That's true in the US, but probably to a lesser degree than in Europe. If you had good enough SATs, you can often get full scholarships to your state's public

That's true in the US, but probably to a lesser degree than in Europe. If you had good enough SATs, you can often get full scholarships to your state's public universities. Other states' schools as well, although to a lesser degree—it would be more selective, like scholarships for private schools, since public colleges obviously prefer to subsidize their own states' residents over others, given equal test scores.