Hello all, I post today in hopes of getting a long-held question of mine answered. I hate being confined to just American universities for the college search, and I would LOVE to get to go to Europe or Australia for college to be immersed in another culture. I have had a couple universities in these areas that I really liked (Trinity College in Dublin for example), but their school sites reveal basically no legitimate opportunities for scholarships of more than roughly $10,000 in value. In reality, I would probably need something equal to or greater than 75% tuition to be able to go to an international school. Tossing aside any chancing at getting scholarships or using my application to rate me for these possible scholarships, I just want to know if there are any offered at respectable European or Australian universities. And if not, are there any offered by independent companies specifically targeted at students going to school internationally. I appreciate all the help… thanks in advance!
Germany has free tuition, even to Americans. Sometimes there are very, very small semester fees ($150 or less).
There are several universities and individual programs which teach entirely in English if your German is not good.
Thanks for the info! I know Norway and a few others have the same policy: here’s my question. Do these universities really have just as good of an academic foundation as a top 50 American university? What would some of these be comparable to in America??? @romanigypsyeyes
I can’t answer those questions because I think college rankings are a whole lot of bunk. I do know that Germany is doing something right though given how it’s developed into such an economic powerhouse. shrug
Are the classes taught In German?
Yes, most German Universities will teach in German. However, some colleges in Germany have programs for expats where everything is done in English. Your options in Germany are severely limited if you don’t speak German.
So…free college in Germany could really be a challenge if one doesn’t speak German.
I did some research on it @thumper1 and it seems that most Berlin colleges are primarily English-speaking. But any other college is probably going to be German-speaking.
I’ve done a fair amount of research on the same topic, and I don’t think there are any substantial scholarship opportunities - most are for internationals from developing countries, or for post-grad degrees. I do know one college in Asia that offers full tuition scholarship if you’re interested.
I’m interested to know as well. Not necessarily because I’d like to go, as it’s a little late for me, but just interested.
Thanks @aznraffe … that was my fear. Asia is not for me haha. I really like a few in Australia, but they don’t seem to offer many even low-dollar ones.
did some more research, I think american university of paris offers some scholarships but I don’t know how competitive they are.
they offer IB scholarships ranging from €5,000-20,000, AUP Tuition Awards covering up to 50% of tuition, and AUP Scholar Awards covering 75% of tuition. also, I don’t know about the relative standard/reputation of AUP to top 50 US colleges
on the other hand, if your grades/stats are of a standard to apply to top 20 US colleges, you might want to take a shot at either oxford or cambridge. If you’re not familiar with the oxbridge system, there are about 20 colleges in each oxford and cambridge, and you apply to a specific college. Some colleges have huge endowments and may offer scholarships to internationals, although they may be restricted to certain courses of study.
for example, trinity college of cambridge offers up to 11 full tuition scholarships to internationals based on merit and financial need. But admissions to oxbridge is extremely difficult and very different from US colleges.
European colleges in places that have not (yet) attracted many international students are often extremely cheap, and many have courses taught through English (you can find them [here[/url] and [url=<a href=“http://www.eunicas.co.uk/]here[/url]”>http://www.eunicas.co.uk/]here](http://www.studyineurope.eu/)), but…
- the European college experience is very very different than the US: in most cases you apply to study one subject and you study only that subject, the majority of students live off-campus/commute (there are exceptions of course), and you there is a lot less hand-holding through the process by faculty and staff.
- few have scholarships, and the ones there are (like Trinity Cambridge) are rare, coveted, and largely targeted.
- while instruction may be in English, the rest of your life will be in the local language. Be prepared.
- AUP is a for-profit school, and is not academically at the same level.
Universities in the UK will all be ridiculously expensive. However, there are numerous degree programs taught in English across Europe, that are very cheap to near-free tuition. You can search for them here: http://www.bachelorsportal.eu/
At some of the places where the programs are not taught in English, they allow you to spend a year on campus learning the language first at a reasonable rate, and then you start the program. Since most bachelor’s degree programs in Europe are only three years total, the fourth year for a language still puts you graduating in the same time period as if you were attending a university in the U.S.
Housing costs will vary widely depending on the country. East European countries will be less expensive to live in than Scandinavian countries, for example. You will find plenty of options though. I researched it thoroughly because my daughter was interested in getting her degree abroad, but in the end her father was against it so she plans on studying abroad at some point instead. Hope you find what you are looking for!
@aznraffe @collegemom3717 @mommyrocks Thank you all so much for the great help! You guys are the best
Some questions for the OP:
What’s wrong w a semester or yr long study abroad program?
What are u going to do about **a job after u graduate **overseas? You won’t have access to US job placement services. You most likely won’t have the right to work in the overseas country.
@GMTplus7 After reading the replies and seeing basically what I expected, the year or semester abroad is probably the route I’ll be trying to take. Thanks!
@collegemom3717 AUP is not a for profit school. (USC had an arrangement wherein Spring admits could go there as a fall cohort, and then join their class in LA – most of the students and parents indicated that, despite a few issues, it was an amazing experience.)
@CCMThreeTimes, my bad- I should have said independent or something- what I meant was fee-dependent, v. state funded. AUP can be an amazing study abroad experience- it is in Paris!- but academically it is not at the level of the schools that the OP was looking at.
Just in response to collegemom3717, AUP is actually a not-for-profit organization.