How to encourage DD to consider international schools

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:As someone who was an international student in college (all 4 years) I can tell you that it was EXTREMELY hard to be completely on my own in a country I knew very little about. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever done and I was completely on board with being here. Cheaper or not, do not do this if she is not in favor of it.

Being at university and on your own for the first time is hard for most kids. I have American relatives with kids at Canadian universities, and their kids are super happy to be there. Any college pangs of the first year were due to just being at college with a new set of people for the first time, not because it was Canadian.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Sure, someone from Michigan isn't going to have a hard time being a couple of hours away in a country that's basically the same as the US. Someone going to the UK, Sweden, or Germany is going to have a much different experience. If you haven't done it, you shouldn't be telling us how easy it was.

How did you get to be an adult without realizing your experiences are not universal? Sorry that being an international student during college was traumatic for you. It isn't traumatic for everyone.

I shared the stories of my family members who are happy in Canada, because the OP specifically asked about how to get their kid interested in the possibility of universities in Canada. If you want to believe it's false and that they're secretly traumatized, then that's the fault of your own brain.

You clearly haven't attended a school on a different continent at 17 so please stop telling me or anyone else what the experience is like. The fault of your brain is that you think you know better than the person with first hand experience.

What is wrong with you? OP literally asked people to share experiences about how to encourage their DD to consider international schools. That's what people are doing.

What is wrong with you? Have you attended an international university thousands of miles away from home? I have! I shared my personal experience. It takes a special kind of idiot to think that it's OK to push your child into this, knowing they don't want to do it just to save a buck. It's not something a loving parent does.

Feel free to offer your bank account to pay for American universities for these poor "abused" high school students. There's nothing wrong with sending kids overseas to college and to encourage them to think more broadly beyond borders to consider good options at cheaper schools that aren't immediately obvious to a 17 year old. My friend's kid has been having a great time studying at LSE. Yes, it's a different time zone, but it's the same distance by plane as sending your kid from the DMV to California. And it's less than half the price of NYU, the school she turned down to attend LSE.

Not half : Econ degree at LSE is 34k pounds — that’s 46,000 U.S. NYU is 69k tuition. But, of course, plenty of schools that are NYU caliber in the U.S. that offer merit aid. NYU would not be the choice of penny pinchers in the first place, so it is hard to argue the UK was necesssary for “cost” reasons. Your friend is being disingenuous.

You must be awfully rich if you think a savings of 24K per year isn't meaningful. Also, LSE is typically a 3 year undergrad degree (can be extended to 4 in some cases, but for most it's three). That's (24*3)+80 that would have been paid for a 4th year at NYU that the parents are saving by sending their kid to LSE. That's a 150K savings for LSE vs. NYU.

+1 Have a family member at King's College in London. It's much cheaper than the private schools they got into in the USA. And the student member has loved his experience so far.

[Anonymous]

I think the whole idea is ridiculous. OP, if you want to encourage your kid to consider attending college abroad, saddle up and take a trip there over the summer.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:As someone who was an international student in college (all 4 years) I can tell you that it was EXTREMELY hard to be completely on my own in a country I knew very little about. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever done and I was completely on board with being here. Cheaper or not, do not do this if she is not in favor of it.

Being at university and on your own for the first time is hard for most kids. I have American relatives with kids at Canadian universities, and their kids are super happy to be there. Any college pangs of the first year were due to just being at college with a new set of people for the first time, not because it was Canadian.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Sure, someone from Michigan isn't going to have a hard time being a couple of hours away in a country that's basically the same as the US. Someone going to the UK, Sweden, or Germany is going to have a much different experience. If you haven't done it, you shouldn't be telling us how easy it was.

How did you get to be an adult without realizing your experiences are not universal? Sorry that being an international student during college was traumatic for you. It isn't traumatic for everyone.

I shared the stories of my family members who are happy in Canada, because the OP specifically asked about how to get their kid interested in the possibility of universities in Canada. If you want to believe it's false and that they're secretly traumatized, then that's the fault of your own brain.

You clearly haven't attended a school on a different continent at 17 so please stop telling me or anyone else what the experience is like. The fault of your brain is that you think you know better than the person with first hand experience.

I'm sorry your brain thinks it knows who is posting on DCUM and what their educational background is. You don't get to censor people sharing experiences that are different from your own, and I'm sorry for you that you can't see beyond your own narrow experience.

And you don't get to censor me when I share my personal experience. Learn how to read as well. You're ignorant on so many levels.

