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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Dutch universities. Are they cheaper? Many do classes in English

After Brexit, Dutch universities kind of stepped into the gap for EU students looking for courses taught in English. However, there has been pushed back on English taught courses and talk about reducing international student numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in the uk for ten years and DD is just finishing up A level exams. I would have loved for her to study at a university here, but it was just going to be too much money. It was going to be about £45k/year. That’s in pounds so figure $60k/year? Good luck getting a good rate. And that’s not even with room/board.

She got a full tuition FA scholarship to a T20 in the states and will go there. We have a HHI just under 200k. (But she’s also got a merit scholarship for even more at a school in the top 40 and one in the top 70.)

The 45,000 GBP/year is only at a very few UK universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, etc.). There are several excellent universities - eg., Durham - that cost considerably less than that for tuition and fees, especiall for humanities/social sciences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in the uk for ten years and DD is just finishing up A level exams. I would have loved for her to study at a university here, but it was just going to be too much money. It was going to be about £45k/year. That’s in pounds so figure $60k/year? Good luck getting a good rate. And that’s not even with room/board.

She got a full tuition FA scholarship to a T20 in the states and will go there. We have a HHI just under 200k. (But she’s also got a merit scholarship for even more at a school in the top 40 and one in the top 70.)

If you live in the UK for five + years, shouldn't your DC be eligible for resident tuition? Fees at Oxbridge are based on residence, not on citizenship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in the uk for ten years and DD is just finishing up A level exams. I would have loved for her to study at a university here, but it was just going to be too much money. It was going to be about £45k/year. That’s in pounds so figure $60k/year? Good luck getting a good rate. And that’s not even with room/board.

She got a full tuition FA scholarship to a T20 in the states and will go there. We have a HHI just under 200k. (But she’s also got a merit scholarship for even more at a school in the top 40 and one in the top 70.)

The 45,000 GBP/year is only at a very few UK universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, etc.). There are several excellent universities - eg., Durham - that cost considerably less than that for tuition and fees, especiall for humanities/social sciences.

Yep, people here only look at the most expensive courses at Oxbridge/Imperial.
Durham for 3 years at any humanities course is a steal when compared to 4 years at any Out of State of Private US uni.
Scottish unis are 4 years, but still relatively cheaper than us Unis if you are comparing Out of State unis and Private unis with no merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in the uk for ten years and DD is just finishing up A level exams. I would have loved for her to study at a university here, but it was just going to be too much money. It was going to be about £45k/year. That’s in pounds so figure $60k/year? Good luck getting a good rate. And that’s not even with room/board.

She got a full tuition FA scholarship to a T20 in the states and will go there. We have a HHI just under 200k. (But she’s also got a merit scholarship for even more at a school in the top 40 and one in the top 70.)

The 45,000 GBP/year is only at a very few UK universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, etc.). There are several excellent universities - eg., Durham - that cost considerably less than that for tuition and fees, especiall for humanities/social sciences.

Yep, people here only look at the most expensive courses at Oxbridge/Imperial.
Durham for 3 years at any humanities course is a steal when compared to 4 years at any Out of State of Private US uni.
Scottish unis are 4 years, but still relatively cheaper than us Unis if you are comparing Out of State unis and Private unis with no merit.

Durham is $61k pound for tuition, room and board. The Cost of Attendance (COA) at Durham University varies significantly based on fee status. For UK ("Home") undergraduate students, tuition fees are £9,790 per year. For international (Overseas) students, tuition ranges from £28,500 to £41,000 annually, with living expenses adding roughly £15,000 to £20,000.

[Anonymous]

Everything is high in the UK. Food is significantly more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in the uk for ten years and DD is just finishing up A level exams. I would have loved for her to study at a university here, but it was just going to be too much money. It was going to be about £45k/year. That’s in pounds so figure $60k/year? Good luck getting a good rate. And that’s not even with room/board.

She got a full tuition FA scholarship to a T20 in the states and will go there. We have a HHI just under 200k. (But she’s also got a merit scholarship for even more at a school in the top 40 and one in the top 70.)

The 45,000 GBP/year is only at a very few UK universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, etc.). There are several excellent universities - eg., Durham - that cost considerably less than that for tuition and fees, especiall for humanities/social sciences.

Yep, people here only look at the most expensive courses at Oxbridge/Imperial.
Durham for 3 years at any humanities course is a steal when compared to 4 years at any Out of State of Private US uni.
Scottish unis are 4 years, but still relatively cheaper than us Unis if you are comparing Out of State unis and Private unis with no merit.

Durham is $61k pound for tuition, room and board. The Cost of Attendance (COA) at Durham University varies significantly based on fee status. For UK ("Home") undergraduate students, tuition fees are £9,790 per year. For international (Overseas) students, tuition ranges from £28,500 to £41,000 annually, with living expenses adding roughly £15,000 to £20,000.

The 61k GBP is only for a limited number of courses with a high end living expense amount. Many courses are 28.5k GBP which, when combined with 15k GBP for living costs, amounts to 43.5k GBP. Multiply that by 3 years and you get 130.5k total, which is roughly $174, 000. That's a LOT cheaper than highly rated U.S. privates, many of which are nearing $400k for all 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Good luck getting into any of these candaian or European schools they've been flooded by indians and other migrants

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey everyone,
Following up on the conversations I see around here and other places about why more US students are looking at universities overseas. I've been going down the rabbit hole on this with my husband and my kids. My son is a Junior and daughter a Freshman. Thye have both brought up the possibility of maybe going abroad for college. My husband went to grad school in the UK and Italy so he is all for it. I’m not yet sold on it.

