Colleges in Paris and London.
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Anonymous
| Colleges in Paris and London. My rising senior is all over the place with where she wants to apply. But, is most interested in urban interesting locations. At this point whatever motivates the application is fine for me. Any recommendations on colleges in Paris or London or Rome I guess? Must be taught in English. |
Anonymous
| I took classes at the U of London on a study abroad program. I wish I could’ve stayed longer. |
Anonymous
|
Obviously all colleges in London will be taught in English. The Sorbonne in Paris will require fluent French and so will any University in Italy. You could also look at Germany and the Netherlands. There are undergraduate courses at Maastricht and Amsterdam taught in English and also some in Germany - normally the sciences though, for that. However German university is FREE for everyone so you'd only have a small admissions fee and then living costs. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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You don't mention what your DC would like to study but the main unis in London that Americans tend to apply to include London School of Economics, Imperial College London, University College London and Kings College London.
If your DD is interested in the social sciences, Sciences Po has programs that are taught in English in a variety of cities across France (although not Paris). My DD seriously considered a dual degree program between Sciences Po and Columbia that would have had her spend two years in Reims. It is a lovely city in its own right that is approximately an hour outside of Paris. |
Anonymous
| OP here. She is unsure at this point what she wants to study. I think probably will land on the business side of design or some thing in the hospitality realm. Nothing hugely academic. She does have a very service and activism oriented mind and spirit but I think would be bored by the curriculum part of international development. Even though that work would be a long-term good fit. Does anyone know anything about the American University in Paris? |
Anonymous
| Would she consider a dual degree from Columbia? They do a two years in France or two years Ireland program and you get a degree from the international school and Columbia. |
Anonymous
OP, I'm saying this as someone with a grad degree from the UK, a husband with two UK degrees and plenty of family and friends in the UK including several young relatives at university there right now: Have you and she researched how very different undergraduate degrees are structured there, compared to the US? If this is all known to you, sorry to repeat things you already know, but if you and she haven't delved deeply into the undergrad experience in the UK (I can't speak re: French or Italian universities), please consider: You say she's unsure what to study. That's a problem for the UK, where undergraduate studies are extremely focused on just one subject, period. They don't have the concept of "general college" or any time for a student to try out different classes to whittle down potential majors; you go to university in order to study the one topic for which you specifically apply to university. If a student decides part of the way through the three-year undergraduate program that she wants to "change majors" (a very US idea) -- she will basically be erasing all she's done and would have to start from scratch, mostly. It's not like the US, where for the first year to two years of undergrad, a student might take "general college" courses, fill requirements in several different areas, take some electives out of interest, etc. For example, our niece is studying chemistry and that's what she does--chemistry and tightly related subjects. She knew by age 16 that she wanted to do chemistry and her "high school" courses from 16-18 (roughly our "junior and senior years"), called A levels, were solely in chemistry, math and I'm not sure what else but it was another science. So your DD would be starting university with students who have been doing their one topic already for the last two years of "high school" in the UK, and who are there to study just that subject. It's very, very different from here. If your DD is undecided and has varied interests she really might want to do undergraduate here in the US and consider going to grad school in the UK. (You'll see posts here where some people think if you have an overseas grad degree it doesn't help you get jobs in the US -- that was a big thread not long ago. I have only found it a benefit to have a grad degree from outside the US!) Our DD (US born and raised) has a lot of different interests so wanted to do undergrad in the US at a LAC where she could taste and try several things before committing to a major, which is fine with us. In the UK, you are committed to the major from day one -- really, from the age of about 16 or so. It is very difficult to change your mind and there aren't the opportunities for electives done just out of interest. It's not impossible -- but you're expected to focus up on your one area of study. Something to consider as she looks overseas. Again, if you know this stuff already, sorry. I just saw you mentioned she was unsure what to study and that was kind of a red flag to me , knowing the UK system is geared toward students picking university programs based on the idea they know exactly what they plan to study. |
Anonymous
| If she wants to study hospitality- unless she wants to work internationally, she's better doing that at home in the USA. |
Anonymous
| We are French and considering the dual degree Columbia/Sciences Po. Too bad it isn't in Paris though, my child could stay for free at his grandparents'! |
Anonymous
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I have an undergraduate degree from Belgium. You mentioned your daughter doesn't want anything too academic. The European system is much more demanding academically than the U.S. The American University in Paris might be fine. I would caution against the French system or even the Germany system. Maybe the U.K.?
I also agree with the other poster--if she doesn't know what she wants to study then the European system would be a disaster for her. A LAC in the US would be better. |
Anonymous
| I went to grad school at LSE. . . |
Anonymous
I went to LSE for a masters degree and a top twenty American SLAC for undergrad. I disagree with this. lSE was super easy compared to my undergrad in terms of workload. I took three classes and had three exams at the end of the year with a few papers during the year and a mere ten thousand word dissertation. I had tons of free time and very little work. I think oxbridge might be more work. I agree with the long post up thread that most UK universities make you specialize in one subject. However there are some schools - most not as well regarded like the American University of Paris - where that is not the case. I don’t think you have to specialize right away. I don’t think it is very hard to get into nor particularly academically intense. |
Anonymous
Ok, I just reread your post and my response and realize I don’t respond quite correctly. I agree American Univeirsity of Paris is probably not as intense. I disagree that European Universities are more academically intense than American undergrad, particularly if you are going to places like Yale or Amherst etc. I think American undergrad at a top school is much more work most of the time. |
Anonymous
Me again! So many typos! On iPad, sorry |
Anonymous
OP please do not listen to this person. Grad degrees are top notch in the US in a way that they are not in Europe. This post accurately reflects why the brightest do to not have European grad degrees. |