Lou Zeidberg
When it was time for his children to apply to college, Lou Zeidberg faced a conundrum.
Part of him wanted them to experience the traditional American college life he had as a student at the University of California, Berkeley.
"When I was in college, I was really into that stuff," Lou, a marine science lecturer at California State University, told Business Insider about collegiate life. "So when they were little, I thought, oh, you'll be a football player, and you'll want to go to a college with a big football team, which is a very American thing."
However, the university application process was lengthy and stressful for his son, Jacob. Jacob applied to almost 30 schools in 2019, only to be waitlisted or rejected from all of them. Eventually, he pivoted and chose to attend a junior college in San Diego.
"It was demoralizing on a level of extreme," said Lou's wife, Jennifer, a physician. "Our son did well in high school, did well on his SATs, and was not accepted at schools that are supposed to support California students. It was really such a bizarre thing to watch."
So when a patient told her about her children's experience attending college in the Netherlands, Jennifer was inspired.
Using a service called "Beyond the States," the family looked through European college options and found one that ticked Jacob's criteria. It was a three-year program, had hands-on teaching methods, offered internship opportunities — and was all the way in Toulouse, France.
Jacob applied to Toulouse Business School and received an interview within two days. Two weeks later, he received an offer.
"It was so shockingly different," Jennifer said, adding that the process took place over Christmas.
Lou said he was worried and excited about his son moving so far from home.
"College was an important experience growing up, so I was jealous. This kid was going to France!" he said with a laugh. "I wanted him to go."
Jacob said he initially faced culture shock and language barriers, but he took French lessons and gradually assimilated into the French culture. He visits his family in Monterey Bay, California, during Christmas and over the summer — "Kind of like your standard college kid experience," said Lou.
Lou Zeidberg
Being in Europe also gave Jacob the advantage of traveling and seeing a world beyond the comfort of his home.
"When Jacob takes a little weekend away, he goes to Morocco. He's made friends in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Cyprus," said Jennifer. "I mean, his passport is almost full!"
After her brother struggled with the American college application process, Phoebe, 18, also set her eyes on Europe.
She had graduated cum laude from high school and had a good chance of getting into colleges in California, Jennifer said.
But Phoebe already had a taste of the European college experience. In her junior year, she spent 11 days on an overseas program at IE University in Spain. She liked the class sizes of 30 to 40 students.
"It was really hard to convince our daughter to go through the American process," Jennifer said.
So when it came to applying for colleges, she only applied to one university: IE University. A few weeks later, she was offered a spot to pursue a dual degree in Law and International Relations.
The Zeidberg family's decision to seek higher education opportunities outside of the US comes as tuition costs domestically continue to hit new highs.
According to U.S. News & World Report, tuition fees at private universities have increased by 40% from 2004 to 2024, while in-state tuition fees for public universities have risen by about 38% over the same time period, adjusted for inflation.
Although grants and scholarships are available, data from the College Board showed that around 51% of people who graduated with a bachelor's degree in the 2021 to 2022 school year still graduated with student debt. The average debt per student was $29,400.
Many Americans have become disillusioned with the high cost of college. In July 2023, Business Insider and YouGov surveyed over 1,800 Americans on their attitudes toward higher education. Among the more than 600 Gen Z respondents, 46% agreed that college is not worth the financial cost.
Isabella Ambrosio, who grew up in Chicago and moved to Ireland when she was 15, previously wrote for BI that four years of college in Ireland cost the same as one year at a school she had wanted to attend in the US.
Ambrosio also found benefits to life abroad beyond merely the financial. She enjoyed immersing herself in the Irish culture and its bustling restaurant scene.
Similarly, Dalia Goldberg, an American from Philadelphia, wrote for BI that she considered college in the US but was daunted by the steep fees. She eventually opted for a university in Montreal and graduated debt-free in 2014.
For the Zeidberg family, the lower tuition fees in Europe were an added bonus.
A three-year bachelor's program at Toulouse Business School costs around $13,400 a year, and a dual degree program at IE University costs around $32,700 a year, per the university's website. Phoebe, who earned a scholarship and has a portion of the fees offset, would have to pay around $6,500 yearly.
In comparison, the tuition fee for a California resident to attend UC is around $14,436 yearly, excluding housing and meal fees, according to the University of California website. At California State University, where Lou teaches, undergraduates pay around $5,742 a year for tuition.
Although the family would have been able to afford Californian schools, Jennifer told BI their children ultimately wanted to explore a life outside the US.
"It was really more the experience of truly going away, not just from home, but from the comfort of what they've known their whole lives," she said.
Lou added that he recognizes their family is fortunate to provide their children with options: "We just tried to show them as much of the world as we could so that they would pick something they like."
Do you have a story about choosing to attend college outside the US that you want to share? Get in touch with the reporter, Erin: eliam@businessinsider.com.
