Why do upperclass American families send their children to British universities? (Ivy, boarding school)
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You didn't answer my question.
I'm only talking about upperclass who could have chosen Harvard and Yale.
Who are these people? What are you referring to, exactly? Do you mean Rhodes scholarships? Or scholarships to Oxford? Most upper class families send their kids to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Berkeley, and similar schools: Cornell, Smith, etc.
My own experience suggests that the premise is wrong -- not many upper class Americans send their kids to British schools. I know a lot of upper-class Americans; none were educated in Britain except, occasionally, for one or two semesters abroad. I know a substantial number of people who graduated from British universities; none are upper-class Americans.
I'm not aware of a trend among American families to send their children overseas for university education. It's not popping up in the news or being covered in the magazines. So where is this idea coming from?
What is very popular is spending a semester or two abroad as an international student. But you still return to your home university to graduate. The UK is the most popular study abroad destination if only because of the lack to know another language.
My own experience suggests that the premise is wrong -- not many upper class Americans send their kids to British schools. I know a lot of upper-class Americans; none were educated in Britain except, occasionally, for one or two semesters abroad. I know a substantial number of people who graduated from British universities; none are upper-class Americans.
I wondered about this.
I was born and raised in the U.S., and lived there sixty-one years. I never had the impression that "so many" did this.
I have lived in Europe for fifteen years now, and the American kids who vacation in my town, from what I can pick up listening to them are solidly middle class and on a Jr. year abroad. But then the scions of the American upper class would not be likely to flock here, I don't think.
So many of them, including top politicians. What are the reasons?
Can you give some examples of top politicians who are sending their college students abroad to study?
Two of my children, a junior and a senior, are in private high schools right now. College is heavily on our minds. They rub elbows with some fairly wealthy people, but I am not aware of any trend among the wealthy towards sending kids to foreign universities. I actually cannot think of one kid over the last few years who has shown interest in enrolling abroad full-time. Even a semester abroad doesn't seem to be that exciting to them.
Actually, at both schools there are sizable populations of kids sent to the United States from other countries to study here at the high school level and then be able to continue in American universities. Perhaps some of these foreign families go on to consider both US and British universities at the next level so that's the trend you are thinking of but I don't see a trend of US students applying overseas, not even one.
I know a lot of Trustafarians and their families. I grew up in an area saturated with Trustafarians, so I have been aware of where their kids got their educations since I was a student, myself.
Most attend Ivy League or "second tier" Ivy League schools, if they are academically gifted. If not, they attend prestigious private colleges, and may be admitted because of a legacy established at that particular institution.
As far as attending British universities . . . I know many young adults who have spent at least part of their college experience attending college in Europe, not necessarily Great Britain. My nephew recently spent the summer in a program at Heidelberg University (Germany). I have another friend whose daughter is attending the London School of Economics (may not be the exact name). Another friend I was in graduate school with was a Rhoads scholar (and he was certainly not wealthy).
So . . . I don't know that the tradition is for wealthy Americans to send their kids abroad for an education, but I do know from personal experience that attending class abroad is not limited to the wealthy.
If a person is interested in international business, for example, or diplomatic corps work - it only makes sense for them to spend some time studying in another country.
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