<p>As a junior in high school, I've been searching for colleges and I have a decent list of US schools. However, my plan is to eventually live abroad. I'm aiming for grad school in Europe, but I really do want to get out of the US ASAP.
I'm thinking about going abroad for undergraduate. Any suggestions or thoughts about this? Is it a bad idea to go abroad right away?</p>
<p>(I'm not fluent in a second language unfortunately, but I know there are universities that offer most or all classes in English, and I could pick up the new language while attending school in the new country.)</p>
<p>Contact the Education Officer at the closest consulate of each of the countries you’d consider studying in. Those people can help you learn more about higher education in their countries. The educational systems there are different from the system here, so you will have a lot to learn about! Don’t forget to ask about their country’s policies about work visas. If you want to stay after graduation, you will need to be able to get the kind of visa that will let you get a job there.</p>
<p>Australia and Canada have fairly immigrant friendly policies for graduates of their universities. Take a look at them too if you just want out of here.</p>
<p>I assume you don’t need financial aid right? Because you won’t get it from schools overseas. That said, look at St. Andrews and Richmond-the American University in London as two examples of UK schools that actively recruit Americans.</p>
<p>… and then check out the legal requirements for living/working abroad for US nationals, even if they’re local college graduates. Just because you study somewhere doesn’t necessarily mean you can stay there after you graduate and work.</p>
<p>If your goal is simply to get out of the US, I second the Canada suggestion. UBC and Toronto are reasonable deals by American standards, about $33-35K per year for tuition + housing/food. Some of the less selective ones are cheaper (e.g. U Victoria and Simon Fraser at ≤$25K per year). I’d take Vancouver over any American city, hands down.</p>
<p>
The nice thing about European universities is that you rarely <em>need</em> much financial aid, unlike the absurdly priced private colleges and OOS publics in the US. (The UK, of course, is quite a different story. St Andrews in particular is gleefully snatching up large numbers of Americans from prep schools and charging them extra.)</p>
<p>Countries like Germany, Austria, and France often charge less then 1000 Euro a year for tuition, and many Scandinavian universities don’t charge tuition at all. If you’re serious about going abroad, natwin, it might be worth it to take a gap year or two and pick up a second language.</p>