If you're not enrolling full-time at a university for the entire  
degree course, then the most usual way to study there is on some sort  
of exchange program.  Most universities would be unlikely to  
knowingly take you on for only 1-2 years, and even if they did,  
trying to transfer your work and credit back to Denmark could be  
problematic.

You would normally study abroad in your second or third year of  
university.  It would be relatively unusual to study abroad for your  
first year, and probably wouldn't do you all that much good  
academically, anyway.  Especially if you're going to a school like  
Berkley, you'll get a lot more out of it academically in your third  
year than in your first.  This is a broad, and perhaps slightly cruel  
generalisation, but if you're not in a "smart" school like Berkley,  
the first-year courses may annoy the hell out of you - the US high  
school system doesn't quite compare to most European ones.

The first thing I would do would be to see if your university in  
Denmark has any exchange programs operating with universities  
abroad.  Since you've done well enough to pick the university you  
want in Denmark, look into what exchange programs they have when  
you're choosing.  If where you end up doesn't have an exchange  
program (or if they're to universities you're not interested in), you  
can usually still arrange your own exchange with a little bit of leg- 
work and communication.  Application dates will vary, but they can be  
as early as November or December, so if you want to go on exchange in  
your second year, you're in for a very busy first term at university.

The next thing to worry about is funding.  Someone will pay an arm  
and a leg for you to study abroad, so you'll have to make sure it's  
not you.  Once again, your own university in Denmark will have the  
best information for you regarding sources of funding from Denmark  
(but don't expect them to have *all* the information).  If you want  
to go to a particular school in the US, contact their international  
students' office (they will all have something that fits that  
description).  It may even be worth contacting the relevant  
departments for information.

I'm not familiar with Denmark in particular, but if the system works  
anything like Sweden and Norway, you might consider waiting until  
you're almost finished in Denmark and going to the US to study for  
part of a Master's degree (the 'typical' degree you finish with in  
Sweden and Norway is more similar to an American Master's than  
Bachelor's degree).  The minus of this is that it's further in the  
future, but the plus side is that it will be easier to find funding,  
you'll be more likely to find a place you like to study, and you'll  
be more likely to be studying something really interesting (rather  
than just taking first-year programming classes).  And by then you'll  
be of legal drinking age in the US as well.

Finally, I'll let my own nationalism slip through, and suggest that  
you think about Canada as well as the US.  The University of Toronto  
is a good school for CS and math, and is a great city.  Simon Frasier  
University near Vancouver is smaller, but has a good reputation as  
well, and both Vancouver and Toronto are fantastic cities to live  
in.  Canadian universities also generally cheaper than the US, even  
when paying international tuition rates.

Best of luck,
matthew smillie.


On Dec 2, 2005, at 21:52, Daniel Schierbeck wrote:

> Hi fellow Rubyists!
>
> I've been on this list for a little while now,and I feel like  
> you're all very open and helpful. That's why I direct my question  
> to you.
>
> I'm at my senior year at the Danish (north of Germany, south of  
> Sweden) equivalence to the US high school. My grades are excellent  
> (about an A average, though I'm not completely sure about the  
> conversion. I expect to finish with an average of over 10, if there  
> are any Danes that know what that would amount to in teh US  
> system.) I was hoping to study in the US either next school year or  
> the year after, depending on what my options are (and perhaps it's  
> already too late to apply for next year,) but I'm not sure I will  
> be able to afford it - We have a public (free) education system in  
> Denmark, so I do not have any college savings. What I want to know  
> is what my options are in regard to scholarships and whatever  
> funding there may else be.
>
> I've been looking at colleges like UC Berkeley, which I believe is  
> a state college, but I've also been dreaming of going to more  
> prominent colleges, such as Boston College, though that may not be  
> realistic.
>
> My grades are good enough to get me into pretty much any education  
> I want here in Denmark, but I'd very much like to get away for a  
> few years and try to live across the pond. I also find the  
> selection of courses more interesting. Here we specialize a lot  
> earlier.
>
> I'm mostly interested in the scientific and mathematical areas, so  
> I think I'd pick math, CS, or the like as mayor.
>
>
> Thank you for listening (reading?) to me,
> Daniel Schierbeck
>