I have another question about the costs. I keep telling my dad, that the option to study in France was something that wasn’t even supposed to exist - it only came into existence based on a very lucky visit to a prepa in a city we weren’t even supposed to stop in (we were traveling in France). Also, Cambridge was not supposed to exist - I had wanted to go to MIT since 9th grade but then I learned about the program Cambridge at the end of 11th and decided it made more sense. So I might have well ended up, like most other Americans, with only American schools to pick from. In which case, even if I got into MIT or Caltech, I would have to pay the same amount of money as at Cambridge, right?
The average net price of an MIT education is 40,000 and even if extra financial aid brought that down to 30,000, that would still be 30,0004=120,000 for a bachelors. Cambridge is 45,0003=135,000 for a masters. So my dad keeps telling me that I should go to France because either he or I will be burdened with debt for the rest of our lives, and I believe him to some extent, but my response to him is that I would be no more burdened than an average MIT student. Are all the MIT students who plan on pursuing a PhD afterwards (and hence the loan interest builds up for another 3/4 years) gonna be screwed?
On another note, do you think Brexit will affect me in any way if I go to Cambridge. The pound is getting weaker, which is good for me, but Cambridge might raise their prices in future years in response. Also, I’ve read several articles about British science taking a toll because of Brexit, some speculating about a brain drain to the rest of Europe. I doubt that Cambridge will lose its reputation as one of the top universities in the world, but this Brexit business is making somewhat nervous. I don’t want to jump on a sinking ship, if you know what I mean…
Finally, would it be easier to try one year at Stonybrook/France and then go to Cambridge or is that hard to do. Certainly it seems stupid to do 2 years of prepa only to end up at Cambridge. It would definitely save on costs though…