, Semesterz
Recent reports have emerged from the Institute of International
Education showing that more and more American students are choosing to
study abroad. In the academic year 2013 – 2014, the number of students
making the choice to study abroad was up by 72% when compared to the
figures for 2000 – 2001. Instead of studying abroad for their one
semester break, figures indicate that the majority of students are now
attending all four years in a foreign city. Moody’s Investors Service
released a report last month that showed the number of students enrolled
in college outside of their home countries has risen by 463% in the
period from 1975 – 2012, whilst the number of foreign students deciding
to study in the U.S is also up by 70%.
Regardless of the mounting interest in obtaining a global education,
American students have very little information available to them in
order to understand the various college processes which a different from
country to country. Jennifer Viemont the co-founder of Beyond the
States, which is a comprehensive database of 350 colleges in 30
different countries that offer bachelor degrees that are taught in
English, has reported being shocked over the lack of a European
equivalent to the Princeton review or Fiske guide as there is so much
information available in the U.S for their educational choices. Viemont
began researching colleges abroad when her own son expressed a strong
interest in attending college abroad, and she found that other than the
country specific websites there was very little other literature
available.
Colleges that are based in Europe can prove to be an incredibly cheap
option for American students. There are forty private and public
colleges situated in continental Europe that offer the bachelor’s degree
taught in English to Americans for free. Not only this, there are also a
further 98 colleges that have tuition fees of less than $4,000 per
year. The European colleges want the American students because they are
able to charge higher tuition fees for non-residents of the European
Union. However, according to the College Board, Americans would still be
paying a fraction of the cost that they would at home, with current
figures for the average out of state tuition for private universities
topping $32,000 per year. The only European colleges that are more
expensive are those that are owned by American universities such as Bard
College in Berlin and the American College in Paris.
Obviously there are additional costs for Americans that choose to
study in Europe. The European universities do not own dorms in the same
way that the American universities do and therefore the cost of living
off campus has to be considered and this does vary by city and country.
Additional costs such as regular flights home will also add a few
thousand dollars to the total.
It appears that the main reasons that are holding American students
back from studying away from home is that they are scared that they will
be sacrificing the quality of their education and also their career
opportunities in Northern America. The majority of students also worry
that a name of a university from Europe will not carry the same weight
as one from the U.S, however the huge advantage of graduating a year
early with minimal debt seems to be a huge deciding factor that has
alieved the students fears and worries, plus they also get to travel the
world too.
Recently a 21-year-old college senior returned to his home in
Baltimore to finish his schooling after he had been studying in Germany.
He confirmed that he had one regret, this was that he didn’t apply to
study his whole course in Berlin. This senior graduated recently with a
degree in German language and literature explained how much cheaper
studying was in Germany. He explained that he only applied to U.S
colleges as he was more familiar with American schools and felt that
like the majority of American students did not feel Continental
universities would have the same academic rigor, however based on his
experience, he now confirms that it is simply a different kind of rigor.
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