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[quote=Anonymous][quote]  Quality is same as here, there are great schools, good schools and meh schools  [/quote]

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).

Basically, the (public/non-profit) US university system is the cream of US educational system (as opposed to primary and secondary education), while the shortcomings of EU countries' university systems is an issue of longstanding debate within Europe.  One is the global standard, and the other is viewed as a longstanding competitiveness problem.   Yes, of course, some people get a superb education at European universities; and there are some excellent European universities/programs; and there are also many low-ranked, less competitive US colleges and universities (usually not the focus of discussion on DCUM) where the educational experience is less than at some European universities.  But overall, at a like-for-like level, the U.S. university system is better, and held in higher global regard (at least by people who know these things).

There's a line of EU defensiveness that says "well, our schools don't have fancy facilities like American universities - that's the main difference" -- but actually the global ranking systems are based on academic performance and outcomes, not on carpeting or air-conditioning or other comforts (conversely, to the extent that a bigger budget leads to more modern labs or to more new programs and courses or to smaller classes than would otherwise be the case, that's certainly germane to educational quality).  .  The pros who try to bring objective standards to evaluating global universities, and advising prospective students on them, assess that the better US universities are generally better than their EU counterparts, and most people who have equal access to both would opt for them.  Pointing out the strength of some US institutions relative to their European counterparts doesn't make one a flag-waving nationalist -- in this case, it's simply a widely acknowledged fact.

Would I avoid an EU university?   Not at all.   But I'd choose carefully.  And avoid the lazy "they're just like us" assumption that universities in EU members all have the same academic standards/experience/reputation as comparable-level US counterparts.    
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