No one is censoring you. They're just sharing experiences that are different from yours and you attack them and say they don't know what they're talking about. Sorry your international education was of such poor quality that it didn't teach you to read properly or to understand others.

YOU ATTACKED ME! I simply shared my experience and said nothing offensive to OP. You chose to berate me about the "fault with my brain." Go away, dumb troll.

You said "you have no idea what you're talking about" when someone shared an experience different to your own. That might be indicative that something IS wrong with your brain.

You don't have any idea because you haven't done it. Your insistence that you do know is VERY indicative that you're just plain dumb.

Where did we all go to college? What country? Do let us know, as you seem to have very "special" powers of deduction. Also, there are multiple people posting on this thread.

I shared my experience of how difficult it was for a 17 year old to be in a completely different country/culture/language thousands of miles away from family. If that's inconceivable to you, I really don't want to keep responding. I came here to the US to go to college. I offered a perspective and it's a valid one. Not sure why you are hell bent on dismissing my experience.

No one dismissed your experience. They just posted experiences talking about students who were happy studying internationally yours and you attacked them rudely by saying "they didn't know what they were talking about" and to "stop telling people what "the experience" was like". As if there's only one type of experience all students studying internationally have. Smh.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:As someone who was an international student in college (all 4 years) I can tell you that it was EXTREMELY hard to be completely on my own in a country I knew very little about. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever done and I was completely on board with being here. Cheaper or not, do not do this if she is not in favor of it.

Being at university and on your own for the first time is hard for most kids. I have American relatives with kids at Canadian universities, and their kids are super happy to be there. Any college pangs of the first year were due to just being at college with a new set of people for the first time, not because it was Canadian.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Sure, someone from Michigan isn't going to have a hard time being a couple of hours away in a country that's basically the same as the US. Someone going to the UK, Sweden, or Germany is going to have a much different experience. If you haven't done it, you shouldn't be telling us how easy it was.

How did you get to be an adult without realizing your experiences are not universal? Sorry that being an international student during college was traumatic for you. It isn't traumatic for everyone.

I shared the stories of my family members who are happy in Canada, because the OP specifically asked about how to get their kid interested in the possibility of universities in Canada. If you want to believe it's false and that they're secretly traumatized, then that's the fault of your own brain.

You clearly haven't attended a school on a different continent at 17 so please stop telling me or anyone else what the experience is like. The fault of your brain is that you think you know better than the person with first hand experience.

I'm sorry your brain thinks it knows who is posting on DCUM and what their educational background is. You don't get to censor people sharing experiences that are different from your own, and I'm sorry for you that you can't see beyond your own narrow experience.

And you don't get to censor me when I share my personal experience. Learn how to read as well. You're ignorant on so many levels.

No one is censoring you. They're just sharing experiences that are different from yours and you attack them and say they don't know what they're talking about. Sorry your international education was of such poor quality that it didn't teach you to read properly or to understand others.

YOU ATTACKED ME! I simply shared my experience and said nothing offensive to OP. You chose to berate me about the "fault with my brain." Go away, dumb troll.

You said "you have no idea what you're talking about" when someone shared an experience different to your own. That might be indicative that something IS wrong with your brain.

You don't have any idea because you haven't done it. Your insistence that you do know is VERY indicative that you're just plain dumb.

Where did we all go to college? What country? Do let us know, as you seem to have very "special" powers of deduction. Also, there are multiple people posting on this thread.

I shared my experience of how difficult it was for a 17 year old to be in a completely different country/culture/language thousands of miles away from family. If that's inconceivable to you, I really don't want to keep responding. I came here to the US to go to college. I offered a perspective and it's a valid one. Not sure why you are hell bent on dismissing my experience.

No one dismissed your experience. They just posted experiences talking about students who were happy studying internationally yours and you attacked them rudely by saying "they didn't know what they were talking about" and to "stop telling people what "the experience" was like". As if there's only one type of experience all students studying internationally have. Smh.

Please for the love of God learn how to read. I didn't attack a person for simply sharing that others have different experiences from mine. I did attack her for saying that there is something wrong with me for having and sharing the experience I had. I did tell the person who compared Canada to Europe clueless, because that is a clueless comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like DD to consider European or Canadian universities if she is not admitted to a T15 in U.S.. I believe she has the stats and a strong chance of admission to some international schools. Studying abroad would be an amazing experience for her and could also offer a significantly more affordable education. She could then use the remaining funds for graduate school in the U.S., which is a path she is likely to pursue. However, she is adamant about staying in the U.S. How do I encourage her to seriously consider international schools?

