In the 19th century, those who could study abroad were naturally not ordinary people. Such third-rate universities were designed to cheat people, and their costs were hardly affordable.
On the surface, the tuition might seem cheaper, but the additional services all came with fees, and the actual expenses ended up typically higher than those of regular universities.
Morse was undoubtedly cheated. Austrian regular universities never lacked students; at most, they recruited from the Germany Region. Who would be so free as to recruit in Mexico?
Even during Maximilian I's reign, this was not the case, and it's even less likely now. The high tuition fees for Austrian international students were most problematic because the Ministry of Education did not provide funding.