Is International Degree Worth It??

Hey Guys, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I’m currently an Australian university student, studying commerce/law planning to major in finance at a Go8 university (the typical pipeline degree to IB in Australia at a target institution). As my situation pertains, I’m lucky enough to have strong networking connections that grant me confidence in securing internship opportunities in the following years - as long as I maintain my grades. This is coupled with what I believe to be a strong base of extracurriculars that demonstrate passion and leadership - including the captaincy position of a mainstream sports national team at the high school level and a history of domestic and international volunteer work / community engagement. As an optimist, I have hope that should I play my cards right, I may aspire with relative confidence to securing a BB IB position one day here in Australia.

My problem lies in that I love America and would ultimately love to work there. As determined through trawling WSO, it would be almost impossible to secure the necessary visa sponsorship out of undergrad without completing a degree at a prestigious institution over in the states. The issue is that during my senior year in high school, I was unfortunately extremely ill and was absent for 3/4 of the school year - resultantly my marks suffered and were enough to get into law here in Australia (with some university consideration of my circumstances), but would not be competitive for Ivy League or equivalent institutions. I have also not attempted the SAT/ACT.

Therefore, if I was looking to pursue undergraduate studies in America, it would take me a year to re-sit my Australian final exams online, in addition to undergoing SAT/ACT preparation, along with boosting my ECs for application etc. To do this I could defer my current university studies to give this a try, with the safety net being should I fail, I have wasted a year of my own time but can return to studies here in Australia as normal to no ill-effect. And to be honest I would really like to have a go at pursuing an education in the US.

However my concern lies in the following:

1. A US undergraduate degree would evidently be quite expensive and I would take on a fair amount of debt. Coupled with the fact that I could not save money by living at home and having my parents cover a lot of my expenses, I wasn’t sure whether the opportunity cost of studying in the US would make it worthwhile? (Assuming I get into a prestigious institution). I would also lack the network connections I have here in Aus to help me secure the first few internships, which would make the move riskier

2. Is there a disparity in pay between Australia and USA IB that would cover this increased cost in the ensuing years?

3. If I was to get into an Ivy League institution or an equivalent, would visa sponsorship still be an issue when looking for a job? Is it worth majoring in STEM to mitigate some of this risk by extending timelines of employment opportunities?

An alternative is simply going on exchange, as I have the opportunity with my current academic standing to go to Wharton next year for a period of 5-12 months. Although ideally I would pursue full-time undergraduate studies in America.

Thankyou very much if you read this, any help is greatly appreciated.