e.g., learning a foreign language).

It makes very little sense if it’s purely to save money. Yes, these foreign schools have a sticker price that’s a fraction of the sticker price of an American private school. But dig deeper & you will find the foreign schools have expensive transportation costs, crappy living conditions (most foreign universities think undergrads should live in hovels), pressure-filled degree programs (everything’s based on a few major exams), & isolated social lives (often not a lot of locals are eager to be buddies with Americans). (None of these drawbacks really apply to Canadian universities, which aren’t all that different from schools in the US.)

If the goal is just to save money, I’d recommend your in-state publics or a solid American public university in another state that has a low sticker price & gives good merit aid to bring the net price down significantly (Arizona, Kansas, Florida State, Nebraska etc).

—American who attended universities in US, Canada, & Scotland

kids want to go abroad for a variety of reasons. None of it is related to being cheaper. My husband doesnt care. I’m the one who brought up cost being an additional factor (for my little brain) to consider.

Other than my husband, my only other reference point here is son of a colleague who went to Bocconi for undergrad. Yes, they saved a TON of money for a pretty decent degree. He did not have expensive transportation costs or crappy living conditions. His dorm was actually amazing and his social life was great. So not sure where you went to school, but my point is that it is tough to generalize (American is amazing, everything else is terrible). My kids do not want to stay in-state. Our in-state options are not great (we dont live in DC).

OP, it is tough to find a better program with a better cost benefit than Bocconi’s undergrad programs. One of the TOP B schools in Europe. Recognized worldwide. Amazing international cohort, taught in English, graduates working for the top firms in the world. All of this for less than 65k for all 3 years!

You need to look at the most recent international fees for uk colleges. My son is taking a humanities course for 3 yrs that costs 25,800 per year uk sterling plus 10k per year accomodation and food. So that is what, about 108,000

and his course is on the lower end of costs. Another of my kids is taking a STEM course that is 31,000 sterling per year and its is a 4 yr course, plus 10K per year acccomodation and food

none of these add up to your imaginary 65k which would have been the case pre 2019, like I say, costs have gone up.

There is nothing imaginary about it. Let me just assume you don’t know where Bocconi is….But that is ok. we are all learning something here.

Bocconi is in Milan, Italy. It has been considered for more than 20 years one of the top business schools in Europe. Tuition is about 17k Euros per year….it is much cheaper than UK universities for internationals. You are comparing apples to oranges. Their campus is amazing, they spent a ton of money upgrading their campus a few years ago. SDA Bocconi is top notch. Professors at the undergrad level are top in their field. Their on c amp us dorms rival anything in the US. And Milan is well, an amazing town. And yes, for $65k you get a degree from Bocconi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It makes sense if one of the reasons for doing it is to broaden the kid’s experience by living abroad or some other similar reason (e.g., learning a foreign language).

It makes very little sense if it’s purely to save money. Yes, these foreign schools have a sticker price that’s a fraction of the sticker price of an American private school. But dig deeper & you will find the foreign schools have expensive transportation costs, crappy living conditions (most foreign universities think undergrads should live in hovels), pressure-filled degree programs (everything’s based on a few major exams), & isolated social lives (often not a lot of locals are eager to be buddies with Americans). (None of these drawbacks really apply to Canadian universities, which aren’t all that different from schools in the US.)

If the goal is just to save money, I’d recommend your in-state publics or a solid American public university in another state that has a low sticker price & gives good merit aid to bring the net price down significantly (Arizona, Kansas, Florida State, Nebraska etc).

—American who attended universities in US, Canada, & Scotland

kids want to go abroad for a variety of reasons. None of it is related to being cheaper. My husband doesnt care. I’m the one who brought up cost being an additional factor (for my little brain) to consider.

Other than my husband, my only other reference point here is son of a colleague who went to Bocconi for undergrad. Yes, they saved a TON of money for a pretty decent degree. He did not have expensive transportation costs or crappy living conditions. His dorm was actually amazing and his social life was great. So not sure where you went to school, but my point is that it is tough to generalize (American is amazing, everything else is terrible). My kids do not want to stay in-state. Our in-state options are not great (we dont live in DC).

OP, it is tough to find a better program with a better cost benefit than Bocconi’s undergrad programs. One of the TOP B schools in Europe. Recognized worldwide. Amazing international cohort, taught in English, graduates working for the top firms in the world. All of this for less than 65k for all 3 years!

You need to look at the most recent international fees for uk colleges. My son is taking a humanities course for 3 yrs that costs 25,800 per year uk sterling plus 10k per year accomodation and food. So that is what, about 108,000

and his course is on the lower end of costs. Another of my kids is taking a STEM course that is 31,000 sterling per year and its is a 4 yr course, plus 10K per year acccomodation and food

none of these add up to your imaginary 65k which would have been the case pre 2019, like I say, costs have gone up.

There is nothing imaginary about it. Let me just assume you don’t know where Bocconi is….But that is ok. we are all learning something here.

Bocconi is in Milan, Italy. It has been considered for more than 20 years one of the top business schools in Europe. Tuition is about 17k Euros per year….it is much cheaper than UK universities for internationals. You are comparing apples to oranges. Their campus is amazing, they spent a ton of money upgrading their campus a few years ago. SDA Bocconi is top notch. Professors at the undergrad level are top in their field. Their on c amp us dorms rival anything in the US. And Milan is well, an amazing town. And yes, for $65k you get a degree from Bocconi.

I apologise. I do know about Brocconi and that it is excellent (and great value for money). I had been reading the whole thread and mistook what you'd written to include UK colleges. I think in fact I just knee-jerked as soon as I saw $65k so my bad.

[Anonymous]

No not at all, many UK schools that offer a better educational opportunity at a better price point. As others have demonstrated a few in Europe as well.