UK students switch to US universities | Hacker News Reader

UK students switch to US universities

bbc.co.uk

5 pointsdmmalam8 comments

With the latest hike in British tuition fees (to around £9000/year from around £3000), studying in the US probably costs around the same as studying in the UK, so I'm not surprised that many more kids are suddenly considering going abroad.

Previously, studying in the UK was far cheaper, so it was ridiculous for a British citizen to voluntarily pay much more to study abroad for a similar quality of education.

Most people can't go to university without loans from the government, which you won't get if you study in the US.

But why go to the US? A British citizen can study everywhere in the EU. Personally, I would recommend going to Germany (disclaimer: yes, I'm German), especially for an education in engineering. In many Univerities here, you pay less than 500€ a year (and might even get free public transportation with that). Granted, there is the language barrier, but on the other hand, it's rather cheap to spend a weekend "back home" when you feel like it.

Language barrier probably has a lot to do with it, but top US universities are forever in the media via US TV Shows, Films and news coverage.

I could probably name quite a few Ivy League institutions but nothing for Germany. Of course, anyone seriously considering this would do a lot of research but the US gets a fair head start.

Ok, this makes a lot of sense. So, if anybody is interested, here is a small overview for prospective future student-migrants to Germany:

1. The good universities in Germany are public universities (TU München, TU Erlangen). Private universities exist for a few years now, but so far they haven't proven that they can reliably deliver the same quality. (There certainly are exceptions).

2. For technology fields, southern Germany is better than northern Germany.

3. Computer science ("Informatik"): Bigger universities are better, check out what research is being done at the university before applying. If you do your standard degrees (in Germany this is a bachelor and a master), you will, from your bachelor thesis on, be involved in actual research activities.

4. For electrical/mechanical engineering, good criteria for university selection are: Is there a major technology center nearby (München, Stuttgart, Rhein-Main)? Is it a TU (Technische Universität)? Does it have more than 10000 Students?

5. Forget about Berlin (at least for a moment). Berlin is _the_ place for the "young and hip" startup scene in Germany, but for historical reasons, it is not traditionally a technology center. The biggest German IT technology center is in the Rhein-Main-Neckar area. There are a bunch of universities (TU Darmstadt, TU Heidelberg...) and many "traditional" companies (SAP, Banking services...). You are also close to Frankfurt, which is a very central travel hub (Frankfurt airport obviously, but also the train station.) There might even appear a direct train connection to London in the near future. At the moment, you have to change trains once, in Brusseles.

I hope this helps someone. There are certainly also great technology/IT universities in the Netherlands and some northern and eastern european countries, so further research is advised.

Interesting, my 14 year old son (who is at a private school) is keen on going to a foreign University (probably in the US) and it's not because of the tuition fees - we don't have them here in Scotland.

This sort of hype article pops up every few years in the British press. Perhaps there is an increasing trend in students attending US universities, but it is always going to be a small number, and almost all of them will be private school pupils with rich parents.

And vice versa.

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