Today, at a college fair, I discovered Richmond University in London - it’s still an American college, but it is located right in the UK. After doing a bit of research, I discovered the American University of Paris. As someone who plans on majoring in international relations/politics/etc., the thought of attending an university in another country is incredibly appealing, particularly one that is still American, so it’s not completely foreign. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this type of college? What the costs are like, what the standard of living is like, what the opportunities are like, etc.
Even if it’s not American, if anyone has experience attending college outside of the US, NOT with a study abroad program but genuinely attending a college of a different country, that would also be immensely helpful and I would love to hear your story and opinion.
And finally, what’s peoples’ experience for study abroad? Why would you recommend it over studying directly in those countries? How much did it cost, what college did you study through, what was your experience like, where did you travel, etc.
Thank you immensely!
Post in the “International Students” forum (or maybe mods can move this there).
One big thing is that if you plan to work right after college, it’s a lot more sensible to get your degree from a school where you want to (and are allowed to) work due to recruiting.
BTW, there’s also Bard Berlin.
I don’t think @MYOS1634 thinks much of the two schools you mentioned.
@PurpleTitan Okay, going to repost it in International Students now.
I actually posted it in the Study Abroad category because I think it suits it better.
Richmond isn’t particularly well thought of. Private American colleges overseas are often basically cash cows - expensive, but not prestigious. Cost and standard of living will vary depending on where they are.
At most European universities you only study one or two subjects from start to finish - no gen eds, no exploring other fields, little to no chance to switch. It works for some, but not others. Costs are usually lower than full pay in the US, but with no FA.
Dutch universities have created Universities Colleges over the last few decades. The universities themselves tend to be more pre-professional, but the University Colleges are modeled on U.S. LACs. There are are about a dozen of them. They are affiliated with Utrecht, Amsterdam, and other universities, for example University College Utrecht. They have an international focus, and all classes are taught in English. Bachelor degrees take three years and annual cost is about 1/3 to 1/2 of an in-state U.S. public University, so a great deal. They are very respected schools, and graduates often go on to to grad schools.
Besides Great Britain, you can also find world class universities in South Africa and Australia.
These two universities aren’t good at all academically. They’re costly alternatives for kids who couldn’t get into other colleges.
You can attend universities in English-speaking countries. Some are a bit more residential (St Andrews, Durham), some are plugged into the city they’re in (Edinburgh, Bristol, Bath, anything in London) but more commuter.
You can also attend a university course in a country where you speak the language. There, you have to be careful as there are lots of levels and programs.
You can also attend an English speaking program in a country where you’ll learn the language - there’s Science Po Reims, Liberal Arts College Rotterdam, St Louis U in Madrid.
Finally, you can take non-credit language courses and choose between attending programs in the country or returning to the US for college.
Note however that many universities offer “immersion” programs, where you get your college’s support while you’re enrolled in a local university with native students. Dickinson or St Olaf and of course Middlebury are well-known for this.