My daughter has studied abroad a fair bit. I live in Canada. Here, students have the opportunity to do some of their high school credits in Universities in Europe (although not many people know that). When she was in high school (about 15 years ago), she did one high school credit at the University of Paris and another at Oxford University...both during the summer. She found these opportunities with the help of her high school counselor.
When she graduated high school, she attended Queen's University here in Canada. Queen's has an international campus called Herstmonceux Castle, located just outside of London, U.K. So, she did her first year of University studies in the U.K. She found this opportunity on her own.
She then went on to get a law degree in Canada, and worked for both the Canadian and U.K. Governments. Following a few years of work, she went back to do her Master's degree at Oxford University in the U.K. And she's now doing her PhD at Oxford. She also found these opportunities on her own.
Was it worth the cost? She would certainly say so, since I paid the bills!
But, I would agree. Of course, it's all relative. I'm fortunate enough to have a good job, and money's not a huge issue.
Then again, my daughter's fiance (who's also from Canada) also did his Master's at Oxford and he's now working there. His family wasn't able to help him financially. So he worked and saved the money. He too would say it was worth it.
My only regret is that my daughter and her fiance might end up staying in the U.K., rather than returning to Canada, which would make me sad. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they return to Canada when my daughter finishes her PhD...but, if they don't, I guess I'll be visiting the U.K. a lot!