<p>I know one boy getting his AI engineering degree at Edinburgh–and he had a half dozen major Silicon Valley players throwing big-money internships at him after two years undergrad. He took a year off to take advantage of one and had the time of his life in San Francisco–on their nickel. The big companies and major universities know which UK degrees are prestigious. Heck, all of Asia knows the ranking of the enitre UK system–American academics and major American businesses aren’t that clueless.</p>
<p>Recommendations are not hard to come by–at least from the high school to university level–but they are not as ‘effusive’ as American recommendations. In my opinion, the rest of the world is not ‘down’ with the American concept of ‘soft sell’. I’d ask for several recommendations without waiving confidentiality.</p>