More and more students are choosing to study at colleges and universities in a foreign country.Do the benefits of studying outweigh the drawbacks ?

Travelling abroad to study at a new college or university is an attractive option among a growing number of students who are seeking higher education. From my standpoint, I believe that this phenomenon has several benefits whereas the drawbacks far outweigh them.

On the one hand, students choosing to study overseas could help broaden their knowledge, which is a huge benefit. Because they are being put into a situation in which they have to become familiar with another language that is not their mother tongue, it is obvious that students need to learn how to use the language of the country they chose to go to in order to communicate and socialise with native speakers. Knowing how to write and read in that foreign language would help them a lot as now they can understand what their teachers say and their tasks in school. Making use of a new language also means having access to an enormous source of information, which supports students’ academic performances.

On the other hand, it could lead students to face more difficulties and put them under a lot of pressure. First is the high living expenses. The growing cost of higher education has created significant pressure on students who want to travel abroad to study. Much of the cost of studying abroad is associated with the high cost of living in a country. For instance, college students in the United States spend an average of $10,000 per year on rent, food, and other expenses. Secondly, cultural barriers resulting from differences between various cultures can make students confused, which creates misunderstandings. Many students from abroad have a hard time adjusting to life, for example, when dining in a restaurant with their U.S. host family, foreign students may be served a menu that does not include their native cuisine. Living in a new country has its challenges, but sometimes it’s hard to understand the way people act, speak and think.

To conclude, students can enhance their knowledge by studying overseas, however, it could give them a hard time because they have to get through many obstacles such as living costs and cultural barriers.