Average student debt is £53k (~$71k USD): https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01...

Given the disparity in middle-class household incomes between the UK and the US, I suspect a majority of UK middle-class students would be eligible for some form of financial aid from US universities (assuming Oxbridge vs US equivalents with need-blind + full-need international admissions), meaning their net cost to attend could be lower than studying in the UK.

> I would suspect that the majority of UK middle class students would be eligible for some form of financial aid at US schools

Very unlikely, most financial aid is not available to international students.

But the difference between UK student debt (basically a regressive time limited tax) and the US version of student debt (actual loan that will fuck you up) is key here.

I don't think its possible to have a full student loan from the UK and study abroad the whole time. (you can do a year abroad though)

Merit-based, in a lot of cases certainly. But need-based, you’re there to subsidize the university and not the other way around.

Very few schools give international students any aid.