@alcibiade, Oxbridge certainly may make sense for the right kid and the tutorial system is pretty special. The Scottish system may as well. I think that a broad liberal arts education and the flexibility to switch majors is valuable for many kids, however, and for an American, the UK unis aren’t all that cheap. Plus, outside of Oxbridge, LSE, and maybe a few of the ancient Scottish unis, UK universities just aren’t known in the US. Even Imperial would draw a blank stare from most people; UCL and KCL would from almost all Americans.