In article <4390c1da$0$152$edfadb0f / dread11.news.tele.dk>,
Daniel Schierbeck  <daniel.schierbeck / gmail.com> 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.

US schools (even public ones now) are extremely expensive.
Most US students end up with school loans that take them many years to pay 
off.

>
>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.


Unless you've got a significant amount of money saved up, I would advise you 
to study in Europe.  You could try a different country in the EU like the UK 
or even Italy, for example.  In the past US uni's were highly regarded, now 
I'm not so sure it's going to be worth the money vs what you'll pay in 
Europe...

Last year I was on a research fellowship in Italy (Genoa) and I as quite 
impressed with their system.  The grad students had various labs they belonged 
to based on their interest.  In the lab you had your own computer assigned to 
you.  It's not like that in the US- you have to go to a computer room full of 
computers and wait for one to become available (at least that's how it is at 
PSU even for grad students).  I was really impressed with their system there 
in Italy - the grad students all seemed to have funding (meaning that they 
were even getting a monthly allowance) - that is definitely not the case here 
in the US.

So, while the grass may seem greener over here in the US, I really think you 
folks in Europe have a great thing going: low (or free) tuition, and the 
Universities still seem to be well funded (unlike here).  You'll save yourself 
a lot of money and trouble by not coming to the US for your studies.

Phil