Studying at uni outside the UK

[Cobbstown]

My DS is keen to study outside of the UK as he's really keen for a different experience and ultimately possibly a more international job. Maybe something in finance, economics or business but he's not got a passion for anything.

Has anyone any experience they would be happy to share about international uni options. School is no help whatsoever and he's doing his own independent research but it feels a bit scattergun.

We are looking at cost effective options- so not international fees places like the US. A recent trip to Japan had a big impression on him and Asia is an area he's looking into.

He is very lucky as we are in Scotland so no fees if he stays here and he also has an Irish passport which opens up Europe (though he's not set on it over Scotland). Course would have to be taught in English but that seems to be less of a barrier now.

Netherlands? As an EU national student he’d pay local fees of about €2000 per year. Erasmus Uni in Rotterdam is fairly elite in business subjects. Not the most glam of locations though.

Has he got access to Unifrog through school? They are excellent as a searchable database for English taught uni courses worldwide.

The Netherlands maybe but the application system is quite different. Often with an entry test. No accommodation provided by university and is very very difficult to get it.
Buconi maybe.
There are self employed university councellors who help with research and making choices about studying over seas. Are you on Facebook ? The group 'What I wish is knew about university' could probably recommend a good uni counselor
Bear in mind most places he will likely have to find housing himself and often (especially Netherlands) it’s unfurnished. it has taken my DN who’s studying in the Netherlands but grew up in UK 1 full academic year to find a place. It’s not unusual for students to commute for1 hour. It’s a 52 week contract and usually in a share house with possibly other students but also random adults or living alone in a bed sit. There are halls but competition is fierce and places are few compared to number of students.
As a parent who lives in a different European country to my university age DC it’s can be quite challenging. Eg when DC get very sick, navigating health care and different insurance requirements from the Uk and usually in the national language. Personally I wouldn’t want them too far away. Eg Japan. My DC had strep throat last year and ended up in A&E, DH had to fly over at very short notice to take care of him for a couple of nights.
Im not saying don’t do it but it’s not as simple as just finding a course. I would let him do the research and then quietly look into all the other non academic complications in the background. Flights, Insurances, extra costs, bank accounts, accommodation.

What's your budget?

I think I would start by looking at this list of universities around the world.

www.topuniversities.com/world-university-rankings

Another option is to go to a university that takes part in a student exchange programme. DC2 is at a university in London and studying this term in Singapore. It is much cheaper than London!!! Student hall is around 1/3 of the price but basic. The universities in Singapore feature heavily on the above list. However, if your DC were to enroll there rather than Scotland, I'm sure the tuition fees would be hefty.

I read a few days ago about a country where university tuition is free of charge. Think it was Norway. But i think the same may be true in Sweden and Finland and Germany for EU passport holders. I expect the Nordic countries have lots of classes in English.

This is had got me thinking - thanks.

My DD initially looked at Japan, but ended up staying in the UK. My DS is currently at Duke University in the US.
We explored so many different options, but the process was very overwhelming, my honest recommendation would be to hire a person who specialises in overseas admissions to university, because that's what we did and honestly I think it helped a lot. I think my head would've exploded!!!!
I will say, there is a lot of information available online, but it's not just the surface level stuff that you find on uni websites, the whole process is very different... at least I know that's the case for the US in our experience...

University is basically free in Germany so that might be a good starting point!

We are in Scotland - ds has Irish and UK passports. He's planning to do a year abroad studying in Europe during his degree . We both work in HE (experience in Ireland and UK) and we'd rather he had a campus experience in the UK.