When San Diego high school senior Tara Vassefi applied to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, her parents were wary. "They wanted me to stay really close to home," she recalls. But Vassefi, who earned an M.A. in international relations from St. Andrews in 2009 and now works at a Washington national security think tank, figures both generations came out ahead.  Her parents shelled out about $30,000 a year for all her school and living expenses--less than some of the pricey private U.S. colleges she was considering would have cost them. And she was able to earn an M.A., not simply a B.A., in four years, while using earnings from part-time jobs to take weekend and summer trips around Europe and the Middle East. "It was the perfect step to take after high school," says Vassefi. It's a step more students should consider.  The Institute for International Education reports 229,000 U.S. undergraduates received credit for studying abroad for a semester or two in 2008 09. Most paid tuition to their U.S. schools as well as travel costs--in some cases driving up their total college tabs. By contrast only 4,015 Americans last year were studying at U.K. schools for U.K. undergraduate degrees, even though this can save big dollars.  During 201011 tuition and fees at U.S. private four-year colleges and universities averaged $27,293, with room and board running another $9,700, for a total of $36,993, according to the College Board. Dozens of top private schools posted tuition and fees exceeding $40,000 and total costs of $50,000-plus. Even the University of Michigan, a state school, will charge out-of-state juniors and seniors tuition and fees above $40,000 for 201112.  But St. Andrews, the oldest university in Scotland and the alma mater of Britain's Prince William and wife Kate, will charge tuition of just 13,500 pounds ($21,650) to U.S. students for 201112, while the University of Oxford will charge 12,700 to 14,550 pounds, depending on the course of study. Tuition and fees at Canada's McGill University will total $16,689 Canadian ($17,400 U.S.) for U.S. students studying for a B.A. and $25,722 Canadian for those working toward an engineering degree.  Other countries have high-quality universities that, thanks to government subsidies, are cheaper or even free. "For how good the opportunity is, it's shocking to us how few students earn a degree abroad," says Kim Gradel, director of operations for StudyAbroad.com. "The major barrier for Americans going is they just don't know that they can," says Mary Catherine Scarborough, higher education advisor at the British Council, which promotes study in the U.K.  To be sure, studying abroad is hardly for every teen. Maturity is a must. And since most undergraduate degrees outside the U.S. require three years of study instead of four, students move directly into a major. That doesn't work for 18-year-olds who haven't decided what to do with their lives.  "I saw a lot of American students struggling," says Vassefi, who knew at 14 that she wanted to study international relations. She adds that some Americans had trouble adapting to the U.K.'s more self-directed approach to learning. Vassefi's friends at U.S. colleges read assigned books, attended lectures and wrote frequent papers. By contrast, at St. Andrews her teachers provided long lists of suggested readings, held small weekly "tutorials" and most required just a few, more intensively researched papers.  Still, there are more reasons than ever to look abroad. Foreign degrees are increasingly accepted by U.S. graduate schools, and global contacts and experience can help a student stand out when applying for a job these days. Intrigued? Here are some pointers.
With private universities in the U.S. charging $50,000-plus, you can save by earning a degree abroad--even at Will and Kate's alma mater.