Dual citizen? Any exposure to other places? Dont force.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would refrain from PUSHING your kid towards an international school.

I would open their minds and view by exposing them to the idea when they are HS Freshman or Sophomores….but let them decide.

We travelled a lot. One summer (between Fresh and Soph HS yr) we were in Italy and when in Milan we accidentally passed in front of these amazing buidling that happened to be Bocconi. My son asked what that was and when we told him it was an amazing business school his brain started working….we came back to Europe between Soph and Junior year to specifically tour EU and UK schools since he was enamored but not sold on the idea.

HE spent a month abroad between his Jr and Sr at a U program in Italy and this gave him the confidence to apply in his Sr year. We didnt force anything, only opened his eyes.

Some kids will want to explore the idea, others like my daughter will straight up say, no, not for me.

Agree 100%. Don’t force it. Simply expose them to it and let them decide. Some kids will have an interest and others wont. On avg it will be much cheaper than a US college when you consider 3 vs 4 years. Unless you are in Scotland or Ireland, then it is also 4 years and while cheaper, it is not that much cheaper.

At our house the decision was, if IVY or t20, stay in the US. If Best option was T-20 - T-40 type schools then it would be a pros/cons decision, but again, we let our kid decide. He got in USC and NYU and decided to go abroad.

Hundreds if not thousands of international kids come to US universities every year. They have fun, they frolic and they consume Americana voraciously. If international parents can countenance such an endeavor so can you. Whatever happened to rugged individuality that Americans were known for?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:As someone who was an international student in college (all 4 years) I can tell you that it was EXTREMELY hard to be completely on my own in a country I knew very little about. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever done and I was completely on board with being here. Cheaper or not, do not do this if she is not in favor of it.

Being at university and on your own for the first time is hard for most kids. I have American relatives with kids at Canadian universities, and their kids are super happy to be there. Any college pangs of the first year were due to just being at college with a new set of people for the first time, not because it was Canadian.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Sure, someone from Michigan isn't going to have a hard time being a couple of hours away in a country that's basically the same as the US. Someone going to the UK, Sweden, or Germany is going to have a much different experience. If you haven't done it, you shouldn't be telling us how easy it was.

How did you get to be an adult without realizing your experiences are not universal? Sorry that being an international student during college was traumatic for you. It isn't traumatic for everyone.

I shared the stories of my family members who are happy in Canada, because the OP specifically asked about how to get their kid interested in the possibility of universities in Canada. If you want to believe it's false and that they're secretly traumatized, then that's the fault of your own brain.

You clearly haven't attended a school on a different continent at 17 so please stop telling me or anyone else what the experience is like. The fault of your brain is that you think you know better than the person with first hand experience.

What is wrong with you? OP literally asked people to share experiences about how to encourage their DD to consider international schools. That's what people are doing.

What is wrong with you? Have you attended an international university thousands of miles away from home? I have! I shared my personal experience. It takes a special kind of idiot to think that it's OK to push your child into this, knowing they don't want to do it just to save a buck. It's not something a loving parent does.

Feel free to offer your bank account to pay for American universities for these poor "abused" high school students. There's nothing wrong with sending kids overseas to college and to encourage them to think more broadly beyond borders to consider good options at cheaper schools that aren't immediately obvious to a 17 year old. My friend's kid has been having a great time studying at LSE. Yes, it's a different time zone, but it's the same distance by plane as sending your kid from the DMV to California. And it's less than half the price of NYU, the school she turned down to attend LSE.

Not half : Econ degree at LSE is 34k pounds — that’s 46,000 U.S. NYU is 69k tuition. But, of course, plenty of schools that are NYU caliber in the U.S. that offer merit aid. NYU would not be the choice of penny pinchers in the first place, so it is hard to argue the UK was necesssary for “cost” reasons. Your friend is being disingenuous.

You must be awfully rich if you think a savings of 24K per year isn't meaningful. Also, LSE is typically a 3 year undergrad degree (can be extended to 4 in some cases, but for most it's three). That's (24*3)+80 that would have been paid for a 4th year at NYU that the parents are saving by sending their kid to LSE. That's a 150K savings for LSE vs. NYU.

+1 Have a family member at King's College in London. It's much cheaper than the private schools they got into in the USA. And the student member has loved his experience so far.

