<p>Is it worth pretending to be someone you are not just to get into a prestigious college? Is it worth spending $40,000 per capita to attend a college that will get you an education similar to that of a college that will cost you about half as much? Is it worth spending so much on school when employers care more about on the job experience? </p>
<p>I ask because I am getting really tired of pushing myself to the limit with school. I have a life to live, too. I'm not a stupid person, and I could probably get into a high up school, but I'm not sure if it's something I want to do. I am considering attending college in Germany. I have lived here for two years now, and will live here for another year and a half, as I finish high school. I have the unique opportunity to attend either a German Uni, or a German international university.</p>
<p>I feel comfortable in Germany, and probably would not feel right living in the United States, as I have not lived there in about four and a half years now. I do not miss the United States, either. The schools in the region of Germany that I am looking at are not the most prestigious schools out there, but they are good schools, none the less. Would I be sacrificing something by attending a university outside of the United States, and would it affect the probability of getting a good job in the US (One likely to send me overseas)?</p>
<p>This does not mean that I want to start slacking off. I enjoy the challenging course load that I have this year. It's just that I don't like stressing over things such as the SAT, or AP scores just so I can get an edge on other people trying to get into these expensive schools that may or may not actually be much better than competing schools.</p>
<p>Here are three of the schools I am looking at:</p>
<p>If you are a driven, motivated and generally intelligent person, then I don't think it matters what presitgious college you go to. Many people strive to get into the top colleges because they think it's a guaranteed future for them, and in most cases, yes, they will become successful. But that doesn't mean everyone needs to be an overachiever and pay ridiculous amounts of money for a brandname education.</p>
<p>If you like Germany, and want to study there, then absolutely stay. There's no reason to sacrafice your happiness for a school that won't help you anymore than a german school would.</p>
<p>No, it doesn't matter what college you go to, well as long as it's not a community college :P. Success comes from the student, not the college he goes to.</p>
<p>^^^ That's what I think this forum is meant for. >_></p>
<p>I think it depends on which school you WANT to go to (even if it's not a top tier one). Just find the one you want and then work to go to that one. And about the Germany issue, I would say it depends on where you want to spend your life. Do you want to work in the U.S after school or stay in Germany? Depending on where you work, I would say go to school there.</p>
<p>I am a US citizen, so I could work in the US. By staying in Germany, though, I could work on fluency in the German language. I think that could end up being a plus on my side.</p>
<p>My brother's kids are expats in HKG and they have been there for 10 years. They go to an international school, but they will be attending colleges in the US. My brother realizes that for his kids to get jobs in the US, or any where in the world, a degree from the US is valued. Many well to do families oversea send their kids to the US, then UK, then... to get their degrees. There must be a reason for that? It sounds like the reason that you don't want to go school in the US is because of AP, SAT exams, so does that make you a driven and motivated person? The reason that kids from the ivies have easier time to get a job is because employers realize how difficult it is to get into those schools, and facilities(programs) those schools have are often not available at other schools.</p>
<p>No, I don't mind the challenge at all. I welcome it. I take five AP classes, and I study for the SAT so I can do well. I just don't know if I should sacrifice being happy to go to the US to attend school and recieve an education that might be just a little better. I would love to have a challenging college career, too, but ivies are not the only schools that provide that. Is it only on the high school level in which the education in the US isn't so good?</p>