Where Should I Go to College: the USA or Europe?

Thursday, April 05, 2018 Cristian 2 Comments


If you were given the choice of moving to the United States for college, what would you do? Would you take it in a heartbeat or would you rather go to Europe instead? I mean there's a lot of stuff that needs to be considered when it comes to such a big decision. A big thing to focus on is tuition costs, but let's forget about that for now. The two continents are fairly different and it's important to target the things we enjoy doing and we cannot be without.

Study in the USA

A lot of people believed and still believe in the American dream. But unless you move to a big city, chances are that you will need a car to get around and will be spending a lot of time either at home or, again, in the car. Many of my American friends would rather drive through and pick up food than sit down and enjoy a meal or a coffee. It's also fairly common to host house parties rather than go out to dance or drink.

Study in Europe

If you decide to study in Europe though, you can pretty much find public transportation everywhere. People like to go for a walk, enjoy the outdoors, and sit down to enjoy a coffee with friends. Everything in Europe is also rather concentrated, so it's common to use public transport. Many people do not own a car and don't see the value of having one in the first place.

I'm having a great time here in the United States, I've been driving for over two months now, and I like that at least now I can get to places (not like when I was an exchange student over here a few years back). I like that I am not in school but I am working for a great company and everything, but all of this helped me realize that I also love Europe, there's nothing I can do about it. I love how every country is so close to one another, that it is fairly cheap to travel, that you can reach pretty much anything by walking (grocery stores, pubs, and so on). I love the nightlife, hanging out with friends outdoors, and stuff.

An American girl on exchange to Denmark.

Even though I lived in the States as a high school exchange student and as a college intern, I did not experience University there. Therefore, I asked an American friend of mine who studied abroad in Denmark to highlight some of the differences between the two scholastic systems. The first thing she said was that in Denmark everyone actually pulled their weight, and that doesn't really happen in her home University. What was interesting for her is that attendance isn't required in Denmark but it is in the States. As a result, it doesn't really matter if you do your homework in Denmark but you get docked if you don't in the States. The grading system is completely different overseas. In Denmark, only a few tests determine your final grade, in the US it is a lot of little things. In Scandinavia, it is a lot of making yourself learn things. The school gives you the materials but you have to do it. In the US students tend to memorize only the things that will be on the test. As a result, Denmark prepares you better for the real world rather than for a test.

An Italian guy on exchange to California.

To be fair, I also asked a few questions to someone from Europe who studied abroad in California. My friend is Italian and he is studying at the American University in Rome, so that gave him an additional chance of seeing what the main differences between the American and Italian education systems are.  First of all, American Universities tend to have an attendance policy that in Italy is much rarer (that being said, some universities still have it). One of the reasons why there is an attendance policy is because there are usually daily assignments, presentations, etc. so the students need to be present in class. Conversely, at Italian universities, students are given more independence, in fact, it is up to them to decide whether they want to go to class or prepare for exams by themselves. Furthermore, differently from most Italian universities where the final grade is composed of one exam only, in American universities, the final grade is made up of exams, presentations, and, in some universities, one's in-class participation. Another major difference is that in Italy university students have to take both written and oral exams, whereas, in the American system, they only have to take written exams.

I'd like to know if there's someone from Europe that would rather go to the USA, and vice versa, who would like to share their own thoughts about this, stating what is most important for them when deciding where to go to college. 

- Cris 

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