KCL is a great college. I know several faculty there. All are very sharp, but also kind to students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who was an international student in college (all 4 years) I can tell you that it was EXTREMELY hard to be completely on my own in a country I knew very little about. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever done and I was completely on board with being here. Cheaper or not, do not do this if she is not in favor of it.

Being at university and on your own for the first time is hard for most kids. I have American relatives with kids at Canadian universities, and their kids are super happy to be there. Any college pangs of the first year were due to just being at college with a new set of people for the first time, not because it was Canadian.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Sure, someone from Michigan isn't going to have a hard time being a couple of hours away in a country that's basically the same as the US. Someone going to the UK, Sweden, or Germany is going to have a much different experience. If you haven't done it, you shouldn't be telling us how easy it was.

How did you get to be an adult without realizing your experiences are not universal? Sorry that being an international student during college was traumatic for you. It isn't traumatic for everyone.

I shared the stories of my family members who are happy in Canada, because the OP specifically asked about how to get their kid interested in the possibility of universities in Canada. If you want to believe it's false and that they're secretly traumatized, then that's the fault of your own brain.

You clearly haven't attended a school on a different continent at 17 so please stop telling me or anyone else what the experience is like. The fault of your brain is that you think you know better than the person with first hand experience.

What is wrong with you? OP literally asked people to share experiences about how to encourage their DD to consider international schools. That's what people are doing.

What is wrong with you? Have you attended an international university thousands of miles away from home? I have! I shared my personal experience. It takes a special kind of idiot to think that it's OK to push your child into this, knowing they don't want to do it just to save a buck. It's not something a loving parent does.

Feel free to offer your bank account to pay for American universities for these poor "abused" high school students. There's nothing wrong with sending kids overseas to college and to encourage them to think more broadly beyond borders to consider good options at cheaper schools that aren't immediately obvious to a 17 year old. My friend's kid has been having a great time studying at LSE. Yes, it's a different time zone, but it's the same distance by plane as sending your kid from the DMV to California. And it's less than half the price of NYU, the school she turned down to attend LSE.

Not half : Econ degree at LSE is 34k pounds — that’s 46,000 U.S. NYU is 69k tuition. But, of course, plenty of schools that are NYU caliber in the U.S. that offer merit aid. NYU would not be the choice of penny pinchers in the first place, so it is hard to argue the UK was necesssary for “cost” reasons. Your friend is being disingenuous.

You must be awfully rich if you think a savings of 24K per year isn't meaningful. Also, LSE is typically a 3 year undergrad degree (can be extended to 4 in some cases, but for most it's three). That's (24*3)+80 that would have been paid for a 4th year at NYU that the parents are saving by sending their kid to LSE. That's a 150K savings for LSE vs. NYU.

You do not understand the point: it is not NYU vs. LSE. Cost conscious folks would never consider NYU to begin with; the comparison is between a private with merit vs. LSE.

Your assumption that the 3-year degree will be “it” is also questionable. LSE probably will probably make grad school more necessary, as there is less time and opportunity for internships and no right to work long-term in the UK. Whatever is done in that 4th year to compensate will cost money.

Finally, great calculations and all - I know you put in the college try - but you are assuming, wrongly, that NYU is 4 years. Assuming DC is a competitive applicant, DC is going to have lots of AP scores, no? NYU is unusually generous for a private in the APs for which they apply credit — up to 32 credits, or an entire year. Gosh, that makes it 3 years. At the very least, your DC would have had a semester of credit, so it is 3.5 years vs. 3.

[Anonymous]

If your kid isn't interested, don't push too hard.

DH is from the UK, and we tried to convince our kids to go to the UK for uni. They entertained the idea for a bit, and we researched it. We told them that they wouldn't need to take gened classes (both hate that they have to do this), and that most unis allow for a 1 year internship (paid). And as you stated, it's still cheaper for us, and they would have $$ leftover.

On paper, it sounds great, but they still preferred to stay here.

DC#1 is doing great, straight As, and has a great internship lined up for this summer. They've been living their best life, and I don't think they regret their decision one bit.

I, oth, wished at least one of my kids went to the UK for uni so that I had an excuse to go live there for several months out of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who was an international student in college (all 4 years) I can tell you that it was EXTREMELY hard to be completely on my own in a country I knew very little about. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever done and I was completely on board with being here. Cheaper or not, do not do this if she is not in favor of it.

