AT Student World Online we’ve been writing about amazing study abroad opportunities for years, but you may be wondering one thing: why?
It’s a valid question. International study has become immensely popular, with over 100,000 overseas students in the UK alone. With this in mind, it would be easy enough to conclude that studying abroad must be a good idea. But, if you’re more inquisitive, you’ll want to know more than that. You’ll want to know exactly where all that time, money and upheaval is going. Most importantly, you’ll want honest, research-based insight into why studying abroad is better than studying at your local university. Well, we have done the hard work for you and gathered stats, reports and studies that answer that question.
Employability
According to Go International, a whopping 90% of students cited employability and enhanced career prospects as an important reason to study abroad. But does it really improve your prospects? Looking at the evidence, the answer seems to be ‘yes’. After graduating, students that had studied abroad had lower rates of unemployment than normal, earned more, and were more likely to work in scientific, technical, educational and financial fields. Other findings also suggest that starting salaries for international students are higher than for those who stay at home: up to $7,000 more per year, in fact.
Language skills
Learning a new language, or improving on one you already have, is often given as a good reason to study abroad. This is certainly true for those already studying a language: 80% of language undergraduates from the UK said that improving their language skills was an important motivation for studying abroad. Not only that, but two-thirds reported that international study had improved their language skills by the end of their time abroad.
Academic success
You might imagine that studying abroad would make it harder to earn a good grade, rather than easier; it involves changing your whole life, going somewhere totally unfamiliar and getting to grips with an entirely new culture. But research actually shows that international students actually tend to get better grades, with 87% of them achieving Firsts or 2:1s compared to 69% from their non-mobile counterparts. Perhaps this is because the people who study abroad are already more focused - perhaps studying abroad makes you more focused. In any case, that 20% difference is not to be ignored.
Personal growth
You may have heard that studying abroad ‘broadens your horizons’, but is that actually important? According to international students it is, and studying overseas can help you achieve it. 90% of students in this study said that studying abroad improved their independence, self-confidence and cultural awareness, and a similarly high proportion said it was a key factor in their choice to go international. Considering that 92% of employers are looking for these ‘transversal’ skills, this is significant for personal and professional growth.
And finally…
What top-three reason do students give for uprooting their lives and going somewhere totally unfamiliar? Fun! That’s right – one of the most popular reasons for studying abroad was to enjoy themselves. And it looks like it works: 95% of respondents said they were interested in further overseas study as a result of their experiences. So, the only real question you need to ask is…what are you waiting for?
To get more information about studying abroad, visit our Universities page where you can get in touch with real universities from around the globe.
Sources:
European Commission, ‘The Erasmus Impact Study’, 2014
IES Abroad, ‘Career Benefits of Study Abroad’
IES Abroad, International Alumni Survey Results
Go International, ‘Student Perspectives on Going International’, 2015
Go International, ‘Gone International: Mobile Students and their Outcomes’, 2015
