The first question I get when I tell people I am applying to university in Europe is “why?”. Which makes sense, why go to a foreign country and have to deal with language barriers, visas, and more when there are over 4,000 schools in America to choose from. For me, the idea of being able to combine the experience of a gap year or study abroad with getting my degree and also cutting costs is a huge factor. Taking a gap year is becoming increasingly difficult, as college prices go up many students fear that taking a year off to travel is just a waste of money. Doing a semester study abroad programs through college in America can cost far more than it needs to. Additionally, it takes just 3 years to earn a bachelor's degree in most European countries. Without even taking tuition into consideration, university is already cheaper abroad simply because you have a whole year less of tuition and living expenses to pay.
Let's look at UNH for example. The College Board reports an average of $34,830 a year1 for in-state students at the University of New Hampshire. Now of course financial aid and scholarships will lower that sticker price, if you subtract the average first year financial aid package you are left still paying $10,289 1. In comparison, tuition at Groningen University in the Netherlands averages around $11,727 2 without scholarships or aid. Furthermore, you will earn your degree in 3 years, leaving you with an average of $35,191 for a complete bachelor's degree2 (which is just over the sticker price of a single year at UNH). At the University of Pecs in Hungary, though not all degrees are 3 years, the average tuition of a full degree is $19,922 2.
The only major drawback to studying abroad, is that scholarships and financial aid are not quite so readily available. While the National Health Service offers bursaries to students studying certain degree programs in England, British Universities do not offer financial aid. The upside is that there are several notable universities across mainland Europe that are FAFSA eligible (see Study.EU 3 for the full list).
At the end of the day, sticker prices on universities in Europe are far cheaper than those in America, and if cost is your major deciding factor, it will always come down to how much financial aid each school is willing to offer. But government restrictions on University tuition in several European countries is going to keep those prices low from the start, which is probably one of Europe's best kept secrets.
Sources:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-university-search/university-of-new-hampshire
College Beyond the States by Jennifer Viemont
https://www.study.eu/article/fafsa-eligible-universities-colleges-in-europe
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