Paying For A Four-Year Degree Abroad Without A Student Loan?

Design School, Hollywood.

The challenge of most international students is how to fund a four-year degree instead of just studying a semester abroad.  After fourteen years in school recruitment I rarely have had a student tell me 'I got it covered', with only a few exceptions to the rule, students have to use the following methods of paying for their education:  Savings, grants, scholarships, parents loans and student loans.  Basically only wealthy and really smart students can study internationally at a four-year university.  So the big question is how to pay for a full four-year degree abroad without a student loan? 

Currently the USA and UK have federal aid programs but these federal Aid programs will not fund a four-year degree abroad.  Recently I came across an article about how the UK might be changing that policy.  “The UK Higher Education International Unit published it’s strategy for outward mobility encouraging UK universities to develop study abroad experiences for students as part of their UK degree studies (so called credit mobility).  And now we have a report from the British Council telling us that more UK students than ever are considering full degree studies overseas (diploma mobility) as an alternative to studying at a university in the UK.”

January 2010 numbers show that 22,000 UK students studied at an international university for the full three to four-years term.  This is beginning to create a challenge for both the UK and the US with new incentives to promote studying abroad.  This is implanting the desire without giving the individual the tools to make it happen.  Again leaving only the extremely smart and wealthy able to fund their educational aspirations.   

The UK and the USA government have planted the seeds of studying internationally to help cultivate our future leaders but if Federal Student Aid does not adapt to help to fund our future leaders than we are doing a disservice to the future of our world.

Bearla International Studies

Elizabeth Koukladas Director