You'd probably also find the amount of amenities provided by universities ridiculous. I mean we had a free olympic pool and rented puppies to pet before finals. Its no wonder it costs so much

I found a stark difference in German and American higher education that the German higher education system treats you like an adult, including accountability for your own schedule, whereas in comparison American universities appear an extension of middle school. Carefully created and controlled curriculum, etc. That's in no way a statement about the academic merit in either direction, of course.

This is very much aligned with the direct cost and services provided. Attending German universities is virtually free, and under certain conditions, the country will give you very cheap loans to pay for your living expenses. My spouse had a single digit number of thousands of Euros to pay back after graduating.

PhD students are often underpaid employees and are treated that way (for better or worse) instead of being considered as and treated like students. This doesn't imply one is preferable to another, just that it is a continuation of treating them with and expecting a higher degree of maturity and independence.

An upshot for me was that when I applied to my first industry job, the time as a PhD student was treated as work experience.

So yeah, I think you're spot on in that many folks from continental Europe would find the amenities bewildering. :)

Thats right. I had a similar experience as an american exchange student in london. The college didnt baby sit you and extra services cost money

Ten years ago in France, it was around 279€ and since my familly was in the lowest quintile, it was covered by the state. But i've hear that the true cost was in fact 3.8K€ per student, up to 7K per student if you count lodging. Or around 10K$. For "Elite" schools the upfront cost is between 7K and 15K, and you can add 2K for the true cost (paid in taxes, VAT or income) and 3k for lodging. I say elite but the best school in France for math is actually a public university (ranked 5th in the world or around that), and you can get this for almost free if your parents are poor.

In the Swiss system (as I understand it) it's about $600 to attend classes, but if you don't hit the minimum on the semester exams twice, then you're done in the country.

If you miss it the first round then there is a massive incentive to transfer or find an easier program, otherwise you face the prospect of being forced to go abroad to complete a degree.

Do you have any idea if this causes grade inflation to protect below-to-average, but otherwise responsible, students?

I would tend to believe it does considering the people I work with from university like the EPFL. But more generally, it might be a today problem where people has to be hand carried to do anything with 0 critical thinking.

I know that German universities are generally free, while, for example, their UK counterparts charge around 10,000 GBP a year.

The tuition fee in the UK isn't really a fee at all, at least for most domestic students. In practice, it's more like a graduate tax. Student loans are only repayable if you're earning over £25,725 per year. Your repayments are 9% of your income over that threshold. Your loan is automatically forgiven after 30 years. Because of these terms, the vast majority of students never fully repay their loan.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tui...

That's sad though. This means that most students never earn more than 25k per year, even if they studied..

Actually, if we assume the previously posted £10,000/year, and three years for a Bachelor's they'd have a £30,000 debt. Assuming no interest, since it's only the amount over £25,725 that's taxed they'd have to average £25,725+((£30,000/30)/.09), or £36,836.11, over 30 years to fully repay, which I think is a much more reasonable number outside of HCOL areas.

I'm not sure if they account for inflation or have any fixed interest on the loans. 30 years without any would be pretty crazy.

Interest rates vary depending on how much you earn. https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/what-you-pay

It's basically inflation + 3% if you're earning more than £45k/yr+.

That makes a lot of sense, thanks.

They have above interest earnings for higher earners, and a lot of students take out loans of nearly twice the size to pay living costs, so a lot of people whose earnings average over £40k in 2019 money won't pay all their loans back either.

Nitpick: you can't really generalize about education in the UK as Scotland has a completely different system to England and Wales (and I don't know about NI).

For example, tuition fees at Scottish universities are "free" (i.e. paid for by the Scottish Government) for Scottish residents and people from other EU countries (but not the rest of the UK).