Just testing the waters

Hey there! I'm not very good at hellos or goodbyes so I'm just going to dive into a little about who I am. I am a 20 year old male from central Iowa raised in a nice big house with two blue collar parents. I've never seen any farther west than South Dakota and no farther south than Florida. Both of which being nothing more than a few weeks of vacation to see some family I never even met before.

Now that we are no longer strangers I've been putting some serious thought into what I want to do with my life and how I want to live it. After two years of wasting my life avoiding college and coming home just dripping in that nasty grease stench I know now that I need to better myself. Now the thing is being a very focused person I need to remove myself from everything I know and love to allow myself to really bury nose in those books and create the life that I've always wanted. I also want to attend a college that takes education as serious as I am going to. It all comes down to the money for a degree here and a degree in the UK. Look I can pay 28k per year to live in the same place I always have or I can pay 13K in Euros in a country and place I've never seen before so its like I'm winning double time.

I guess I just came across this forum to ask you guys about some questions I need to ask. I've been lost as to what exactly I should even google first! What should I consider as far as which colleges to attend? Should I try and make a trip to the UK before dedicating to a college? Whats all this business about standard exams when entering the UK universities? Really any advice would be greatly appreciated and as well as anything else you think I should ask myself or other people. Just if there's anything that can point me in some sort of direction would be awesome!
Thanks you guys!

Also, I'm looking to go to college for marketing.

You know it's pounds in the UK, right, not Euros

Honestly, if you're just looking for a foreign adventure and a good education, go to Germany. They have low tuition (in some cases no tuition) and lots of degrees offered in English. Some other European countries (Denmark, maybe., or Sweden) also do the same.

Pardon my ignorance. haha

I actually had come across an article that mentioned that Germany had free universities.  It was actually that article that had sparked my interest in study over seas.  Honestly I'm terrified by the fact that education is taught in a foreign language. I have no issues with learning another language  but at the same time I want to understand what I'm investing in.

I will admit that I haven't looked into Denmark or Finland as far as education goes but the suggestion is much appreciated. I will have to look into both of those countries. Yet the fear of learning a degree in a language that I don't understand kind of frightens me. So that's why I lean towards the UK.

I appreciated the guidance and will have a look at it tomorrow as it is midnight here in the mid-west.

Much love!

Well as historyenne just said, there are degrees in the places she mentioned that are taught in English so the language thing doesn't have to be an issue.

One of the main things you will probably want to check is whether the schools you are looking at are registered with FAFSA. if they are, then you should be able to use US student loans to find your education. Keep in mind that there are limits on the amount of loans you can get as an undergraduate student, and that your student visa may have work restrictions on it. UK student visas only allow you to work 20 hours per week, so funding your education with work while you're here will be difficult.

Honestly I'm terrified by the fact that education is taught in a foreign language.

Some of these countries have degrees taught in English though (which Historyenne  and alison have rmentioned) .

So that's why I lean towards the UK.

Before you start thinking about the money aspect, it's a good idea first to decide what major you're interested in (ETA: just noticed you said marketing above) and to look into the entry requirements for that major at UK universities.

University in the UK is structured very differently to in the US and you generally only study your major for the entire degree - there are no general requirement classes and you don't get to take a few different classes before choosing your major.

Instead, you choose your major before you apply and then you apply to study for a specific degree course title, in a specific academic department, at each university. Generally, everyone who applies for your course will be in all the same classes as you, at least for the first year and then there may be a choice of electives within the department (some courses allow you to take classes in different departments though).

When I applied to university (I'm British), I applied to 4 universities, for the following courses:

Oxford University: Physics
Exeter University: Physics with North American Study
Birmingham University: Physics with Astrophysics
Southampton University: Physics with Space Physics

I ended up going to Exeter, but after the first year, I changed from Physics with North American Study to Theoretical Physics with North American Study (for TBBT fans: from a Leonard degree to a Sheldon degree ). I spent my third year of the degree studying Physics at the University of New Mexico .

Because of the differences in the education systems, in terms of applying to UK universities, the entry requirements for US students are usually AP classes (level 5), college credits or an Associates Degree.

