College!

Abstract: The purpose of my paper is to examine why American students choose to attend higher education institutions in the United States, where tuition is skyrocketing, as opposed to in Europe, where tuition costs are very low or, in some cases, non existent. While privatization of universities in the United States has placed the burden of tuition on students and families, it has increased the availability of resources at universities, which offers students more opportunities to work closely with professors and gain experience in their field prior to graduation. These opportunities also translate into increased employability of students after graduation, and even increased graduation rates in the United States. Works Cited “College Access and Affordability: USA vs. the World.” Value Colleges, www.valuecolleges.com/collegecosts/ . Doerr, Neriko Musha. “Learner Subjects in Study Abroad: Discourse of Immersion, Hierarchy of Experience and Their Subversion through Situated Learn...

Argument: My argument sets out to address why American students are willing to pay more for their education by attending colleges in America when they have the option of practically (or actually) free college tuition in Europe. Students from the United States choose to attend universities “at home” instead of in Europe because of better graduation rates and employability due to a more career-focused model of education, despite rising tuition costs that result from an increase in privatization. Counterargument: My counterargument comes from Caitlin Zaloom’s enmeshed autonomy. As we’ve seen, the higher education system in the US forces students to rely on their parents to help fund their education. Zaloom argues in favor of traditional models of European education because it puts less of a financial strain on students and their families. She also uses Germany as an example because of its free tuition. Families who send their students there are only required to support with living...

For my case, I have chosen to use Rutgers University as an example of how American universities have shifted from a more traditional, liberal arts focus to a more career-focused education, and how this affects and improves employability of American college graduates. What is employability? This term refers to qualities of a person that make them suitable to gain and maintain employment at a given company or position. It is suggested that universities in America are producing graduates that are much more employable than graduates of European universities. This means that the American schools have a heavier focus on preparing students for their careers during their time in college than European schools do, and while this means less emphasis on classwork, it ends up setting students for success in the long-term. According to Times Higher Education's World University Rankings, 6 out of the 10 top universities for employability after graduation are in the United States (link 1 below)....

The most important concepts that have shaped my research are global competence, elitism/classism, and American attitude of Europe and Europeans. Beth McMurtrie's idea of global competence encompasses the idea that it is important for people to become educated about other languages and cultures while forming relationships with people around the globe in order to move forward in their profession. She argues that while the United States has a strong connection with Europe, it is more "cliche" to form those connections with people in Europe because it has been done before, and that making connections with people from other countries such as those in Asia, Africa, or Latin America are much more novel and valuable, which is one factor that could potentially contribute to American students' tendency to study in the U.S. and American universities' heavy handed advertisement of study abroad in non-European countries. The idea of global competence also ties into the concept...

This article covers the noticeable shift of universities in the United States from encouraging study abroad students from going to Europe to choosing other countries, particularly in Asia, Latin America, or Africa. The author discusses how institutions in Europe fear that their partnership with the U.S. may be in jeopardy because of this shift, which could limit them from being able to share resources or laboratories, and potentially making it more difficult for European students to find a place in the United States to study abroad. McMurtrie, Beth. “Is Europe Passe?: As U.S. Higher Education Shifts to a 'Pacific Century,' Europe Feels the Sting.” The Chronicle of Higher Education , 29 July 2013. Social Sciences Premium Collection . About the Author: Beth McMurtrie is a senior editor for The Chronicle of Higher Education in Washington, and she received her master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. She is extremely knowledgeable about the topic of higher ...

The graph that I found while doing my research actually comes from one of the studies that I have chosen to use for my paper, "An evaluation and explanation of (in)efficiency in higher education institutions in Europe and the U.S. with the application of two-stage semi-parametric DEA" by Joanna Wolszczak-Derlacz. The graph shows the average revenue per student between institutions in each country, and while it is not shown quantitatively on the graph, the article discusses how revenue per student relates to GDP and resources given to institutions in each region (U.S. versus Europe). I thought this image would be useful to my research because it demonstrates that the United States typically has more funding for its universities (which comes in large part from students and families), which drives them to do more research and generate more revenue, making them more prestigious and desirable to applicants deciding where they would like to attend. On the other hand, European uni...

This article provides an interesting analysis of how the idea of Europe or traveling to Europe has been transformed in American minds, and how this transformation affects students and their decision to study abroad. The author brings in multiple authors, most notably Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, and Henry James, whose literature is indicative of the views Americans have of Europe. Woolf paints a romantic picture of study abroad, which makes the idea of traveling to Europe to learn feel elitist and more like a vacation than a time to study. Woolf, Michael. “The Baggage They Carry: Study Abroad and the Construction of ‘Europe’ in the American Mind.” Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, vol. 21, Frontiers Journal, 2011. About the Author: Michael Woolf is the Deputy President Strategic Development at CAPA, the Global Education Network and serves on the Curriculum Committee of the Forum on Education Abroad. Woolf is definitely experienced in the field of study ...

