Going to Europe for college?

[Anonymous]

Also have to factor in currency exchange. When I was at St Andrews as an American way back in 1990 the Gulf War caused havoc with the pound to dollar exchange. Invasion came right around when tuition was due. Right now it is favorable to dollar but it is significant risk factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Quality is same as here, there are great schools, good schools and meh schools

No, they're not (and that's an unhelpfully vague split-the-difference response for a detail-oriented DCUM website, where readers often submit dozens of comments on the perceived differences between "T20" and "T25" schools).

All the ranking surveys of global universities disproportionately over-represent the leading US universities toward the top, and under-represent EU universities. If you look at the Shanghai (ARWU) rankings - am going Chinese to avoid any home-town bias with USNews or London Times, etc -- 17 of the top 25 ranked global universities are in the US. Of the top 100 ARWU global universities, of which the US has 39, (non-EU) UK and Switzerland, and the (EU) Nordics, have proportionate representation, but of the larger EU members, Germany has only 4, France has only four, Italy none, Spain none, etc.

You might say "well, my kid isn't getting into Stanford, so those top rankings are moot." Maybe. But to look at it another way, a ~B student who goes to one of the US schools that's ranked 40th-55th among US universities on this list -- say, schools like CU Boulder or Arizona or Pitt or Ohio State or Indiana (that accept 60-80% of their applicants) -- is still going to a university that's ranked among the top 150 in the whole world. By comparison, if you go to the 50th best university in Germany, you haven't cracked the global top 1000. If you to the 30th best university in France, you haven't cracked the global top 1000. In Italy and Spain, if you don't go to one of their top ten universities, you're not in the top 500 in the world. Those are meaningful distinctions in perceived educational quality, at least to employers and grad schools (if not to PP).

50th university in Germany? Who goes there?

One of th advantages of some European universities is admission criteria. They often don’t care about extraxurrixulars, soup kitchens, having a good story etc.for some kids it’s much easier to get into a top schools in Europe than in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of mythical romanticism about Europe here in States.

Yeah, lots of that around the DMV, in particular. So pretentious.

[Anonymous]

We're an expat family that has spent much of our kids formative years overseas (currently in D.C.). The view we have is that "they can get a good education" in many different countries, but they should be looking at a university that supports their longer-term plans for work and residence. For example, going to school in Romania to get a job in Kansas isn't exactly the easiest way into the Midwestern career and lifestyle, if that's what they want.

Our oldest is currently a junior and it is something we are considering, but it would have to be a well known school with good academics, like an Ox-bridge, LSE, Sorbonne, or school that has a name that travels to help them in their future career. In the end I'm hoping our kid follows their academic pursuits first at the best school for that course of study (wherever it may be) but still has the options later in life to move around if they so desire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of mythical romanticism about Europe here in States.

Yeah, lots of that around the DMV, in particular. So pretentious.

My oldest is just starting college and had several friends who focused on European & UK schools. They focused on some of the usual suspects -- Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Kings, LSE, etc. But they were also applying to schools that frankly seemed really questionable - Leeds? Bristol? I think there was an assumption of some kind of cool factor associated with a British school...

[Anonymous]

Additional considerations relate to later employment, not only in connection with the reputation (or lack thereof) of a given given European university when evaluated by employers in the U.S.

It may be difficult or impossible to identify and compete for U.S.-based summer jobs and internships relevant to future career opportunities and (related to that issue) University post-graduation placement capabilities are unlikely to extend to the U.S. U.S. employers probably will not recruit on campus as they do within the U.S., either.

Those issues would not prevent someone from obtaining later full-time employment in the U.S., but may make doing so more challenging, and opportunities may be more limited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of mythical romanticism about Europe here in States.

Yeah, lots of that around the DMV, in particular. So pretentious.

My oldest is just starting college and had several friends who focused on European & UK schools. They focused on some of the usual suspects -- Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Kings, LSE, etc. But they were also applying to schools that frankly seemed really questionable - Leeds? Bristol? I think there was an assumption of some kind of cool factor associated with a British school...

UCAS allows you to apply to five schools with the same application. I'm guessing they were just throwing those schools in because they could. My dc applied and got into Durham but never seriously considered it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dual-citizen kid is looking at Trinity College Dublin. Non-resident tuition is still significantly cheaper than a private university in the US (as well as many of the top publics OOS). Travel costs would obviously be significant, as would living costs in Dublin. We have family in Dublin, as well, so kid would have some support in an emergency.

The big factor in our kid’s mind is travel and ability to come home easily. The DC-Dublin flight isn’t much longer than DC to the west coast, but the whole trip feels more stressful and challenging because of the international factor. We did it recently, and it had an impact on my kid’s feelings about the reality of going to school in Europe. But still seriously considering it (and will almost certainly apply).

We are in the same boat. We visited Trinity this summer and my DC loved it. The DC-Dublin flight is so easy, but I agree, the international factor makes it seem more complicated. My DC had a similar reaction. And like you, s/he is applying, but not sure what they will decide if they get in.