December 4, 2004

12:07 PM

I'm currently a university student in the US, and I'm seriously considering to transferring to a uni overseas. I know all about study abroad programs, but my school isn't very good with them. What would be the cost for an American to go to school in, say, Germany? How hard is it to permanently transfer to a university in Western Europe?
posted by borkingchikapa to (8 comments total)

It would be very expensive to come to the UK if you didn't have a scholarship. The falling dollar hurts so much. Hopefully someone else will know about Germany.

Don't expect your previous coursework to transfer over...
posted by grouse at 12:24 PM on December 4, 2004

I'm studying at the University of Bonn right now through a direct exchange with my university in the States. My situation is different from yours in that I had to pay tuition for my home university so a student could attend in my place, but I still had to pay all fees once I got here. That makes it a bit more expensive than it normally would be, and, man, it's expensive anyway. I estimated my total cost poorly, and that, combined with the falling dollar, meant that I had to take out more loans mid-semester just to pay the rent.

On the other hand, the credit I earn here will apply to my degree back home, which it almost certainly wouldn't have done had I withdrawn, enrolled here, then tried to re-enroll when I returned to the U.S. Also, I couldn't imagine trying to navigate the enrollment system here had I already been here, much less trying to enroll across the ocean - another reason I recommend an exchange program.

Another problem you might have is with your visa. You are only allowed to work for 90 days with a student visa - more than that and you risk getting deported. German unemployment is up and they take Schwarzarbeit very seriously. Without a very good scholarship or an independent source of income I'd think it would be very difficult to make it over here. (Check out the DAAD for good scholarship opportunities.)

Total cost of living is very hard to estimate right now since the dollar's so shitty. But remember, you don't pay tuition once you get in - just a Sozialbeitrag, probably no more than 150 Euro per semester.

My email's in my profile if you have any more specific questions.
posted by ruddhist at 12:56 PM on December 4, 2004

Oh, and P.S. - it's completely worth all the hassle. You will have an amazing time once you actually make it here.
posted by ruddhist at 1:01 PM on December 4, 2004

In the UK costs for non-EU students are £10k-£20k a year, depending on the course. Pretty damn pricey. For a 3 year course, could be as much as ~$120k for the whole course.
posted by Orange Goblin at 2:25 PM on December 4, 2004

In the UK costs for non-EU students are £10k-£20k a year, depending on the course. Pretty damn pricey. For a 3 year course, could be as much as ~$120k for the whole course.

Thats expensive but in the same range as many private universities in the US. A four year undergraduate degree at Carnegie Mellon University would cost you about $150K. I'm going to grad school there but my employer is paying for it; I can't imagine spending that much on an undergraduate degree.
posted by octothorpe at 6:46 PM on December 4, 2004

You can do a WHOLE lot via study abroad programs. A friend of mine says that SUNY (State University of New York, I believe) has a ton of them. Going abroad is the bee's knees, as far as I'm concerned. I spent some time in Cambridge, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Good luck!
posted by Medieval Maven at 8:54 PM on December 4, 2004

Northern Europe is worth considering as higher education is highly subsidised and even for international students, the tuition costs are cheap. For example, I have seen Masters courses which are 100 euros/subject (with say 4 or 5 subjects a semester required).

Although Northern Europe also has a reputation for a high cost of living, many things besides tuition are subsidised for students. For example, as part of my law degree, I am going to a Finnish university for a semester. My furnished housing will cost about 220 euros/month. Meals at the student cafeterias are about 3 euros. Transport is subsidised.

However, it is probably easier to arrange as an independent (rather than exchange) student for graduate study as while most Masters courses are taught in English, not so many undergraduate degrees are. But it is possible, you'd need to look around - this will be an issue anywhere in Europe - some do the lot in English and others in their local language. Others will let you do most studies in English, but you will also need to pass a course in the local language.

Most countries have government funded centres responsible for promoting their education system to international students, look for these at Study in Europe which has links for many of the European countries.
posted by AnnaRat at 1:43 AM on December 5, 2004

Sorry, just to clarify the above, I meant to say it is easier to arrange independent study as a graduate rather than undergraduate. It is equally easy to do as an exchange student.
posted by AnnaRat at 1:45 AM on December 5, 2004