Being at university and on your own for the first time is hard for most kids. I have American relatives with kids at Canadian universities, and their kids are super happy to be there. Any college pangs of the first year were due to just being at college with a new set of people for the first time, not because it was Canadian.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Sure, someone from Michigan isn't going to have a hard time being a couple of hours away in a country that's basically the same as the US. Someone going to the UK, Sweden, or Germany is going to have a much different experience. If you haven't done it, you shouldn't be telling us how easy it was.

How did you get to be an adult without realizing your experiences are not universal? Sorry that being an international student during college was traumatic for you. It isn't traumatic for everyone.

I shared the stories of my family members who are happy in Canada, because the OP specifically asked about how to get their kid interested in the possibility of universities in Canada. If you want to believe it's false and that they're secretly traumatized, then that's the fault of your own brain.

You clearly haven't attended a school on a different continent at 17 so please stop telling me or anyone else what the experience is like. The fault of your brain is that you think you know better than the person with first hand experience.

What is wrong with you? OP literally asked people to share experiences about how to encourage their DD to consider international schools. That's what people are doing.

What is wrong with you? Have you attended an international university thousands of miles away from home? I have! I shared my personal experience. It takes a special kind of idiot to think that it's OK to push your child into this, knowing they don't want to do it just to save a buck. It's not something a loving parent does.

Feel free to offer your bank account to pay for American universities for these poor "abused" high school students. There's nothing wrong with sending kids overseas to college and to encourage them to think more broadly beyond borders to consider good options at cheaper schools that aren't immediately obvious to a 17 year old. My friend's kid has been having a great time studying at LSE. Yes, it's a different time zone, but it's the same distance by plane as sending your kid from the DMV to California. And it's less than half the price of NYU, the school she turned down to attend LSE.

Not half : Econ degree at LSE is 34k pounds — that’s 46,000 U.S. NYU is 69k tuition. But, of course, plenty of schools that are NYU caliber in the U.S. that offer merit aid. NYU would not be the choice of penny pinchers in the first place, so it is hard to argue the UK was necesssary for “cost” reasons. Your friend is being disingenuous.

You must be awfully rich if you think a savings of 24K per year isn't meaningful. Also, LSE is typically a 3 year undergrad degree (can be extended to 4 in some cases, but for most it's three). That's (24*3)+80 that would have been paid for a 4th year at NYU that the parents are saving by sending their kid to LSE. That's a 150K savings for LSE vs. NYU.

You do not understand the point: it is not NYU vs. LSE. Cost conscious folks would never consider NYU to begin with; the comparison is between a private with merit vs. LSE.

Your assumption that the 3-year degree will be “it” is also questionable. LSE probably will probably make grad school more necessary, as there is less time and opportunity for internships and no right to work long-term in the UK. Whatever is done in that 4th year to compensate will cost money.

Finally, great calculations and all - I know you put in the college try - but you are assuming, wrongly, that NYU is 4 years. Assuming DC is a competitive applicant, DC is going to have lots of AP scores, no? NYU is unusually generous for a private in the APs for which they apply credit — up to 32 credits, or an entire year. Gosh, that makes it 3 years. At the very least, your DC would have had a semester of credit, so it is 3.5 years vs. 3.

Most UK unis allow for a one year paid internship as part of the degree program. They wouldn't be doing "nothing", and the tuition cost for that year is minimal.

Most students in the UK don't go to grad school. Where are you getting your info from?

[Anonymous]

People will really banish their kids to Europe over just sending them to a state flagship SMH

[Anonymous]

I understand where you are coming from, OP. The price of private universities in the US as well as the ridiculous emphasis on sports definitely has me looking internationally. My oldest considered, applied, and was accepted at a couple of great schools in Canada and EU. But you should be aware that schools outside the US do not do much hand-holding at all. When it came right down to it, my kid got nervous about how much more adult the experience would be from day 1, and how unsupported he'd find himself. It also was very intimidating for him to realize that he couldn't change his mind about his major. As in... he would have to drop out of the program and reapply to the university with no credit.

I would have been very excited if he had chosen to go but I understood that the reality was more challenging than he realized at the outset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who was an international student in college (all 4 years) I can tell you that it was EXTREMELY hard to be completely on my own in a country I knew very little about. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever done and I was completely on board with being here. Cheaper or not, do not do this if she is not in favor of it.

Being at university and on your own for the first time is hard for most kids. I have American relatives with kids at Canadian universities, and their kids are super happy to be there. Any college pangs of the first year were due to just being at college with a new set of people for the first time, not because it was Canadian.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Sure, someone from Michigan isn't going to have a hard time being a couple of hours away in a country that's basically the same as the US. Someone going to the UK, Sweden, or Germany is going to have a much different experience. If you haven't done it, you shouldn't be telling us how easy it was.