For example, Bristol University, requires the following for undergraduate admissions:

- High School Diploma with a GPA of 3.0 minimum
AND EITHER
-    SATR (a.k.a. SAT I) with at least 1830 combined score
OR
-   ACT with a score of at least 26

PLUS one of the following:

-    Three SAT Subject Tests of at least 650 (700+ for competitive courses) in each subject (with essential subjects being shown)
-    Three AP subjects of at least 4 (5 for competitive courses) in class A subjects (with essential subjects being shown)

It then says:

Applicants who have completed the High School Diploma combined with a successfully completed appropriate foundation/bridging programme will be considered for admission to our Bachelor degree courses.

Applicants who have successfully completed the first year of a U.S. University degree will be considered for admission to the first year of our Bachelor degree courses.

I am not so sure that Sweden has many undergrad programs in English.  There are some, but they tend to be in more technical programs, or others not related to marketing.  Also, the Swedish system doesn't really push people along and can be party central, so that may not be the best place for someone who wants to be focused.

I think there is a broader question here about what you want to study and where you want to live/work after school rather than a cost and adventure question.  For marketing you probably aren't going to get a better education overseas than you would in the US, and getting jobs in that field could be challenging after you graduate.  A US employer may balk at a European degree, or you could be behind your peers who had the opportunity to make use of internships in the US that may not exist/your visa status blocks you from in Europe.  You may also face more competition for part time work during the school year in Europe.  Finally, culture shock is real, and for someone who hasn't traveled much and may face a language barrier - do you really want to be overcoming those challenges in addition to going to school?  Even the UK has its quirks, despite the language similarities.

I'm not saying its a bad idea, just that I wouldn't completely discount getting education in the US.  What about school in Minneapolis or Chicago?  Or one of the coasts?  Where do you want to be in 5-10 years, what does that look like, and how does that coincide with education in Europe?  There are also always the options of studying overseas for a full year as an exchange student or even just a summer, or you could always teach english for a year after school too.

If you do consider the UK only, it looks like you would just about break even with the cost of going to a US school out of state.  Looking at Warwick, which is an excellent school with a strong business faculty and marketing, etc, they want about £16K for tuition and estimate £3K for living expenses, or roughly $30K for a year.  UK degrees are only 3 years rather than 4, so you could save some money that way, but they still aren't any bargain.

One other option is to potentially start at your local university for two years and then transfer somewhere with greater profile to finish the last two years.  If you did two years at your local school to get the core requirements out of the way and then applied to do the more challenging work at say Wisconsin (excellent for market research, close links to Nielsen and Chicago-based corporates) or Michigan (part of the Ross business school) or any other top-ranked undergrad marketing programs, then you would save money and get a top education with a likely higher potential to get good internships or potential work after school at companies where you will learn more, faster, than screwing around with trying to get any marketing job anywhere.  And if you really wanted to, with the money you are saving you could take a nice long 4-week swing through Europe before you start in the Fall to see something else than just central Iowa.

http://www.bachelorsportal.eu/study-options/268533848/marketing-denmark.html

I have heard of quite I few British students going to Denmark to study -- cheaper and all in English!

My husband studied for a degree in Sweden and it was in English, except for supplementary Swedish language and culture classes to improve integration.

For study abroad, these links may help.:
Sweden:
https://studyinsweden.se/programmes/
Denmark:
http://denmark.dk/en/practical-info/study-in-denmark/

However, I understand competition for university places in places like Sweden, Denmark and Germany are quite fierce because of the nominal fees, according to people I know who have studied in those countries, though if you are not an EU / EEA, the nominal fee system may not apply to you as an international student (may not even as a EU /EEA citizen, as you may not meet residency requirements) 

I would really consider a degree in Marketing in your home state that has a study abroad scheme and then consider a Master's degree abroad, if you enjoy your first experience; that way, you are staggering some pretty massive changes and experiences into bite size chunks and this may be more financially feasible in the long term, as European masters are often one year.

For study in the UK
Undergrad:
http://www.ucas.com/
Postgrad:
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/postgraduate_study.htm
Marketing jobs information UK:
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobfamily/Pages/marketingsellingandadvert.aspx

University of Iowa study abroad information (has marketing):
http://tippie.uiowa.edu/students/abroad.cfm

Do you have EU heritage that may allow you EU citizenship? That may make many things easier and cheaper.