Hi! My name is Kristin and I've been hoping to do my Masters in Business there in England. I'd like to stay in the London area or SE because thats where someone special is to me and I'd like to spend more time with him as well. I'm kind of nervous because I've read it's really hard to get scholarships for american students there, and I've already studied in London once for a semester last year and had to take loans out. Would you recommend doing a masters there? I heard it ended up being a shorter ti me period and cheaper than doing it here in the U.S.
Hi Kristin. While university fees may turn out to be cheaper because masters degrees are (usually) only one year, there are a lot of other costs to factor in. For instance, as an international student at my university, I paid £12,800 for my entire degree. But then there are accommodation, bills, food and travel costs, not to mention other little things you purchase here and there. It's expensive, particularly in London, and you most likely won't have an income throughout that entire year of study. And there are scholarships available to some students, but they are pretty hard to come by; you can always try to get US scholarships that don't require you to go to a US university.
So I would recommend thinking about how much it would cost to do a degree in the US, what your living expenses would be during that time, and then compare that to something like £30,000 ($47,500) for your degree in the UK. (I say £30,000 because that's how much I ended up taking out in student loans; this number will differ for everyone.)
Of course, if you're looking to develop a relationship (or perhaps already have one) with someone in the UK, then coming over here on a student visa is a good (but expensive) option. It's a good way to take things slow without committing yourself to anything, aside from studying. My boyfriend is from the UK, which was a major influence on why I did my MA here as it gives us more time to decide what we think about each other before jumping into marriage/etc.
Good luck!
