Hello. I’m currently a senior at an American university, pursuing two BAs (one in Geography, one in Urban Studies and Planning). I’m getting ready to apply to graduate school, and the more I think about, the more I realize Europe might be a strong option for me, particularly Germany or the UK. I want to get a Master’s degree in Urban Planning or a related field, with a specific focus on commuter railroad administration. Essentially, I want to be an urban planner who specializes in public transportation. When it comes to infrastructure, Europe is just plain better in this regard (I live in a city with amazing public transit for America, and when I went to the UK I was deeply humbled), and I see a strong argument for studying under those who have designed systems much better than most of my own country. Plus, Europe is so interconnected that I could explore the systems in many countries and cities other than the one I end up studying in. Finance wise, it looks like it’d cost the same or cheaper as studying in the US (if I do a 1 year program, I stand to save a ton). I would most likely return to America upon obtaining my degree. The thing is, I have a 3.35 GPA (too much time at my part-job, not enough in the library). I don’t know how that looks to European schools. I am doing an Urban Planning thesis this Fall that I can bring up in my applications, but I don’t do an internship until Spring semester. Is all of this nothing to worry about, or could it present a problem?
Honestly, look to Europe right now. I can’t comment on the specific programmes in the UK as it’s not my field, but if inter-connectedness is one of the big draws (which makes sense the way you’ve talked about it) AVOID Brexit Britain - continental Europe will certainly be doing. Britain also has appalling train provision - due to privatisation, every line is run by a different franchise, making the good ones outrageously expensive (Virgin) and the poor ones ALSO outrageously expensive and a public joke (Southern Rail). Transport for London are excellent, as are the Manchester trams and probably other major cities’ links, but don’t let that paint the picture of UK transport more widely for you. Germany is state-operated and reputable education, and Poland has fantastic infrastructure and technical higher education.
On the other hand, though, there is a big push for a second high-speed rail line right now (HS2) that hasn’t been confirmed by the government (HS1 isn’t even bloody done yet) but is looking quite likely, so it may be worth contacting project organisers and seeing if the UK is good for opportunities at the mo (although, again, there will also be German and Swedish firms working on that, as well as flown-in experts in all likelihood).
I hope that helps (and I hope somebody with Urban Planning or Public Engineering can give you more concrete advice!)
@flamingohair I have ridden the British rail network (Southwest Trains and Southeastern), as well as the London metro system (though I preferred the buses over the Underground so I could see stuff). I do agree that privatization has not been good to it, but at the same time it completely blows away my American experiences, and I have a passenger rail connection to most major cities within 50 miles (which most Americans lack completely). Even the stuggling British system is head and shoulders above my country. As for Brexit, all indications I’ve seen is that Britain wants freedom of movement, and even if that doesn’t happen, worst case scenario is that I spend an hour or so at the French border with my passport.
I actually talked to a geography professor at my university who’s from Germany, and he warned me off of almost all of Continental Europe and told me to focus on the UK. He says that my subject is almost always taught at a technical level and requires engineering in Germany (I have zero engineering background, nor do I have any physics, chemistry, or calculus background in order to get an engineering background), and won’t be taught in English, anyway (I can’t speak German [I can pick my way through a lot of technical documents or products I sell at work [we have tons of German imports with German labelling], but spoken German might as well be Greek, and I can’t write it at all. Same story with French.]. Never took a foreign language class, actually. My mom wouldn’t let me. I can speak some basic Spanish, but not near enough to take a university course.). He said maybe the Netherlands or Switzerland, or Scandinavia (but access to Europe would be hard), but for the most part he thinks the UK is about it.
Listen to him not me! This isn’t my field and it is his. Brexit is a bigger problem than you realise though, because firms will be taking their business elsewhere and we’re going to be in a massive economic slump. It’s not going to be ironed out for a good few years yet, but it’s worth considering if you want to build a career over here. Good luck 
What is your GRE score? That is a critical piece of information missing.
Otherwise, look at what schools have the program you are interested in, see the requirements and admissions statistics (grades, GRE, experience, etc).
First, talk to some people in the field and see how European degrees are treated over here when you are trying to get hired. In many (most?) field if you intend to work in the U.S., it’s often better to have an American degree with the exception of a small handful of well-known European - mostly UK - universities.
@Mandalorian I’m not taking the GRE until Fall. I can’t pony up the registration fee until next month.
@juillet That’s a good point. Logically, I know we spend most of our time in my field pointing at Europe and saying to just do that, so I was thinking of going directly to the source of all these concepts I want to study, but European programs are half as long, and don’t get me American connections or knowledge of American bureaucracy. I’ll see what my Urban Planning advisors know when they return in Fall (my Geography advisors wouldn’t know this stuff).
Can you do a one year program and from there go to a US grad program?
@MYOS1634 I don’t see much of a reason. A one year program is the length of a Masters program in Europe (which, even with Britain having high international student fees, saves me money), so coming back to the US, I’d have to go on to a PhD, and I don’t want or need a doctorate, nor would it substantially help me in the professional world.