Anonymous
Post 02/01/2026 13:41     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Thread Subject should have been $400k not $250k, specially if the conversation is about Private US unis. It is a ridiculous price and NONE of them outside the T25 is worth $100k per year.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2026 13:38     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:One of my nephews turned down NYU and other good universities for University of British Columbia.

Instead of paying 90K/year, his family will pay 30K/year which was too good to pass up (plus the skiing there is great.)


UBC is closer to $70-75k/year for international students. Still a great school and good deal but way more than $30k


Wrong. It may be more than $30k depending on the course of study but it’s certainly not 70-75k unless the student is living in his own mansion and you don’t realize that Canadian dollars aren’t the same as American dollars.
https://students.ubc.ca/finances/tuition-fees/undergraduate-tuition-fees/
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2026 13:33     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: 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.


First of all NOBODY here (just ready the whole thread) insisted or said that it is “ always cheaper overseas “. You are the first one that said that.

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.



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.”


And there is nothing wrong with OP claims…even at this exchange rate, it is still true. A place like Exeter at 24k Pounds 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.


There are plenty of these kids in Virginia, which is where a lot of these posters are located.


Even if there is. this is a very TINY minority. My 3 kids did not have one American friend in between them that had even applied to their flagship state university in the US.Sure there might be a tiny crossover in VA, but that is a very minor %. The vast majority of kids going abroad are not comparing it to their State uni..
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2026 10:23     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Anonymous wrote:One of my nephews turned down NYU and other good universities for University of British Columbia.

Instead of paying 90K/year, his family will pay 30K/year which was too good to pass up (plus the skiing there is great.)


UBC is closer to $70-75k/year for international students. Still a great school and good deal but way more than $30k
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2026 09:18     Subject: Re:Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?

Finishing undergrad in 3 years abroad (as opposed to 4 years in the U.S.) is an interesting topic.

I read that many parents in the U.S. do not want to "cut short" their children's college experience.

If you are interested, here is a recent podcast interview of the President of Wesleyan (Michael Roth). He created a 3-year path to graduation at Wesleyan (to help students save 20-25% of the cost of college), but he reported that most people were not interested in it.

Listen here for a few minutes, starting at 28:53 (with the most relevant portion being 30:35)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/a-low-moment-in-higher-education/
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2026 07:54     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: 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.


First of all NOBODY here (just ready the whole thread) insisted or said that it is “ always cheaper overseas “. You are the first one that said that.

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.



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.”


And there is nothing wrong with OP claims…even at this exchange rate, it is still true. A place like Exeter at 24k Pounds 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.


There are plenty of these kids in Virginia, which is where a lot of these posters are located.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 22:41     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Can’t your kid go their in-state school?
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 22:19     Subject: Re:Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Anonymous wrote:Notable European Universities by Country / Area
• Switzerland: ETH Zurich, EPFL
• United Kingdom: Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, King’s, etc.
• Germany: Technical University of Munich (TUM) ; Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) ; Heidelberg University ; Humboldt (Berlin)
• Belgium / Netherlands / Belgium: KU Leuven 
• Sweden / Scandinavia: Karolinska InstituteP



Adding a few German and Dutch Universities that are really great. Humboldt University Berlin, University of Tuebingen (Germany).
For Engineering: TU Delft (Netherlands) and Aachen University (Germany) are also excellent.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 22:15     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
One of my nephews turned down NYU and other good universities for University of British Columbia.

Instead of paying 90K/year, his family will pay 30K/year which was too good to pass up (plus the skiing there is great.)
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 22:10     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Sorry, but no Full Pay Private in the US in the t50-t100 level is worth it vs any of the UK unis mentioned in here.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 20:24     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: 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.


First of all NOBODY here (just ready the whole thread) insisted or said that it is “ always cheaper overseas “. You are the first one that said that.

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.



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.”


And there is nothing wrong with OP claims…even at this exchange rate, it is still true. A place like Exeter at 24k Pounds 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.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 19:20     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: 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.


First of all NOBODY here (just ready the whole thread) insisted or said that it is “ always cheaper overseas “. You are the first one that said that.

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.



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.”
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 19:17     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Not crazy, still plenty of good UK options even at current exchange rates.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 19:16     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
BTW, I only know about St Andrews, but they allow you to pay tuition with a 4 pmt installment plan using a credit card w no additional fees….plus as mentioned above one of the only UK unis you can get US student loans to cover it…
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 19:06     Subject: Are We Crazy for Questioning a $250k US Degree and looking abroad?
Anonymous wrote: 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.


First of all NOBODY here (just ready the whole thread) insisted or said that it is “ always cheaper overseas “. You are the first one that said that.

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.