I’m a sophomore in college and I’m studying accounting. I’m thinking about grad school already and heard some colleges in Europe offer free/low tuition and teach classes in Europe. Those are the big things, but I also think it would be a great experience. Some questions if you have experience: does the degree usually transfer back to the US with little problems? do employers think any better or worse of a person if they got a degree in Europe? is it hard to get a job when coming back because of how hard it is for references and employers to communicate? any other tips would be helpful!
Are you fluent enough to take university level grad classes in German or other foreign languages like Finnish? Why would you need to ‘transfer back’? Why would you be a transfer? Employers in the US will be more comfortable and have more experience with students from US universities. But I know many people who studied accounting in the UK (not for free) and worked in the US for an international bank. Glocal employers may think that is fine. Yes I would think it is hard to job hunt into the US from Europe.
A big part of grad school is the shot you get at recruiters right before you graduate, esp. in professional schools. I did a master’s in international relations in France and it offered no special access to US employers, though eventually I did get a good job, but it was all on my own efforts rather than through a network. (I did a subsequent degree at Harvard and amazed at how much easier it was to get a job in the US.)
That being said, study abroad is all it’s cracked up to be. And you can do it at a lower tuition rate than in the US. You may like it so much you’ll look for a job in Europe - I came here in 1978 and have lived here now almost as much as I’ve living in the US.
I think you may find that the free tuition in certain European countries applies only to undergraduate degrees, and to PhDs where tuition is offset by a TA or research assistant job. I would be surprised if you found it for postgrad accountancy programs - but by all means do some research and see if you can find any. You may at least find something cheaper than you can in the US. There will be some aspects of accountancy where US laws differ from those in other countries so watch out for those.