Conti, Annamaria, and Patrick Gaule. “Is the US Outperforming Europe in University Technology Licensing? A New Perspective on the European Paradox.” Research Policy, vol. 40, no. 1, Elsevier B.V, 2011, pp. 123–135. Gapinski, Andrzej J. "Higher Education: Europe vs. USA." 2010. Rosenfeld, Stuart A. “Community College/Cluster Connections: Specialization and Competitiveness in the United States and Europe.” Economic Development Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 1, Sage Publications, Feb. 2000, pp. 51–62. Serrano, Raquel, et al. “Analyzing the Effect of Context of Second Language Learning: Domestic Intensive and Semi-Intensive Courses Vs. Study Abroad in Europe.” System , vol. 39, no. 2, Elsevier Ltd, 2011, pp. 133–43, doi:10.1016/j.system.2011.05.002. Woolf, Michael. “The Baggage They Carry: Study Abroad and the Construction of ‘Europe’ in the American Mind.” Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad , vol. 21, Frontiers Journal, 2011.

Working Title: University in the U.S. vs Europe: Why Studying Abroad is a Foreign Idea Topic I have chosen to explore the differences between European and American higher education, with the specific goal of explaining why students from both regions decide to attend university in America, where tuition costs are much higher, and not pursue an education abroad in Europe, where tuition is reduced or often free. This means that I will be exploring the similarities and differences between both education systems, particularly how the privatization of education (or lack thereof) relates to the quality of education, the number of students who attend, and the demographics of those students who attend. Research Question Why do many students, both from the United States and from abroad, choose to attend university in the U.S. when many international institutions have reduced or free tuition and American tuition costs continue to rise? Why does the allure of prestige of American univer...

This article summarizes and reports the findings of a study of four trade schools, two in the United States, and two in Europe. These institutions are specialized to certain fields, which the author recognizes as "clusters," because they interact very closely with the companies of their industry from the local area, who help develop and provide funding for the programs. These institutions provide an opportunity for students to gain experience and training in their trade, as most of them provide (or require) opportunities to work while they are in school. After graduation, many students in the United States go on to work for the same companies that they work for in college or other large companies in their industry, while many students in Europe go on to create their own small business. About the Author:  Stuart A. Rosenfeld currently serves as the president of Regional Technology Strategies in Long Hill, North Carolina, and also serves an organization of community and tec...

This article provides a comparison of the history and current standing of the European and American models of higher education. The author describes how European universities came to be first, and while American universities were based heavily on their structure, they were not nearly as successful, with many U.S. institutions at the top of national ratings, leaving their European counterparts behind. After World War II, Europe implemented the Bologna process, which allowed universities to standardize their curriculum and degree programs, making it much easier for students to earn their degrees in just a few years and transfer credits between institutions if they desired to do so, allowing for student mobility. The United States's approach to university has remained successful because of limited government involvement in funding, but with constantly rising tuition, may eventually end up limiting access to education to those with a lower income. The article closes by expanding ou...

My current research question is: Why do many students, American and international, choose to attend American universities when many international colleges have reduced or free tuition? Three Academic Sources      Conti, Annamaria, and Patrick Gaule. “Is the US Outperforming Europe in University Technology Licensing? A New Perspective on the European Paradox.” Research Policy, vol. 40, no. 1, Elsevier B.V, 2011, pp. 123–135.      Gapinski, Andrzej J. "Higher Education: Europe vs. USA." 2010.      Rosenfeld, Stuart A. “Community College/Cluster Connections: Specialization and Competitiveness in the United States and Europe.” Economic Development Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 1, Sage Publications, Feb. 2000, pp. 51–62.

So far, I have decided to continue with my topic focusing on the demographics of college students in the United States and in Europe in comparison with the cost of higher education. I have thought this topic is particularly interesting from the beginning, but even more so since working on the analytical essay, where I have explored the types of students who attend college and receive financial aid in the United States. I have yet to refine this topic into a more specific idea, but I am sure that I will pursue something in this area. My exploration began with a Google search: "college in Europe vs US." This lead me to many results, mostly blog posts from a student's point of view or from college review sites. A search for "higher education in Europe vs US" showed me many more of these blog posts, as well as a research article, which will definitely serve as a great source from academia. After a few more searches, I found that the most useful terms to use were ...

I am thinking about writing my final paper about college in other countries as compared to the United States. During a recent visit to Austria, I learned that tuition is free or very affordable there as well in many other countries, but the attendance there is much lower as high school graduates often choose to go to trade school or enter the workforce. I thought this was very interesting, because in the United States tuition is much higher, and more often than not forces students and their families into debt for many years, but there is so much pressure for high school graduates to attend university. I would particularly like to explore the demographics of students attending universities in both settings.