[alexpotato]

Speaking as a dual US/Italian citizen there are some things I would add to your picture (which surprised me when I first learned them). I should also add, my picture is a bit dated since I last looked at this in the early 2000's but a lot of this is still true:

US vs Italian "high school"

- Finishing Italian secondary education is most equivalent to US high school + at least the first year of most US universities

- I believe this is true for most major European countries and boils down to the expectations for students being higher in Europe than in the US

US vs Italian universities

- It's true that Italian university is free

- It's also true that "anyone" can attend

- However, there is a mandatory "advancement" exam at the end of the first year that MOST (~70% in the early 2000's) students fail which bars them from continuing

- The above is what sometimes skews comparisons between US and Italian colleges

- To complete university, you are required to do a "thesis" and then defend it. Historically, this was done orally in front of a panel

- There is also the effect that because university is free and housing is usually paid for by parents, taking 5+ years to finish is both normal and somewhat socially acceptable (this is more of an interesting side bar)

Long story short, this means the Italian university is really Sophomore year of an American university plus some graduate level work. A good example of this is how there is(was?) no separate law school in Italy since you are essentially doing advanced level courses in "undergrad".

Another comparison: at the time (early 2000s) multiple people in senior level positions in European companies mentioned to me that in their opinion, having an MBA from a top US school was equivalent to a degree from a top Italian economics school like Bocconi University. Since most US companies thought of the MBA as the "advanced" degree, they weighed it more heavily so it did "matter" in that sense but not from an education only perspective.

[andreilys]

“ Another comparison: at the time (early 2000s) multiple people in senior level positions in European companies mentioned to me that in their opinion, having an MBA from a top US school was equivalent to a degree from a top Italian economics school like Bocconi University”

HBS and GSB have much more brand value than Bocconi university. Whether the economics education you get is on par is debatable but it’s clear one of the selling points of an elite US MBA is the signaling.

I’m skeptical of the claim that Bocconi university has anywhere near the signaling effect of HBS/GSB.

[vikramkr]

Bocconi might have more signaling value to European or Italian companies perhaps, but American companies have European companies thoroughly beat in terms of number, size, power, global influence, etc. One of the "benefits" of valuing capitalism as much as we have is that the opinion of American company management carries quite a bit more weight around the world, and they would pick harvard over bocconi any day.

[yolovoe]

US high school education is not uniform throughout the country. Are you going by some states' requirements here or are you assuming some amount of AP credits?