When San Diego high school senior Tara Vassefi applied to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, her parents were wary. "They wanted me to stay really close to home," she recalls. But Vassefi, who earned an M.A. in international relations from St. Andrews in 2009 and now works at a Washington national security think tank, figures both generations came out ahead.
Her parents shelled out about $30,000 a year for all her school and living expenses--less than some of the pricey private U.S. colleges she was considering would have cost them. And she was able to earn an M.A., not simply a B.A., in four years, while using earnings from part-time jobs to take weekend and summer trips around Europe and the Middle East. "It was the perfect step to take after high school," says Vassefi. It's a step more students should consider.
The Institute for International Education reports 229,000 U.S. undergraduates received credit for studying abroad for a semester or two in 2008– 09. Most paid tuition to their U.S. schools as well as travel costs--in some cases driving up their total college tabs. By contrast only 4,015 Americans last year were studying at U.K. schools for U.K. undergraduate degrees, even though this can save big dollars.
During 2010–11 tuition and fees at U.S. private four-year colleges and universities averaged $27,293, with room and board running another $9,700, for a total of $36,993, according to the College Board. Dozens of top private schools posted tuition and fees exceeding $40,000 and total costs of $50,000-plus. Even the University of Michigan, a state school, will charge out-of-state juniors and seniors tuition and fees above $40,000 for 2011–12.
But St. Andrews, the oldest university in Scotland and the alma mater of Britain's Prince William and wife Kate, will charge tuition of just 13,500 pounds ($21,650) to U.S. students for 2011–12, while the University of Oxford will charge 12,700 to 14,550 pounds, depending on the course of study. Tuition and fees at Canada's McGill University will total $16,689 Canadian ($17,400 U.S.) for U.S. students studying for a B.A. and $25,722 Canadian for those working toward an engineering degree.
Other countries have high-quality universities that, thanks to government subsidies, are cheaper or even free. "For how good the opportunity is, it's shocking to us how few students earn a degree abroad," says Kim Gradel, director of operations for StudyAbroad.com. "The major barrier for Americans going is they just don't know that they can," says Mary Catherine Scarborough, higher education advisor at the British Council, which promotes study in the U.K.
To be sure, studying abroad is hardly for every teen. Maturity is a must. And since most undergraduate degrees outside the U.S. require three years of study instead of four, students move directly into a major. That doesn't work for 18-year-olds who haven't decided what to do with their lives.
"I saw a lot of American students struggling," says Vassefi, who knew at 14 that she wanted to study international relations. She adds that some Americans had trouble adapting to the U.K.'s more self-directed approach to learning. Vassefi's friends at U.S. colleges read assigned books, attended lectures and wrote frequent papers. By contrast, at St. Andrews her teachers provided long lists of suggested readings, held small weekly "tutorials" and most required just a few, more intensively researched papers.
Still, there are more reasons than ever to look abroad. Foreign degrees are increasingly accepted by U.S. graduate schools, and global contacts and experience can help a student stand out when applying for a job these days. Intrigued? Here are some pointers.
PICK A COUNTRY
An easy way to start whittling down the educational options is to ask if the student wants to study in English. Schools in Canada, England, Scotland and Australia teach in English, of course, but even some countries with a different primary language offer programs taught in English. Most notably, Finland has 102 such programs, so a native of Kansas could study business or information technology in Helsinki. Moreover, Finland's undergraduate programs are free, even for Americans. (Details are at www.studyinfinland.fi.)
COMPARE TRUE COSTS
As the College Board always points out, the majority of U.S. students don't pay the rack rate. Even those whose families earn too much to qualify for need-based aid might get a "merit" scholarship from a college. (But members of the Ivy League and certain other top schools award only need-based aid.) A student who's thinking of studying abroad should apply to a handful of U.S. colleges, too, and see what they offer. When making comparisons, include travel costs and the higher living costs in some European cities. Think also about the impact if the dollar falls. A weaker dollar has made studying in Canada or the U.K. less of a bargain than it once was.
Keep in mind that tuition could rise as foreign nations tighten their fiscal belts and provide less help to schools. For example, starting in fall 2012 the maximum that U.K. schools can charge a European Union undergrad is 9,000 pounds, up from 3,500 pounds. On the other hand, there's been no change in the maximum charge for Americans, since there was never a cap. Of course big tuition hikes are also a risk at U.S. state schools struggling with deep government funding cuts.
STUDENT LOANS AND TAXES
There's good news if you were planning to have your child take out federally guaranteed Stafford student loans. Many U.K., Canadian and other foreign schools have qualified for the U.S. financial aid system--meaning U.S. students can take out federal loans and their families can withdraw money tax free from 529 college savings plans to pay school costs, says CPA Joseph Hurley, who runs www.savingforcollege.com. (If you use 529 funds for a nonqualified school, you'll owe ordinary income taxes plus a 10% penalty on withdrawn earnings.)
You can also use tuition paid to foreign financial-aid qualified schools to claim the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit. (Couples with modified adjusted gross income above $180,000 can't claim the credit.)
A list of aid-qualified schools can be found at www.ifap.ed.gov.
PREPARE EARLY
Students may need to take high school Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses to gain admission in some countries. Since German and French schools offer few undergraduate courses in English, language proficiency is a must.
Depending on the English-language Finnish program you apply to, you may have to take a special exam. While it is administered in English, you may have to go to Finland to take it. (The University of Helsinki, Finland's top-ranked school, doesn't offer undergraduate programs in English.)
As in the U.S., admission to top schools is highly competitive. Oxford, which places sixth (below Harvard and Princeton, but above Yale) on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, accepted only 15% of the 528 U.S. applicants to the class entering last fall. McGill, ranked 35th, admitted 43% of 5,092 U.S. applicants.
GRADUATE EDUCATION
A growing number of U.S. graduate programs accept foreign degrees. Last year only 13% of U.S. graduate schools did not accept three-year baccalaureate degrees from Europe, down from 29% in 2005, the Council of Graduate Schools reports.
Meanwhile, students who haven't studied abroad as undergraduates might well consider a foreign graduate degree. Typically a master's will take one year to earn abroad, versus two in the U.S. Allan Goodman, president of the Institute of International Education, notes that U.S. students are eligible for scholarships in some highly ranked foreign graduate programs, especially in science, technology, engineering and math. Even France offers some business and engineering graduate programs in English.
Still, when applying for a job, be prepared to do some explaining about your foreign alma mater, especially if it's a lesser-known school. Goodman, who works in Manhattan, sent his own hockey-playing son to Canada's Queens University in Kingston, Ont. He says he's still surprised by how many people initially think his son simply crossed the river to attend a city school in Queens, N.Y.
