Get Your Passports Ready!

Students are getting their passports ready to study abroad. However, this time the trip is permanent. According to an article written in The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch, more students are choosing to pursue their degrees overseas as tuition in the U.S becomes less affordable.

MarketWatch reported that the U.K.’s Higher Education Statistics Agency found that “There has been a 27 percent increase in undergraduate applications from U.S. students since 2006, while the total number of U.S. students studying for full degrees at British higher-education institutions as of 2009 across both undergraduate and postgraduate levels stands at just more than 14,000.”


While tuition varies at higher education institutions in the U.K., it is cheaper cost of pursuing a degree abroad that is fueling this trend. 


To attend St. Andrews in Scotland for the 2009-2010 school year was about $19,000, according to MarketWatch's findings. To attend Oxford would cost a U.S. student just over $20,000.


"I would recommend to U.S students to study abroad for the experience," said Dr. David Tan, professor and Department Chair of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Oklahoma. However, he said he would not encourage U.S students to go abroad permanently.


Tan said that the U.S higher education institutions have been able to provide quality education because they have an edge over other institutions. 


"We have developed a higher education institution based on German and English ideals with emphasis placed on research and teaching in the classroom," Tan said which makes the U.S higher education system unique. 

University of Oklahoma freshamn Justin
Benzinger, who is paying his own way through
school discusses his financial options
at the Bursars Office.

MarketWatch’s findings caught the attention of Justin Benzinger, University of Oklahoma freshman. Through student loans he has been struggling, but slowly paying his way through college. While Benzinger admitted the numbers are appealing, he explained why he would not be quick to leave the U.S. to complete his degree abroad.

“Money is money,” Benzinger said. “The experiences I’ve had here make me happy. The social life I’ve created for myself, the opportunities I have to better my educational experience like internships and networking opportunities, and the fact that I am closer to my family than I would be if I was overseas appeals more to me than the cheaper cost I would be paying if I pursued my degree abroad.”

Benzinger’s life he lived in France for eight years of his life. He urged other students who are considering pursuing their degree abroad to avoid paying high tuition costs to think about what other costs like food and living expenses they might have to face.

“I lived in Europe for a good part of my life, so I know how the higher educational system works,” he said. “While tuition might be cheaper, there’s always some other cost like living expenses or the cost to feed yourself while you are over there.”

With the tuition at U.S. colleges becoming less affordable and the less expensive option of choosing to pursue a degree abroad on the rise, all that there is left to do is see what decisions future high school graduates and their families continue to make when it comes time to where they will receive a higher education.

 “I like the idea of the “college life” here in the United States," Benzinger said. Yeah, sure I’ll be in debt when I graduate, but I’ll be happy paying it back knowing that I had the best experiences of my life here.”