College Abroad

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?

The Quest for Fairness

Among all age groups, First Globals™ are most likely to agree that “affirmative action levels the playing field,” as opposed to “affirmative action rewards some groups at the expense of others.” Overall, 34% of First Globals™ agree with the former (either strongly or somewhat), compared to 28% of those over 65.

However, a majority of all generations sees affirmative action as rewarding some groups at expense of others.

Is a relative preference for affirmative action among First Globals™ a sign of growing popularity of those measures -- or is the overall unpopularity a sign that affirmative action is fading? What is your view of affirmative action?