Hi guys, I am planning to come to beautiful america to study in about 2 years. It’s a wee bit too early to be planning but bear with me. The reason why I want to come to america is because I want a change of environment, I want to experience a new culture, basically I want something new. Here is where the problem comes in… For A LOT cheaper, I can choose to study locally and still get a good education/degree. At the end of the day, my parents will be paying all expenses. Do you think it’s selfish of me to choose to study abroad just because I woudl like to experience something new?
It sounds reasonable to me it your parents can afford it.
Parents aren’t rich but they aren’t poor
Could you spend a semester/year studying abroad?
Yes. Spending a semester or year abroad would be fine.
If your parents are willing and able to pay for it, then I don’t think it would be selfish to accept their generosity. If you feel guilty about it, you can arrange a system to pay them back (perhaps in part, if you can’t swing the whole thing) after you graduate or when you are in a position to do so. Or you can just accept this as an investment in your future, and be prepared to help them out if they need your support in the future =D
If it would be a burden on your parents, I do think it is a little selfish if you can get a good quality education locally. You could get your degree locally and study abroad for a year or semester, like someone else suggested. That would be plenty of time to experience something new, and you would still be able to get a less expensive degree.
Are you planning on living and working in the United States after you get your degree? In that case, it may matter if your degree is from the US, but if you’re planning to return to your home country, I don’t see why studying abroad for a year wouldn’t be a good compromise. I don’t necessarily think just “trying something new” is a good reason to spend a huge amount of money getting your degree in the US, but if you are doing it for career reasons, then I think it is something worth considering.