Anti-crisis options for obtaining a bachelor's degree abroad will allow significant savings on tuition
This academic year, higher education institutions are experiencing a real boom in the number of applications submitted by prospective students. However, due to a lack of state funding, universities and colleges are not opening additional places for local students, preferring foreigners who bring more funds to university budgets. For example, according to various sources in the UK, between 20,000 and 40,000 applications for study at the country's universities remained unsatisfied.
Due to a significant, up to threefold, difference in tuition fees, foreign students are more profitable for foreign universities. Taking the same UK, foreign students pay 9,000-10,000, while local students pay 3,250-3,500 pounds sterling per year for a bachelor's degree.
However, the crisis is also forcing foreign students to choose the most economical options for higher education. Let us consider, using the example of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, which remain the most attractive countries for education, the available opportunities to obtain a bachelor's degree in the most economical way.
USA and Canada
Theoretically, a graduate of a domestic school can enter US universities right after school. To do this, he needs to have a high school diploma with good grades, a language level on the TOEFL scale (Computer Based) from 220 to 280 depending on the chosen specialty, and a test of academic aptitude (SAT). In practice, however, few people pass the SAT with the scores required by the university on the first try.
The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) is required for admission to American universities for a bachelor's degree.
The SAT consists of three parts: math, critical reading, and essay writing. The math section consists of 44 multiple-choice questions and 10 "grid-in" questions. The tasks are based on algebra and some elements of geometry and include functions of sets, absolute value, radical equations, exponents, and functions. 70 minutes are allocated for completing the first part. The test taker receives from 200 to 800 points for completing the math section.
Critical Reading consists of 67 multiple-choice questions, which should also take 70 minutes. The questions are divided into reading comprehension (48 questions) and sentence completions (19 questions). The test taker receives from 200 to 800 points for completing this part.
The third section (Writing) is divided into 49 multiple-choice questions and an essay. It is also "weighted" from 200 to 800 points. The questions test knowledge of grammar and word choice. They are divided into three groups: identifying sentence errors (18 questions), where one must detect the presence of grammatical or syntactic errors or prove their absence; improving sentences (25 questions), where one must make them more attractive in speech without changing the meaning; and improving paragraphs (6 questions, similar to the previous task but with more detailed answers). Before writing the essay, test takers are given a sentence of 80 words, which they must either refute or confirm. To support their position, it is recommended to draw on knowledge from literature courses, history, or personal experience. The essay is not intended to reveal literary creativity. Test takers need to develop or refute an idea using arguments. Of the 60 minutes of the last part, 25 are allocated for the essay.
Preparation for the SAT takes from one to two years. A mandatory condition for studying is excellent knowledge of English at a level of at least TOEFL 220.
Most parents who plan for their children to receive education in American universities prefer to send them after the 9th grade to an American private school, where they then study for three years. This is the most expensive approach to American universities, costing from $30,000 to $40,000 per year.
However, there are more budget-friendly options for preparing to study at US universities. One can use the services offered by various centers specializing in preparation for language and academic tests, for example, the Kaplan corporation. A 10-week course preparing for the SAT will cost $849. The number of sessions needed for good preparation will entirely depend on the applicant's abilities. However, it will not be possible to save on tuition at the university later, since one will have to study all four years at the university rate.
The best way to save is to enroll in an American college. The vast majority of US colleges have so-called "transfer" programs, ensuring admission directly into the third year of study at a university after two years of study at the college.
Let us consider this using the example of Foothill and DeAnza colleges, located in California's Silicon Valley. The colleges offer more than a hundred majors.
Foothill and DeAnza are two-year colleges. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates receive an Associate degree. This allows them to transfer directly to the third year of a university and, after two additional years of study, obtain a full bachelor's degree at one of the American universities, including the most prestigious ones. The colleges have signed transfer agreements with a hundred US universities. The list includes such famous universities as the University of Southern California, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Davis, San Francisco State University, the University of California, Irvine, Stanford, Pepperdine, Cornell University, and Pennsylvania State University.
To ensure the transfer of their most deserving students to the country's best universities, the colleges have created the Institute for Advanced Study. Its main task is to teach certain subjects at a more advanced level.
Students who additionally attend the Institute for Advanced Study have a better chance of admission to the University of California, Los Angeles, because Foothill and De Anza colleges are members of the Transfer Program Alliance organized by this university. Statistics show that the transfer rate to the university for students from Alliance colleges is 85-95%, while for those applying after other colleges or high schools it is 40-45%.
To enroll in one of the colleges, young people who have graduated from a domestic school need to provide a high school diploma and an English language proficiency certificate (TOEFL 173 on the computer-based test or 61 on the internet-based test).
For those whose English proficiency at the time of enrollment is below the required level, the colleges offer the opportunity to take a preliminary summer language course at the colleges or in nearby linguistic centers.
Tuition is $6,030 per year. Considering that a year of study at, for example, the University of California, Los Angeles, costs a bachelor's student $22,000, the savings from two years of study at a college will be $32,000.
Similar savings can be made in Canada. For example, studying in a two-year program at Niagara College, which has the highest ratings in the province of Ontario for student satisfaction with education and graduate employment, will cost about 10,000 Canadian dollars per year, while the average annual tuition at the University of Toronto is 21,000 Canadian dollars. Thus, 22,000 Canadian dollars will go into the student's piggy bank.
Read also material on the topic: INTO BACHELOR'S DEGREES VIA THE BRITISH ROUTE
Based on materials from ЦМК «Парта»