Let's say for instance that you have a friend or co-worker who has a
son/daughter who's interested in studying abroad (outside of the USA),
in electrical or computer engineering.
Where are the better schools?
I'm guessing that schools in Germany and France would be superior to
schools in the UK, but that's just a guess (mostly from the idea that
just about anyone can call him/herself an "engineer" in the UK).
True? False?
On more remark, and this is important to consider: The local language.
You need to be pretty fluent. Near borders (or what used to be borders)
and in bi-lingual countries that can be a challenge. The local folks
speak several languages and happily switch back and forth. So they don't
mind if, say, one lecture is held in Dutch and the next in French. But
that can frustrate a foreigner. Universities in Europe often have 10% or
more foreigners so one also needs to get used to thick accents, accents
in a foreign language. Yep, including accents that some professors have.
Then, join an informal circle of friends who study together and have fun
together as well. Preferably not a group with lots of other expats of
your language zone but locals. They are very helpful and understanding
when it comes to difficulties grasping a text.
Dialects: Can be severe. I lived way in the south of the Netherlands.
When a group of us were up north and talked too fast amongst ourselves
the people (in the same country!) wouldn't even understand what we were
talking about. And that was less than 100 miles away.
Before departing, way before, start listening to local radio and read
papers or magazines. The Internet makes that very easy, no need to
become an expert in shortwave reception, no need for expensive
subscriptions.
Get involved: We had a "deal" with a guy from Panama. He taught us
Spanish for one hour, then we taught him German for the next hour. Local
brew helped as well
