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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] I realize this is an old, reactivated thread, but anyone who thinks it is always cheaper overseas should check online before jumping in. St. Andres is now $66,000 a year for international students, so $264K (not including airfare) and Oxford is now $81,765 pounds, so x 3 years.  A better option is to do state flagship for undergrad and grad overseas. [/quote]

First of all NOBODY here (just ready the whole thread) insisted or said [b]that it is  “ always cheaper overseas “.   You are the first one that said that.
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Clearly you are you quite grasping the point being made here by a lot of people. The avg kid going to St Andrews or elsewhere in the UK or Europe is NOT the same kid that is forgoing their state flagship to do so. Please…..different universes…..these kids are kids that likely going to be full pay at T100 US privates.  Don’t be naive. [/quote]

Po is correctly responding to OP’s claims: “the pros are still massive. The most obvious is the cost, which is just staggering. We're talking about the potential to get a degree for a price that's less than a single year at some private US colleges. The math is pretty compelling: with many EU public universities having tuition at a fraction of US schools, the savings are life-changing. Specially if you are able to invest that savings on behalf of your kids for when they graduate.” [/quote]

And there is nothing wrong with OP claims…even at this exchange rate, it is still true. A place like [b]Exeter at 24k Pounds[/b] x 3 years (73k pounds) is still less than $100k dollars..and you get your degree…..

PP cherry-picked two schools to make a point (with one being a 4-yr degree) and even then. Still cheaper that ANY top 100 Private full pay uni in the US. As a PP mentioned, there very little IF ANY crossover between in state flagship uni applicants and kids who go abroad….noen of these kids are making these decisions (maybe. Tiny percentage). I have had 3 kids study in the UK from California. None of them had friends that made decisions to attend their UK school that were forgoing a State Flagship to do so. Different crowds….whether you like it or not.[/quote]

And you are cherry picking as well. That is tuition ONLY for Exeter accounting, the cheapest tuition as you know, because you went to this list and picked it. However, we all can see that Exeter fees can go as high as $38k+ pounds a year plus then you have to tack on accommodations, fees, books, travel, etc, which is a separate Exeter tab altogether. Others here are providing he sensible “all-in” fee. You do sound like a cantankerous nutter who has to fight about everything. Just stop or go take a drink. https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/fees/[/quote]

Not at all. My kids are in humanities and business. SO that is what I focus on. The vast majority of these are under [b]25k pounds. [/b]You are not medicine there, so if STEM you will be at 30k pounds. Even with room and board and the fact it is 3 years you are still MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper than ANY US Private school full pay.[/quote]

Tuition only [/quote]

Argue all you want. Show me on Private US university in the top 100 that is equivalent in total pricing for a degree to a school like Exeter or Warwick or Bristol or Durham ?? You wont be able to because it doesnt exist.[/quote]

Top privates in US give generous aid. Yale for example waves tuition for all families making under 200k. Similarly ranked privates are need based and comparably generous.

A family making >200k a year should have saved money for their kids college, so it won’t be a major drag on family finances. But if money is the main concern then well regarded state flagships will be cheaper and arguably better.

UK universities are public schools, it’s silly to flat out reject the comparison with public US colleges and only compare with privates.[/quote]

Every top 10 university in the UK is a public uni vs 9 out of 10 top US schools are private. Stop being silly. The vast majority of kids going to these schools in the UK (their own top 10 schools) are not kids that are deciding between Public unis in the US and Durham or Oxford or LSE or St Andrews. I’m sorry, but as someone that had two kids go to school in the UK, 95% of their American friends were there after trying to choose between a US Private school and a UK school. And in most cases these were full pay private schools accepted kids. I dont think any of my kid’s American  friends had finances as their major concern. It was simply an added bonus. [/quote]

The op was questioning the sticker cost at a US private university compared to a European university. This is not a fair comparison, the sticker cost is without financial aid and top privates are very generous and are need blind.

If a family has the money, assets or the income to afford $250k for a college degree, but doesn’t think it’s worth it, [b]then they have to look at other options including state colleges, which are cheaper and provide better opportunities than UK universities.[/b]

If you’re looking for prestige, then Oxford/Cambridge are in their own league, although they are comparable with UCLA and  Berkeley. The rest UK colleges are a step below, and don’t confer a greater career boost than top state schools like Michigan, UVA, UIUC, UMD.

The whole point is that if $250k is too much for a US private, there are better options than going to UK colleges.[/quote]

Again, this is not what we have been discussing. And THEY do NOT HAVE to look at state colleges. You do you. Why dont any other parent has to look at State Colleges if they dont want to?

We are from a state with a terrible flagship and my kid didnt apply to ANY state school. His choices were full pay T50 Privates or UK/EU schools. Stop comparing apples and oranges. Again, like the PP said very few Americans at UK or EU undergrad schools are choosing between US publics vs UK or EU unis. Very few….that is the reality whether your like it or not.

And even then, there are excellent EU unis that are still cheaper than any of the flagships you mentioned. I guess to your disbelief, my son’s best friend is from VA and he gave up UVA to go to LSE…..I guess you consider him a moron since in your mind UVA would provide a greater career boost…..please….

[/quote]

You make zero sense. Is cost important to you or not? Are you looking at UK colleges because they are cheap, or because the kid couldn’t get into a better US college, and they are looking for prestige and rigor overseas? Or both?

Sure, not everybody has to look at state colleges, but then don’t complain about the $250k sticker price at a US private. As a side note if you are full pay, you should have some college savings for the kid based on income and assets to begin with, or have good enough grades and test scores to get merit aid. Sounds more like a kid from upper middle class with average stats aiming for T30-50, and the family doesn’t want to pay for privates in that range. Fine, UVA is ranked 21, UMD is ranked 44.

I do question LSE over UVA, wouldn’t do that, but he’s free to do as he pleases. Can you articulate why LSE is better? [/quote]

+1. If you’re complaining about costs, it’s perfectly reasonable to consider public options that are cheaper.

I don’t know why the person who doesn’t know how to use an ellipsis keeps saying, “very few Americans at UK or EU undergrad schools are choosing between US publics vs UK or EU unis.” Like, yeah, but very few of those people were also agonizing over the costs of college. They have money. Their kids are abroad for a variety of other reasons.

P.S. I went to LSE and I think for a kid that really wants to do econ it is a better option than UVA, especially if the kid wants to go on to do a PhD or work in finance. But UVA is good too.[/quote]

Public schools in top 30 for economics are Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, UC San Diego, Wisconsin, Minnesota, UT Austin, UC Davis, UMD, Penn State, UVA. That’s more than a third of top 30, there are options for many smart, but cost conscious kids.

LSE is prestigious but you also have to get admitted fist. I’d put it on the same level with US top 10, essentially HYPSM, Berkeley, a few more Ivies, Chicago and Northwestern. Kids matching for Top 50 aren’t aiming for these schools. Not many students are choosing between LSE and UVA so not a fair comparison in my view, probably made up anyways.

[/quote]

+1.  Correct - clearly not in same league for Econ or Finance - the academics or the connections and name.  LSE > UVA.  IMO as a former Intnl. IBer - current fed.[/quote]

First of all please stop with the argument from authority, “I’m in IB”, “I’m a fed”, “my kid chose LSE over UVA”, etc. I already told you my assumption is you’re making it up and it’s not helping your case.

Now do LSE vs HYPSM, it’s roughly equal in my view, maybe a slight edge to the US colleges.

But these comparisons are as useless as debating if Stanford is better than MIT. First you need to get in at rates that are below 5%, and other factors like institutional fit matter more.[/quote]

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