American looking to go to college in Europe

I will also be posting this in the international board, but I wasn’t sure if this board would accept this thread as well.

Hello all! I am a current senior in high school, and although I do have my list of American colleges ready, (and it took my quite some time), I have recently though of doing my entire college career in Europe. The reason being that even before considering going to college there, I have always wanted to live in Europe, and I believe that attending college in Europe will help me to establish connections there, and lead to future job opportunities.

However, I do have a few questions:

  1. How would one earn a law degree in Europe? I am interested in EU law, but I am a bit confused. Would I simply do a bachelors in law? Or would I do a bachelors in something else, philosophy for example, and then pursue a masters in EU law?

  2. Is it worth it? My parents are a bit concerned, but supportive nonetheless. How big of a disadvantage is it to be an international student? I believe that I am making a wise choice with this decision, but I do realize that I am risking my chances at Hamilton College, which I had planned on applying ED 1, but won’t be able to if I decide to go abroad.

  3. How competitive is it? Also, does prestige of a college matter in undergrad, if I wish to go to grad-school? I think that I am a fairly competitive student in the United States, but I am not sure how European schools will view it. My stats are as follow:

ACT - 31
AP - English (5) Physics (3) Human Geo. (3) World History (3)
GPA - 3.8
SAT II - Literature (660) World History (620)

I realize that they’re not the best stats, but I am happy with them.

Based on all of this, what do you suggest that I do next? Which schools (or countries) should I be looking at? I realize that I may not be too competitive for UK schools, but would I do better in The Netherlands? Thank you for reading this post!

While some European schools teach in English most do not. Are you fluent in Dutch, German, Norwegian, French?

Go to college in the US and take advantage of their study abroad options.

@TomSrOfBoston Hmm good point. I do know some French, and I am fluent in Spanish, but I know absolutely nothing of Dutch, German, or Norwegian. I’ll look into study abroad more.

There is a lot of variety in admission standards and systems. Some require grades, others do not. The British system is generally 3 years for a Bachelor’s degree and you usually need to have the equivalency of a first year of college (lots of AP or IB credit). You will enter college in your major. The Scottish is more like the US (4 years) .

If you do not currently have EU or UK citizenship your job prospects there are going to be much more limited. You will need a sponsor (generally corporate or government) .

Law degrees vary too. The UK system is very different from the French system. Some students attend law school in Quebec (e.g. McGill) where both aspects of both systems are taught.

As an international student you will be paying a lot for your education. Pricing may be a lot lower domestically if you quality for in-state tuition or financial/merit aid.

What are your goals? If you want to be a lawyer in the US (and if you are a US citizen, that’s really your only route), doing undergrad in Europe makes little sense. You know that you can study abroad, right?

And for most schools in Europe, you have to know what you want to major in right off the bat and there is little flexibility.

Look into the dual degree program between SciencesPo and Columbia University! Two years in France and two years at Columbia: four years at two incredibly prestigious universities! You graduate with a degree from Columbia.

Also, the acceptance rate at SciencesPo and Columbia is much higher than that of Columbia; about 25% get in, I think. Check it out!

https://gs.columbia.edu/sciences-po/

With your stats you would have a good shot at St Andrews and U of Edinburgh. They are also very affordable vs US schools.

There’s also the W&M+St. Andrews program.

@wisteria100, affordable vs. American privates at full-pay, you mean. European unis also give out no fin aid and little merit money.

@PurpleTitan
Tuition at St Andrews is about 25k for US students, so it is very affordable vs private colleges in the US, even if you got a merit award

Scotland is your best bet.

@wisteria100, depends on the size of the merit award. All-in, costs at St. A’s will be $40K+/year.