What are your thoughts on an American going to college in Europe or Canada?
Many students do it… what exactly do you want to know?
What would you like to study, what are your stats, and what can you afford?
One specific thing you will encounter is that generally in Europe you study just one, or a combination of two, or very occasionally three, subjects. No gen eds, no opportunity to explore, often little opportunity to switch if you change your mind.
I would like to study political science with a focus on international relations. I am a sophomore in high school so I’m not sure what my grades will look like but I have around a 4.1 (out of 4.6) and will have at least 6 APs by the end of senior year. To my knowledge, schools in other countries our much cheaper than schools in the U.S
Not always the case especially when you add in travel costs.
There is not much financial aid available to American students in Canada and none available in Europe. Can your parents afford to be full pay there?
I have around 40,000 put away for each year
Universities in the UK are expensive for non-EU students. You would probably get a cheaper education at your in-state public university in the US.
Universities in some other European countries (like Germany) may be cheap, but you have to be committed to learning the local language. Even if you select a degree program that’s taught in English, you’ll have a lonely 4 years if you try to get by on English alone. (It’s possible to get by. Most Europeans know enough English to give you directions and let you order at a restaurant and stuff. But it’s a rather isolating experience socially, and I wouldn’t want to do it for 4 years.)
Please also be aware that universities where education is nearly free for everyone tend to have much less funding per student. Expect larger classes, less personal attention (e.g. no graded homework and a single exam per class) and fewer amenities (e.g. no student health center and no fitness center).
I am thinking about going to either McGill or LSE. I have looked at both schools and they are significantly cheaper than the schools I would want to go to in the U.S. I don’t think money will be an issue, I just don’t know how great of an idea it is
LSE is an excellent university with very high standards for applicants, so you will need great stats when the time comes to apply - you’ll need to score 5s in at least 5 of the APs you’re planning on taking.
Ok, what about McGill?
There are 2400 Americans at McGill. their minimum requirements are on their website:
http://www.mcgill.ca/applying/requirements/minima/usa
McGill would be comparable to a giant public in the US. In reputation, it’s on par with UMich, except in a cosmopolitan French city rather than a pretty college town with big time sports and a lot poorer with even more big lecture classes and harsher grading.
So you think it isn’t a good idea to go there?
Nope. I didn’t say that. It is what it is.
What are you looking for in a college? Granted, your view will likely change greatly over the next few years.
“I have around 40,000 put away for each year”
To the best of my knowledge $40,000 in US dollars is sufficient to pay for any university in Canada, and is significantly more than you need at many universities.
McGill is a very good school and is most likely the best known Canadian university with a well deserved very strong reputation worldwide. However, it is large, bureaucratic, and academically very challenging. Many very strong students love it. Some students don’t like it. Every student who I know who went there agrees that it is challenging. One former student who loved it said “you have to want to do it”.
I know multiple students who did undergrad at either McGill or Toronto, and graduate school in the US (at a variety of schools including Princeton, Stanford, and U.Washington).
There are quite a few other very good universities in Canada. We live in the US, but have a daughter currently attending a small university in eastern Canada. So far she likes it a lot and seems to be doing very well there.
To me, going to university in Canada is sort of like going “semi-abroad”, since the education system is closer to the US system compared to other parts of the world, and it is also physically a lot closer.
In comparison, Europe is obviously a lot further away, differs more wrt the US system, and there is a wide range of prices. However, when I was a graduate student at a very selective US school I do recall there being a small number of students from Europe (including an English student who brewed his own English style beer). I have heard that schools in the UK tend to be expensive for international students, but I haven’t checked any recently.
“What are your thoughts on an American going to college in Europe or Canada?”
To be honest I could probably converse on this topic for a long time. However, hopefully what is above is a good start. There have been other threads on the topic on CC. Let us know if you have other more specific questions.
Thank you so much! You seem to know a lot about McGill. I’m only a sophomore but this is my dream school. I have a 4.05 (out of 4.6) gpa, no honors classes, but will have about 6 APs by the end of the high school. I know this isn’t much to go off of but do you think I have a chance?
^ How did you decide on McGill as your dream school?
It has a lot of international students, it’s in Montreal so I’ll have a big city, it has a good political science program, it’s academically challenging which I like, and I’ll get the study abroad experience without going too far.
“I have a 4.05 (out of 4.6) gpa, no honors classes, but will have about 6 APs by the end of the high school. I know this isn’t much to go off of but do you think I have a chance?”
I am not sure how anyone could get a 4.6 without honors or AP classes (you can’t at the local public high school where we live). However, yes it sounds like you do have a good chance. Admissions at McGill is much more predictable than at the top schools in the US, and is largely based on GPA and SAT scores. If you keep getting nearly all A’s (a small number of B’s are okay), and if you get good SAT scores (say over 1400 out of 1600), then you are likely to get in. Grade 9 won’t matter at all – they will recompute your GPA with only classes from grade 10 on.
I know, the way my school’s gpa system works is weird. We have A+s even for normal classes so we are on a 4.6 system rather than a 4.0 system. Classes are also not weighted. If you got rid of my A+s I’d have a 3.7