<p>Has anyone heard of this? My son wants to spend all four years overseas when he graduates from high school next year, and heard about this American college in Geneva, Switzerland (he wants to attend college in a French speaking area). Currently he's finishing time abroad attending junior year in France. Do you know of any good universities that take American kids for all four years, either in France or Switzerland? Thanks.</p>
<p>For what major?</p>
<p>Business major</p>
<p>Or international relations</p>
<p>Almost all universities in Europe accept foreign students as full-timers if they demonstrate a certain proficiency in the language of instruction and are qualified. So if he is fluent in French (which I guess he is) he can apply wherever he wants to.</p>
<p>Qualifications: An average US highschool degree is mostly not accepted as qualification for college-entry in most of europe (as secondary school systems are usually better here).
So you want to:
- do as many AP classes as possible, many schools will only look at them as normal courses are not seen as qualifying. Also have them as close to his intended major. most schools only consider marks relevant to his major since EU students mostly specialize from age 16 on
- have his headmaster in France write a statement that he did the same coursework as his French counterparts and possibly get a recommendation.
- do all the language testing</p>
<p>Ideas for colleges:
Manye large cities have “american universities” (ie Paris, Geneva etc.). For the most part they are a waste of money and an excuse for rich kids to spend their time in Paris. As always in Europe: The public Us are mostly far superior to the private ones, both in reputation and teaching.</p>
<p>If he is somewhere between Business and IR I would recommend Sciences Po. It is one of the leading Us in the world (on par with HYP and Oxbridge in the social sciences) and their undergrad is an amazing program. You spend 2 years in france doing general studies with possible regional focus, a third year abroad and then have your BA and immediatly go on to some amazing grad-programs in paris.
There are a number of renown universities in the area, you could also try the university of geneva which has an amazing grad-school associated with it. also dont forget that belgium has a large frankophone area.</p>
<ul>
<li>So you could try ULB in Brussels. Unistra in Strasbourg is also famous for their international outlook and education of leaders in business and politics (mainly EUrocrats).</li>
</ul>
<p>Generally: Look at cities that are very international (seat of Government, NGOs, IGOs, Stock-markets etc.) and then look for the more renown public university in the area. Many Universities in other countries also offer multi-lingual programs, so you might want to take a look into english-speaking programs too (but not US-modelled colleges, they are a waste)</p>
<p>You can PM me for Sciences Po or other Us if you like</p>
<p>THanks for the input. It does seem expensive. From what I’ve researched, it seems like Webster in Geneva, for example, is about $25,000/year in tution, plus there’s housing costs. His grades and test scores aren’t stellar though, so I don’'t know that he can be competitive at some of the top-ranked schools (schools better than Webster or other american universities). Webster only requires a 2.5 gpa. Have you heard of Schiller in Paris?</p>
<p>Well I don’t know how reputable it is (i had only heard of the heidelberg campus because it’s fairly close to where I live). It is not ranked in Europe (as it is accredited in the US) and I hardly think it’s well known in the states. The program itself then again seems very interesting, especially with the option to switch campuses. Infrastructure and class-sizes are ok.</p>
<p>But without his stats I dont know about his chances at any of them. Please keep in mind that acceptance requirements also reflect the academic rigor of the institution itself. A college that asks for 25k$ tuition without offering good academics seems like a hard deal.
