Americans and Study Abroad?

Question

Less than 1% of American college students study abroad. Why do you think this is? When they do decide to study abroad, why do you think it is normally in Western Europe (Spain, France, Italy, UK, Germany, etc.) Any thoughts?

For the person who said I was wrong about less than 1% of American college students study abroad... I was off. It is slightly over 1%, either way not a large number.

http://www.yearofstudyabroad.org/studyabroad.asp

Answer 1

Few American students study abroad for a variety of reasons:
- Expense. The dollar is pretty soft right now, and studying abroad is thus very, very expensive. Even when it isn't soft, studying abroad can be expensive - moreso than a semester at their normal university.
- Time and effort, and fear. To study abroad from the US requires one to take a plane trip of at least eight hours. You end up quite far from friends and family, without easy access home should something go wrong.
- Lack of language skills. Unlike many Europeans, most Americans don't even start studying a foreign language until middle school, and then, they have little opportunity to use it outside of class, so they rarely develop any level of fluency. Students in Europe all study foreign language from a very young age, and it's usually English, so they all practice together and get quite good at it, and if they want an immersion experience they can drive 3 hours to the UK and have one.
- Doing an exchange also often means that you need extra time to complete your degree

They most often study in western Europe because of the US's historic and cultural ties to those regions. Many US student's ancestors came from those countries, so they want to see the homeland. In addition, those are the main languages taught in schools, and for those of them with foreign language skill, their choices are thus limited. Lastly, this region is the one most schools have longstanding, established relationships with for foreign exchanges. This is changing, but still, most exchange programs offer opportunities to go to W. Europe rather than, say, Africa or China.

Answer 2

I agree with Roaring M, but I would like to add one thing: Europe is highly developed. We have all the comforts of "home" in Europe, for example excellent health care, all the modern communication technologies etc.
I participated in a study abroad program in Europe some 25 years ago and I still live in Europe. It's a great thing.

Answer 3

1. It's expensive to study abroad. Maybe a lot of students work during the school year while they are in the US in order to support themeselves--they can't get a part-time job in a foriegn country due to visa restrictions, language barrier, etc.

2. Sometimes it will take longer for you to graduate if you study abroad for a long period of time.

3. Europeans can study abroad easier than we can because they don't have to go very far to get to another country. It can be expensive to fly even to Mexico or Canada from the US, and anywhere else you will have to cross large oceans. Most Europeans can hop in a car and be in another country.

4. We don't study abroad because our schools are excellent. We don't need to go somewhere else for a quality education.

5. Most kids go to Western Europe because it's safe(er) than most other parts of the world, they are 1st world countries with similar comforts you can find in the US and people there are more likely to speak English.

6. Western European languages are pretty much the only ones taught in schools in the US, so if kids want to go somewhere where they know the language, they have few places to choose from.

That's what I can think of.

Answer 4

l think your 1% is much too low. Many American students do study abroad programs. l think you should verify that number.

Answer 5

media perception that western Europe is similar to the USA and English is spoken widely there and the economical conditions are similar.Moreover, USA universities have accepted criteria from western institutions. I think South America, Africa and Asia should be considered more but that is just me or for the education majors vs business majors.

Answer 6

There are a TON of great schools in the US, and then they are fairly close to home. As for the Europe question, many people speak English there and it's beautiful and many good schools.

Answer 7

becaus we have such a great selection here we don't need to go elsewere america has alot of pride and lots of choices why go anywere else