Two years ago a friend’s daughter was accepted into St. Andrews University in Scotland. Her academic credentials, intellectual curiosity, and insatiable work ethic helped her gain admittance; had she stayed in the United States, she probably would have entered a highly selective school. Yet, with such a range of options, she chose St. Andrews, which was founded in 1413, almost 600 years ago, predating Harvard by over 200 years.

Besides St. Andrews, which now uses the Common Application, Cambridge, Oxford, and the London School of Economics beckon international students. Regardless, over a quarter of St. Andrew’s undergraduates are from outside Britain. Its admissions selectivity is comparable to Cornell or Emory. Beyond the outstanding academics, the tuition (even in the face of the recent tuition increases by the British Government) is annually $30,000. This is a fairly good value for the dollar.