A recent article in the New York Times discusses the phenomenon of American college students attending college abroad. While the percentage of students who choose to study abroad for a semester or a year has been increasing for several years, the article notes that American students choosing to spend their entire college career abroad is a relatively new phenomenon. Reasons listed for studying abroad include things such as international experience, prestige, less selectivity than some U.S. colleges and universities, and a “cost well below the tuition at a top private university in the United States” (though the article also notes that many foreign universities consider American students “cash cows,” who pay less than their in-country students).
We’ve frequently written on this blog about First Globals’™ “globalness” -- our data show, for example, that First Globals™ are the most likely generation to have a valid passport, the most likely to plan to travel overseas in the next five years, the most likely to have friends and family living overseas, and the most likely to have previously travelled abroad on service or educational visits. Do you think that First Globals™’ willingness to attend college or university in another country is just another manifestation of this same globalness, or is it somehow different (maybe a response to high college costs here in the U.S.)? How much did location and price matter when you were choosing to go (or not go) to college? Would you do anything differently if you could make this decision again?
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6 comments:
These international universities may be less expensive than American private universities, but they're still more expensive than state schools.
If I was a senior in high school again I think i'd take a year or two off before college. Not sure going to college overseas would be something i'd really consider.. i liked the freedom to take classes in a bunch of topics outside my major, sounds like overseas schools make that more difficult.
When I was choosing where to go to college, price mattered in the beginning, as I told my parents I had thought about going to Boston College or Columbia University. That was when I was in eighth grade.
Price and location mattered when I was a junior in high school and touring the schools I had applied to. When all was said and done, my parents suggested I go away to school, but I couldn't bare the thought of being away from my family. I did end up going to school in my hometown and paying my own way. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.
First Globals may want to study and live abroad, but have they really taken the time to consider how much family really means to you, when you are learning to get by in this world?
I agree with Vanek26 - i'd miss my family too much if i had gone to college overseas. I went to college about a seven hour drive away, and it always made me sad when there were certain things that I couldn't go home for - things like people's birthday or certain holidays like Passover that schools don't give off. I would have had a tougher time if I couldn't go home for any breaks as I imagine would be the case at an international school. Then again, I guess international students who study here have the same dilemma.. so it depends on the person i guess!
today it is much simpler for americans to study abroad (as well as foreigners to study in countries other than their own). there is much more information, travel is much cheaper.
while i'm not sure that many first globals will receive their degrees abroad- i do imagine that they will take advantage of opportunities to volunteer and study abroad on a more short-term basis.
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