Friday, December 5, 2008

Going off to College

This New York Times article talks about American students are deciding to go overseas a lot  for colleges.  This is due to the increase in recruiters for foreign universities within the United States.  This increase is not subtle in anyway shape or form.  St. Andrews University says that to date 1,230 out of about 7,000 students enrolled are American.  10 years ago there were only 200 American Students enrolled.  Recruitment is up because Americans pay a lot more in tuition versus native students.  It is like living in Vermont or Canada and going to a SUNY school compared living in New York and going to a SUNY school.  The tuition rates are entirely different.  This is not to say that it is just about gaining more money.  American students say that they gain worldly knowledge from going overseas and to them it is worth it.  I agree but at the same time disagree.  The article mentions that there are pros and cons.  There are no alumni networks making the transition from school to work a little harder.  It is more expensive and your family is further away.  I mean there are pros and cons, I all comes down to what your prerogative is.

1 comment:

Fiona Fogarty said...

I think that while going away to colleges will help students gain a more worldly view, we are then preparing our students to then leave our country and use their talents elsewhere. It is great for students to on and gain worldly knowledge, but this shift is probably hurting our schools and universities. If American public schools are partially meant to prepare students as active citizens, but they are not helping our country by traveling abroad for higher education, then how can they contribute to society as effectively as they might if they attended college here?