How did you get to be an adult without realizing your experiences are not universal? Sorry that being an international student during college was traumatic for you. It isn't traumatic for everyone.

I shared the stories of my family members who are happy in Canada, because the OP specifically asked about how to get their kid interested in the possibility of universities in Canada. If you want to believe it's false and that they're secretly traumatized, then that's the fault of your own brain.

You clearly haven't attended a school on a different continent at 17 so please stop telling me or anyone else what the experience is like. The fault of your brain is that you think you know better than the person with first hand experience.

What is wrong with you? OP literally asked people to share experiences about how to encourage their DD to consider international schools. That's what people are doing.

What is wrong with you? Have you attended an international university thousands of miles away from home? I have! I shared my personal experience. It takes a special kind of idiot to think that it's OK to push your child into this, knowing they don't want to do it just to save a buck. It's not something a loving parent does.

Feel free to offer your bank account to pay for American universities for these poor "abused" high school students. There's nothing wrong with sending kids overseas to college and to encourage them to think more broadly beyond borders to consider good options at cheaper schools that aren't immediately obvious to a 17 year old. My friend's kid has been having a great time studying at LSE. Yes, it's a different time zone, but it's the same distance by plane as sending your kid from the DMV to California. And it's less than half the price of NYU, the school she turned down to attend LSE.

Not half : Econ degree at LSE is 34k pounds — that’s 46,000 U.S. NYU is 69k tuition. But, of course, plenty of schools that are NYU caliber in the U.S. that offer merit aid. NYU would not be the choice of penny pinchers in the first place, so it is hard to argue the UK was necesssary for “cost” reasons. Your friend is being disingenuous.

You must be awfully rich if you think a savings of 24K per year isn't meaningful. Also, LSE is typically a 3 year undergrad degree (can be extended to 4 in some cases, but for most it's three). That's (24*3)+80 that would have been paid for a 4th year at NYU that the parents are saving by sending their kid to LSE. That's a 150K savings for LSE vs. NYU.

You do not understand the point: it is not NYU vs. LSE. Cost conscious folks would never consider NYU to begin with; the comparison is between a private with merit vs. LSE.

Your assumption that the 3-year degree will be “it” is also questionable. LSE probably will probably make grad school more necessary, as there is less time and opportunity for internships and no right to work long-term in the UK. Whatever is done in that 4th year to compensate will cost money.

Finally, great calculations and all - I know you put in the college try - but you are assuming, wrongly, that NYU is 4 years. Assuming DC is a competitive applicant, DC is going to have lots of AP scores, no? NYU is unusually generous for a private in the APs for which they apply credit — up to 32 credits, or an entire year. Gosh, that makes it 3 years. At the very least, your DC would have had a semester of credit, so it is 3.5 years vs. 3.

DP. All of the bolded are incorrect assumptions or incomplete generalizations.

First, while extremely cost sensitive people wouldn’t apply to NYU, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t weigh an option that saves more than $150k (note that it is “more than,” as LSE freezes tuition at the rate of the year you enter and that fourth year at NYU is $100k all in). Even shaving off a semester at NYU puts it at more than $120k. That could easily be the difference between leaning entirely on a 529 versus needing to cash flow $30-$40k a year for four years.

Second, most kids who graduate from LSE undergrad don’t go on for more school immediately. It’s an option made available by a 3 year program, but it isn’t necessary. I would agree that there is a job advantage of launching into a New York-based job from NYU versus London. But that’s a different conversation.

[Anonymous]

Take her to visit one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand where you are coming from, OP. The price of private universities in the US as well as the ridiculous emphasis on sports definitely has me looking internationally. My oldest considered, applied, and was accepted at a couple of great schools in Canada and EU. But you should be aware that schools outside the US do not do much hand-holding at all. When it came right down to it, my kid got nervous about how much more adult the experience would be from day 1, and how unsupported he'd find himself. It also was very intimidating for him to realize that he couldn't change his mind about his major. As in... he would have to drop out of the program and reapply to the university with no credit.

I would have been very excited if he had chosen to go but I understood that the reality was more challenging than he realized at the outset.

+1 College students in Europe have to mature a lot more faster than the kids in the US. This is one of the reasons why it wasn't a good fit for DC to go there (I'm a pp who wanted my kid to go to a uni in the UK) .