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

[Anonymous]

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

That is true. My kid is at Oxford for grad work and says the drinking is like nothing he saw at his state flagship

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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. [/quote]


But still more than in-state public. And still more than two years at community college, followed by two years in-state public. Check your figures - UK is now a lot more expensive than it was for Americans just a few years ago because of a flood of applicants trying to escape the American system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything is high in the UK. Food is significantly more.

No, food costs significantly less than in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

That is true. My kid is at Oxford for grad work and says the drinking is like nothing he saw at his state flagship

This has not been my Oxbridge kid's experience. He says they are big partiers, weekend partiers, and big nerds, just like at US top tier schools.

The big difference is that everyone over 18 is legally allowed to drink and the college/ dorm bars serve low-cost alcohol.

[Anonymous]

The drinking age in the UK is 18 officially, but many pubs will serve a 16 year old (and id checks are not usual).

[Anonymous]

The fact that several UK uni dorms serve alcohol is a surprise to many uptight American parents.

[Anonymous]

I cant even imagine how US unis would be if drinking was legal at 18…..My guess is that the % of kids graduating in 4 years would decrease substantially….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cant even imagine how US unis would be if drinking was legal at 18…..My guess is that the % of kids graduating in 4 years would decrease substantially….

Lol. It'd change nothing. You think kids don't touch alcohol until they're 21?

I was drinking and partying at 18. Elite university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cant even imagine how US unis would be if drinking was legal at 18…..My guess is that the % of kids graduating in 4 years would decrease substantially….

Lol. It'd change nothing. You think kids don't touch alcohol until they're 21?

I was drinking and partying at 18. Elite university.

There is a clear difference between underage drinking which all of us have experienced, and flat out legal drinking with dorms serving alcohol….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cant even imagine how US unis would be if drinking was legal at 18…..My guess is that the % of kids graduating in 4 years would decrease substantially….

Lol. It'd change nothing. You think kids don't touch alcohol until they're 21?

I was drinking and partying at 18. Elite university.

There is a clear difference between underage drinking which all of us have experienced, and flat out legal drinking with dorms serving alcohol….

What difference would you expect? One might predict that binge drinking is less common, as students who aren't forced to hide their behavoir can order a cocktail casually. However, I think binge drinking is common in both US and UK universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cant even imagine how US unis would be if drinking was legal at 18…..My guess is that the % of kids graduating in 4 years would decrease substantially….

Lol. It'd change nothing. You think kids don't touch alcohol until they're 21?

I was drinking and partying at 18. Elite university.

There is a clear difference between underage drinking which all of us have experienced, and flat out legal drinking with dorms serving alcohol….

Correct. Much better adjusted behavior in lower risk environments without breaking the law.

At the same time, the trend away from youth drinking is just as strong in the UK as it is in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cant even imagine how US unis would be if drinking was legal at 18…..My guess is that the % of kids graduating in 4 years would decrease substantially….

Lol. It'd change nothing. You think kids don't touch alcohol until they're 21?

I was drinking and partying at 18. Elite university.

There is a clear difference between underage drinking which all of us have experienced, and flat out legal drinking with dorms serving alcohol….

Correct. Much better adjusted behavior in lower risk environments without breaking the law.

At the same time, the trend away from youth drinking is just as strong in the UK as it is in the US.

My child studies in Dublin, which also has an 18-year-old drinking age and to some degree a binge-drinking culture. For whatever reason, maybe the fact that they can't manage to drink more than a pint (or at most two pints) of Guinness without feeling totally/uncomfortably full, and Guinness is their drink of choice, this has been less of a problem than I expected. I do think their generation, or at least their friend group, does not drink the way mine did in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cant even imagine how US unis would be if drinking was legal at 18…..My guess is that the % of kids graduating in 4 years would decrease substantially….

Lol. It'd change nothing. You think kids don't touch alcohol until they're 21?

I was drinking and partying at 18. Elite university.

There is a clear difference between underage drinking which all of us have experienced, and flat out legal drinking with dorms serving alcohol….

Correct. Much better adjusted behavior in lower risk environments without breaking the law.

At the same time, the trend away from youth drinking is just as strong in the UK as it is in the US.

I have a kid at St Andrews. While the environment is lower risk, I wouldn’t necessarily say the behavior is better adjusted. There is a lot of heavy drinking!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cant even imagine how US unis would be if drinking was legal at 18…..My guess is that the % of kids graduating in 4 years would decrease substantially….

Lol. It'd change nothing. You think kids don't touch alcohol until they're 21?

I was drinking and partying at 18. Elite university.

There is a clear difference between underage drinking which all of us have experienced, and flat out legal drinking with dorms serving alcohol….

Correct. Much better adjusted behavior in lower risk environments without breaking the law.

At the same time, the trend away from youth drinking is just as strong in the UK as it is in the US.

I have a kid at St Andrews. While the environment is lower risk, I wouldn’t necessarily say the behavior is better adjusted. There is a lot of heavy drinking!!

It is Scotland...those kids can drink....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that several UK uni dorms serve alcohol is a surprise to many uptight American parents.

Wine is served at my kid’s college dining room at Oxford. There is always pre-drinking. Then wine. Sherry, port and on and on. Even after a lecture the sherry cart would make an appearance.