<p>Has the change in the exchange rate of the past year changed your outlook on applying to non-US colleges. For middle class parents, who are locked out of financial aid, but who savings have vanished, the 30% to 40% reduction of cost of a British or Canadian school might be looking very good just now. </p>
<p>Examples: </p>
<p>Memorial University of Newfoundland (international best in Naval engineering)
Tuition: C$9,000. One year ago US$ 9,183; last week: US$7,142.</p>
<p>University of Edinburgh
Tuition: 12,500pounds One year ago US$25,000; last week: US$17,857.</p>
<p>KIAST, the top end bilingual engineering school in Korean costs 40% of what it cost a year ago. </p>
<p>With US tuition topping $30,000, these foreign schools are looking much more attractive, even after transportation.</p>
<p>Toadstool: Are the costs you quoted above full COA, or just tuition costs? When you add on housing and living expenses, books and supplies, and international travel, how do the costs compare?</p>
<p>My daughter’s friend chose McGill (with a mid-size merit scholarship) over Penn (with a decent FA package) four years ago, when exchange rates were just about what they are now. Unfortunately, they were never at that level in the past four years until the past few weeks; the fluctuation over that time period has been greater than 20%. She actually hedged her first few years with forwards, but she wasn’t able to hedge the whole four years. McGill was still considerably less expensive than Penn would have been, although had she anticipated the combination of the rate fluctuation and improvements in Penn’s financial aid the gap between the two might not have made such a difference to her.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, she has loved McGill* and gotten a lot out of it. She spent a year abroad in Israel, and is going to Jordan to do archaeology work right after graduation.</p>
<p>Travel and housing definitely add expense, but you would need an awful lot of travel and housing to make a meaningful dent in a $25,000/year difference, which is where things stand now pre-FA. You know what also adds expense? International calling! My daughter was spending $50-$60 / month just to call her friend pre-Skype and finding a cheap calling card. </p>
<ul>
<li>I know other students who haven’t loved McGill, but that’s a different story.</li>
</ul>
<p>I’d think that Air Canada’s airfares would put a big dent in that. Last time I checked for fares to Canada it was like $1000 for JFK to Toronto. Ridiculous.</p>
<p>Anyways, I don’t know what value a KAIST degree has in the US, but the job prospects out of any school in Korea are absolute crap. And even if you do manage to beat the 99,999 other people competing for the tiny (and ever shrinking) number of salaried jobs, the pay is equivalent to about $10,000 at today’s exchange rates if that. Given the cost of living in Seoul, you’re below poverty level.</p>
<p>Canada, UK, France, etc. that’s a different story.</p>
<p>A word of caution about getting a degree from a non-US school. When applying for non-academic jobs, you might be asked by HR departments to obtain a proof that your diploma is equivalent to a US-issued one. I think most HRs are OK with Canadian diplomas, but my friend with a PhD from one of the top programs in France had to send a $300 check to one of such diploma certification agencies.</p>
<p>DD was just accepted to a UK uni for an advanced degree, the exchange rate is part of her thinking as she evaluates the options, but exchange fluctuations (who’s to say it won’t go back the other way midway through) are scary</p>
<p>'Dr. Doom" has been right on so many things, and this is what he has to say about the US Dollar:</p>
<p>Nowhere was he bleaker than when addressing the beaten-down dollar, another victim of Fed policy which he said has ensured cash returns below the rate of inflation. “In the long term, the dollar is a doomed currency. It will go to zero,” he said, which produced some nervous laughter from the audience. </p>
<p>So, assume for a minute that Dr Doom is right, that the dollar will be devalued, a la Germany in the 1920s/30s…what can any one do to protect themselves in that situation?</p>
<p>It is ridiculous to think that Air Canada is your only way to get into Canada. WestJet and Porter fly to some American cities, usually at much cheaper prices. There are a bunch of US airlines that fly to Canada too. And depending on where you live in the US and where you’re going in Canada, hopping on a Greyhound is also a viable option.</p>
<p>S takes Greyhound home from Montreal to NYC. Bus travel is obviously longer than flying but, in the past, flight delays and the haul out to the airport have made it just as long.
PS - The cost is under $100.
PPS - He’s going to Asia this summer for his abroad experience. $3500CAN and he paid $2700US.
Admittedly, last year’s exchange was not as favorable but the tuition is sooo much less to begin with.</p>