English (and French) University

I have been thinking about attending university in the U.K.
I have been thinking about, but not set on England.
Edit: France is also another location that I am looking at, so if anybody knows information on French universities, please let me know.

I have a few questions.
How long do you have to live in England to gain citizenship?
I was looking at the Oxford website (just to get an idea for costs) and the cost for courses for an American citizen were 10,000-12,000 pounds, whereas they were around 4,000 pounds for a citizen. It may be worth it just to gain citizenship and then start attending school.

Edit: Looks like I need a good 5 years before I gain citizenship, that may not work out.

I have heard that most degrees take only 3 years to complete, is this true?

If anybody lives in England and has some time, it would be great to get some links to university’s or just to chat about living there.

I am sure I will think of more, and I will update this post when I do.