College in the US was too expensive, so these students opted for Europe

In 2019, Jacob Zeidberg applied to almost 30 schools in the US. He was waitlisted or rejected from all of them.

A 2024 report from Common App, a college application platform, showed that application volume has grown by 171% since the 2014-15 academic year. The number of applications per applicant has risen by 46% in the same timeframe, now totaling 6.65 applications per person.

“When the Common App became ubiquitous, it started to get really hard to get into American institutions just because it’s so much easier to apply to so many more of them,” Harry said.

It’s pushed some parents and students to look elsewhere.

For many, Europe is the answer. “Even if you haven’t done all the extracurriculars, or if you haven’t taken the SATs, it is much easier to get accepted to school in Europe because the way they do admissions is slightly different,” Edge, owner of Beyond the States, said.

For example, he said they may focus more on the student’s academic strengths than on standardized tests.

Zeidberg eventually applied to Toulouse Business School in France. He said the application process was smooth and efficient, and he was accepted two weeks later.

“It was like night and day,” his mom, Jennifer Zeidberg, told BI.

The benefits of college abroad go beyond cost

In many US colleges, students declare a major after their freshman year. Many colleges outside the US are more specialized.

That system appeals to many people who are sure of their interests. “If you are definitely a math person, knowing that you can do three or four years of math and never have to write another English essay — it’s intriguing for people,” Harry said.

Scarlett Kiaras-Attari, who grew up in Kentucky and moved to Scotland in 2018 for undergrad, was one of them. “I was so interested in medieval history and Classics,” she told BI. “I just knew that there was no other place that I had applied to that was really going to capture that the way that I thought Edinburgh could.”

Amanda Mrozek, who withdrew from Central Michigan University in her third year and moved to Germany to get her degree in 2021, struggled with cultural differences.

For example, her college in Germany lacked school spirit and a sports culture, she said. Most students also lived off-campus and went straight home after class instead of hanging out on campus.

“It’s just not fun,” she previously told BI. “I understand people will say, ‘You’re supposed to be learning.’ But at least for me, I can learn better when I’m enjoying something about it.”

Harry often tells students they won’t have a typical American college experience abroad and that they will often be in the minority of kids who go abroad.

“Recognize that your experience is going to be a bit different, but it doesn’t mean it’s any less rich or rewarding,” he said.

In the years since graduating from high school, Miezejeski only knows of three other high school classmates who left the US: one went to Canada, and two others went to the Netherlands and Italy to study. But most of them stayed in Connecticut or studied in nearby cities like Boston and New York. Where she’s from, it’s not common to go abroad, but it’s a slow trend, she said.

Since completing her degree in 2021, she hasn’t looked back.

She decided to stay in Europe and pursue a master’s degree in Brussels. Her master’s program was one year long and cost around $4,700 — almost a fifth of what she would have paid if she had pursued a master’s at the University of Connecticut, a college in her state, based on the university’s website.

More importantly, Miezejeski gained experiences money can’t buy.

“I have friends now all over the world,” she said. “I’ve learned about all their cultures, how they do things and their languages. I’ve met incredible people and learned so much. The learning does not stop.”