Studying abroad - is anywhere a good ROI? eg cheaper fees/higher rated course?

[mulranna]

Just wondering - my DS would love to study abroad - but it is not viable unless it comes in same or cheaper than England - any tips ?

Depends how much you earn and how academic he is, but Harvard, amongst other Ivy League unis, is "needs blind"

see college.harvard.edu/financial-aid and try the calculator!

Lots of US students are going to Germany.

DD has Denmark as her plan B.
Belgium and Holland are quite economical - and lots of degrees are taught in English.

you might want to look here

Many countries are cheaper (eg Ireland) as long as you are self-funding. You can't get a student loan to study abroad afaik

I think pretty much most European degrees are significantly cheaper than in England. However, quality is a big issue, as is the cost of maintenance which you would have to fund upfront.

Much better go study in tbe UK in one of the many degrees which occer a study abroad year.

In Europe, there are issues of the quality of the experience, the way you can fund, and the life style. Most students in Europe live at home, or in private accommodation. While courses might be taught in English, the rest of ones life need s to be in another language. Which is great, but needs planning and courage.

The US can be a minefield for the unwary and unknowledgeable. It's also very expensive, even for the universities you've never heard of.

What is the subject your DC wants to study?

Thanks all -- no quick wins really - he wants to study architecture so would need to ensure any OS course met UK/RIBA professional standards.....

Had not thought that the uni experience was v different in other countries - think that that is really v important to consider.

Trinity and UCD in Dublin are fabulous and very highly regarded. Fees are about €2000, but living costs can be quite high.

The university experience is very different if most of the students continue to live at home & lectures are attended by 3-400 students.

This website gives lots of information about studying abroad.

In Sweden and I think the Netherlands courses cost £0 for EU students.

A friend is doing a degree with a Swedish uni via distance learning.

You can't get a student loan to study abroad afaik

You can't get a loan from the Student Loan Company, but as an EU resident you can access some EU loans / grants.

We looked at it but decided for engineering doing a degree with a year abroad and then considering further study/ work abroad after undergrad level made more sense. You don't want to compromise your standard of education or the grade of degree you get just to be "abroad"

Edinburgh and Strathclyde are in the top 10 for architecture and aren't england, they both have the option of a year abroad. Scottish degrees are a year longer than English often but you only pay tuition fees for the length of an English course, but have living costs for the extra year

Holland?

www.studyinholland.co.uk/students.html

British students have long studied in the ROI, especially Trinity or UCD. I cannot see why this would be considered as "compromising your standard of education". Fees are lower, and English students pay the same as Irish students, unlike in Scotland where English students are expected to pay substantially more than home students. However entry requirements, certainly medicine which we have been looking at, are likely to be higher than the UK.

Most undergraduate courses are not taught in English in Holland - those which are in English are mostly lower level courses or newish courses aimed at foreigners. The site linked above gives a list of undergraduate degrees in English, but rather few are at the "research" universities (approx the analogues of RG type universities in the UK). As somebody wrote above, you need to be very careful about what you are getting for your money.

On the other hand there are lots of Masters taught in English all around Europe which are well worth looking at.