- Lou and Jennifer Zeidberg raised their kids in the US.
- Their son attends college in France, and their daughter plans to go to a university in Spain.
- College in Europe was cheaper and allowed their son to explore new cultures.
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 at Berkeley.
"When I was in college, I was really into that stuff," Lou Zeidberg, a marine-science lecturer at California State University at Monterey Bay, told Business Insider. "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."
But the university-application process was lengthy and stressful for his son, Jacob. Jacob applied to almost 30 schools in 2019, only to be wait-listed at or outright rejected from all of them. He pivoted and eventually chose to attend a junior college in San Diego.
"It was demoralizing on a level of extreme," said Lou Zeidberg's wife, Jennifer Zeidberg, 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 Zeidberg was inspired.
Using a service called Beyond the States, the family looked through European college options and found one that ticked all their son's boxes. 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 got an offer.
"It was so shockingly different," Jennifer Zeidberg said, adding that the process took place over Christmas.
Lou Zeidberg 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. "I wanted him to go."
Adapting to college in Europe
Jacob said he initially faced culture shock and language barriers but took French lessons and gradually assimilated into French culture. He visits his family in Monterey Bay, California, during Christmas and over the summer — "kind of like your standard college-kid experience," Lou Zeidberg said.
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," Jennifer Zeidberg said. "I mean, his passport is almost full!"
Following in her brother's footsteps
After her brother struggled with the American college-application process, Phoebe, 18, also looked to Europe.
She had graduated cum laude from high school and had a good chance of getting into colleges in California, her mother said.
But Phoebe Zeidberg already had a taste of the European college experience. In her junior year, she spent 11 days in 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 Zeidberg said.
So when it came to applying for colleges, she applied to only one university: IE University. A few weeks later, she was offered a spot to pursue a dual degree in law and international relations.
Amid soaring tuition fees in the US, college in Europe was a compelling choice
The Zeidberg family's decision to seek higher-education opportunities outside the US comes as tuition costs domestically continue to hit new highs.
U.S. News & World Report said last year that among colleges in its annual rankings, tuition fees at private universities increased by 40% from 2004 to 2024, while in-state tuition fees for public universities rose by about 56% over the same time period, adjusted for inflation.
Though grants and scholarships are available, data from the College Board showed that about 51% of people who graduated with a bachelor's degree in the 2021-2022 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 more than 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.
Multiple benefits to studying abroad
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 about $13,400 a year, and a dual-degree program at IE University costs about $32,700 a year. The Zeidberg's daughter, Phoebe, who earned a scholarship and has a portion of the fees offset, would have to pay about $6,500 annually.
In comparison, the tuition fee for a California resident to attend a UC school is about $14,436 yearly, excluding housing and meal fees, according to the University of California website. At California State University at Monterey Bay, where Lou Zeidberg teaches, undergraduates pay about $5,742 a year for tuition.
The family would've been able to afford California schools, but Jennifer Zeidberg 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 Zeidberg 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."
Correction: July 26, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the inflation-adjusted increase for in-state tuition at public universities from 2004 to 2024, as indicated by U.S. News & World Report. It was 56%, not 38%.
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.