Also living in Geneva (or Paris) is damn expensive. If he’s not staying in dorms (not many schools have them in europe) he could easily look at 12-15k$ living expenses + travel. </p>
<p>Again - private us-style colleges with big tuition and low academics in the EU always seem like a place where rich parents send their average offsprings to party for four years. At least thats what they are known for around here. </p>
<p>For that kind of money you could enroll him in a better university and have him do internships and study abroads throughout college.</p>
<p>PS: Many good schools in the UK and France will only ask for a certain admissable GPA and then invite him for an interview, so it is possibly to pull the whole thing with a good performance</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. Which good schools in France would you suggest?</p>
<p>Hello Shoshana and Tobiz.int,</p>
<p>My colleagues and I have been following this thread with interest. So there’s no confusion, I am writing this in my official capacity as Director of Admissions at Webster University Geneva. I feel that there might be room for some additional comments to make for a more balanced view of American education overseas.</p>
<p>Webster is a member of the Council of International Education ([Council</a> of International Schools (CIS)](<a href=“http://www.cois.org%5DCouncil”>http://www.cois.org)), and its Committee of American universities overseas ([ACO</a> - An American Education abroad](<a href=“http://www.aco.eu.com%5DACO”>http://www.aco.eu.com)). Shoshana, your son will find us on this web site, along with other accredited institutions that offer “US-style” higher education outside of the US.</p>
<p>Yes, Webster is accredited in the US (Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association) and this means our degrees will be recognized worldwide, including in Europe. This does not mean that American degrees are automatically considered to be EQUIVALENT to degrees of European universities, because the liberal arts approach that we use calls for less specialization than European/UK degrees - but American degrees generally are recognized as long as they are accredited by a NATIONAL accreditation association in the US and/or by the competent accreditation authorities in the country of operation.</p>
<p>Yes, we cost around USD 25,000 per year in tuition. This places us around the median of US institutions. Swiss universites cost around USD 1,000 to the student - and about 30-50 times more (per student) to the taxpayer. Webster University is a non-profit organization, recognized in Switzerland as a foundation. Yes, living expenses in Switzerland, and in Geneva in particular, are high, for the Swiss too. Yes, some of our students are rather wealthy. What might be less known is that our student population spans a wide spectrum of socio-economic backgrounds. Almost 10% of our students receive need-based financial aid from our campus (additionally, American students can use Stafford loans and Pell grants here), and many students work part-time to supplement their income. So while you might see some fancy cars in our student car park, the hordes of students who use public transportation or cycle are less visible.</p>
<p>No, Webster is not a highly competitive school. We require a 2.5 CGPA for admission, our freshmen generally come for the top half of their classes, and many students receive Advanced Standing credit for highly rigorous qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate, French Baccalaureate, British A-Levels, German Abitur etc. In Switzerland, there are no such public schools as Webster: public university access is limited to the 18% of the population who hold a high school diploma (Maturit</p>
<p>I attended Webster Geneva for a semester and can tell you it was the best experience of my academic career. I also got to go to the Thailand campus. If anyone is looking for a real international university that is also fully accredited, than I would recommend any Webster Campus.</p>
<p>What did you like about your semester at Webster Geneva? (and what did you like less…)</p>
<p>I attended a rather affluent boarding school in Switzerland, albeit on a full academic scholarship. A number of students at this school matriculated at Webster University Geneva. Their GPA’s were notably low, as were their SAT scores. Indeed, a number of these students repeated a year of high school and, even then, still performed rather poorly academically. </p>
<p>The school I attended has rather high academic standards, and has sent students to prestigious universities such as Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, the London School of Economics, MIT, UC Berkeley, and Columbia in recent years. The students who went to Webster University Geneva, and similar schools in Europe, tended to be those who performed poorly academically but had the money to afford the ridiculously prohibitive university fees and accompanying living costs. </p>
<p>I cannot say that all students who attend Webster University Geneva fall into this category. Indeed, I read a news article recently that applauded a Webster graduate who maintained a 3.9 GPA and secured a spot in a graduate program at Cambridge. Webster certainly won’t restrict you from entering an excellent graduate school if you perform well academically. However, if you are seeking a more reputable institution, I would encourage you to look elsewhere.</p>
<p>If your son is interested in Politics or International Relations and wants to attend a university in a French speaking country, I’d recommend you take a look at Sciences Po, otherwise known as Institut d’</p>
<p>Arsolo, what is the name of the school in switzerland you are talking about ? I would be very interested to know ! Is it Rosenberg ?</p>
<p>Apologies for the late response!</p>
<p>For the sake of maintaining anonymity, I’d prefer not to mention which school in Switzerland I am referring to. However, I will say that the situation is not limited to the school I attended, and many boarding schools in Switzerland act as feeder schools to universities such as Webster, taking on a small number of poorly performing students, whose deficiencies are worked around in order to allow them to matriculate. </p>
<p>Officials at these schools negotiate with the university, and these students are made aware in advance of their graduation that they will be offered a place at the university, so long as they meet a set of academic requirements (which tend to be quite low).</p>
<p>While being fully aware that this threat is rather old, I would like to add my comments:</p>
<p>If you are looking to study IR in the Geneva region, your best choice is the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID). Rigorous selection process, though.
From an academic viewpoint, Webster University plays in a considerable lower league: they accept people with a 2.5 GPA; this should tell you everything.</p>