I’m an American who just started my first year of undergraduate studies at the National University of Singapore last month. I chose Singapore over the US because I wanted to live abroad, and Singapore checked pretty much every box for me: it’s in Asia, tropical, safe, developed, and English is the medium of instruction.
Now, even though NUS is a great university by global standards, the reaction I’ve gotten from many of my family members and friends is that choosing to study abroad as an American is inherently a downgrade, regardless of the university or country. That’s where my question comes from.
I think you might just have a “USA #1!” family. New experiences are worth more than everything. They may not like or appreciate what you might learn over there, but you’ll have experienced a piece of the world that they never will.
I work at an American college and we encourage our students to study abroad. No matter how good the school is, that’s an unteachable experience.