While it's tempting to focus on the positives, I think it's smarter to start with the real-world downsides. The biggest one for me is the career question. Let's be honest, if you go to Oxford, Cambridge, or LSE, your degree will open doors anywhere. But what if you go to a really solid, but less famous, university in the UK, Netherlands, Italy or Canada? How do grads from those schools do when they try to find a job back in the States? I worry that a hiring manager in, say, Chicago might just toss a resume because they don't recognize the school's name.

You're also thousands of miles away from US-based career fairs and the alumni network that helps people land their first job. A college consultant who specializes in EU/Canadian and UK schools actually told us that outside of Oxbridge and LSE/Imperial, we should focus only on the top 12 schools in the UK or the top 3 in each of the other EU countries. Her reasoning was that all US grad schools and the vast majority of top US companies know these specific schools, even if the general public doesn't. She said the real issue is with local or regional employers who won't recognize the name. But her point was, if your goal is to work for a local company back home, then why go abroad in the first place?

Beyond that, you're obviously giving up the traditional "American college experience." The whole campus life, dorm culture, college sports, and clubs are just a different world over there. And we can't ignore the personal side. It's a huge move. You have to deal with visa paperwork, international banking, and the very real possibility of getting homesick and not having your support system a quick flight away. It’s a serious trade-off that goes way beyond academics. This mom is a little concerned.

Now with the scary stuff out of the way, the pros are still massive. The most obvious is the cost, which is just staggering. We're talking about the potential to get a degree for a price that's less than a single year at some private US colleges. The math is pretty compelling: with many EU public universities having tuition at a fraction of US schools, the savings are life-changing. Specially if you are able to invest that savings on behalf of your kids for when they graduate. But beyond the practical stuff, I realize there's the huge benefit of actually living in a different culture for three or four years. I have to imagine that navigating a new country, becoming more independent, and seeing the world from a completely different perspective forces you to grow as an individual in a way that staying in the US just can't replicate. For kids with an interest in global business, History, Languages or international relations, this experience seems like a no-brainer. You'd be living and breathing cross-cultural communication and could potentially pick up another language, skills that can really set you apart.

But the last piece of the puzzle I was curious about was the return plan. It seems like coming back to the US for a graduate degree is a well-worn path. US Master's programs and even J.D. programs are very used to seeing applicants with international degrees. I wonder how many kids simply stay in Canada/EU/UK after graduation. Would love to hear from parents here who have had this experience before with their kids.

Sorry for the long post.

I’ve attended universities in the US, UK , & Canada. For Americans, unless you don’t care even a little bit about football games & classic American college experience, I’d recommend getting the bachelor’s in the US & a master’s/doctorate degree in Canada or Europe (rather than vice versa). That keeps the logistical expenses & inconveniences (travel expenses, visas etc) to a minimum, but you still get the international experience. The foreign graduate degrees tend to be fairly streamlined compared to most American programs.

If you can’t find an affordable American bachelor’s degree, keep looking—there is a ton of merit & need scholarship money out there. If you keep looking, you will find it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good luck getting into any of these candaian or European schools they've been flooded by indians and other migrants

This. EU students can attend colleges in other EU countries.

[Anonymous]

2 Year community college followed by transfer to state U. for the last two years offers the best value in the US

[Anonymous]

Expect extremely heavy drinking culture in the UK, more so than on our college campuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good luck getting into any of these candaian or European schools they've been flooded by indians and other migrants

Migrants that can likely spell “Canadian,” though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in the uk for ten years and DD is just finishing up A level exams. I would have loved for her to study at a university here, but it was just going to be too much money. It was going to be about £45k/year. That’s in pounds so figure $60k/year? Good luck getting a good rate. And that’s not even with room/board.

She got a full tuition FA scholarship to a T20 in the states and will go there. We have a HHI just under 200k. (But she’s also got a merit scholarship for even more at a school in the top 40 and one in the top 70.)

If you live in the UK for five + years, shouldn't your DC be eligible for resident tuition? Fees at Oxbridge are based on residence, not on citizenship.

In a word, no. There are a few stipulations for non-British residents, which we are, like which particular visa you hold and how many years you’ve lived here. For us I believe it has something to do with our settled status. We do not have indefinite leave to return or something like that. The jargon is hard to remember.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in the uk for ten years and DD is just finishing up A level exams. I would have loved for her to study at a university here, but it was just going to be too much money. It was going to be about £45k/year. That’s in pounds so figure $60k/year? Good luck getting a good rate. And that’s not even with room/board.

She got a full tuition FA scholarship to a T20 in the states and will go there. We have a HHI just under 200k. (But she’s also got a merit scholarship for even more at a school in the top 40 and one in the top 70.)

If you live in the UK for five + years, shouldn't your DC be eligible for resident tuition? Fees at Oxbridge are based on residence, not on citizenship.

In a word, no. There are a few stipulations for non-British residents, which we are, like which particular visa you hold and how many years you’ve lived here. For us I believe it has something to do with our settled status. We do not have indefinite leave to return or something like that. The jargon is hard to remember.

Bummer. But I suppose it makes sense for UK taxpayers not to subsidize your kids, if they don't even have permission to remain in the UK.