Where Should I Pursue My Higher Education?

[Singleterry]

Good day,

I'm a Mexican student who is currently in his 3rd year of Junior High School; from an early age I have shown some inclination towards Mathematics and Science (especially Physics).

Within a few months I will finish Junior High School and I'm planning in enrolling in the International Baccalaureate program at a prestigious High School which can offer me a ~40/50% scholarship (which is the maximum scholarship that they offer to small schools like mine). Recently I have been thinking about the following questions:

• Should I make my undergrad studies in a Mexican University (UNAM or IPN) or shall I study in another country? In case I study in another country: approximately how much does a semester on a U.S. university cost (something like Berkeley or MIT)?
• In case I make my undergrad studies in Mexico: would it be recommendable for me to make my graduate studies (M.D. and Ph.D.) in another country?

Thanks for your attention,
Patrick.

 

[nickbob00]

You could consider doing your first degree in Europe: undergraduate fees for international students in the UK probably work out cheaper than fees at prestigious institutions in the UK. Assuming you can pick up a language (or even european spanish), institutions on the continent are much cheaper: some are completely free!

 

[qspeechc]

An easy way to check the tuition fees for US universities is with this site:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/spp+50
Don't worry about the ranking, that's more black magic than exact science. You can do a search at the right under the ads. Most of them seem to be in the $30k to $45k range per year. But note that is only 'tuition and fees', you will have to include boarding, travel, books etc. http://web.mit.edu/facts/tuition.html", for example, says that in the 2010/11 year, boarding and books at MIT was about $14k (which must have gone up slightly this year), bringing the total for MIT in 2011/12 to about $55k per year. Also, I'm not sure, but I think some universities have higher 'tuition and fees' for foreign students.

Like nickbob00 said, you may want to check out Europe, where it is probably cheaper, but I think the UK is making it harder for foreign students to study there (all gossip, I don't really know, what til someone more knowledgeable than me tells you about Europe).

Oh, and btw, Berkley and MIT are extremely difficult to get in to, and harder for foreigners. Still apply to them by all means, but also try for universities that are not as prestigious.