UK students are 'lagging behind' on international study - despite being able to 'half their debt', new survey reveals

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Students in the UK could cut their debt by half by studying abroad, and 60 per cent agree that heading overseas would give them better job prospects – yet only eight per cent have said they are planning on it, according to new research.

TransferWise – the peer-to-peer international money transfer service – analysed the attitudes of young people and their parents towards studying abroad and surveyed a total number of 4,000 parents and 3,200 students from across the UK, US, Germany, and France to find UK students are lagging behind their European counterparts.

French students came out on top as being the most proactive: 20 per cent said they are planning to study abroad in the near future, with another 89 per cent recognising it would give them better career options.

62 per cent of Germany’s students said overseas study would give them more job prospects and ten per cent of Americans are more likely to have already studied abroad – compared with the UK’s six per cent.

Despite falling behind their German, French, and American counterparts, British Council data shows more UK students than ever before are studying abroad as 28,640 headed overseas last year – up 58 per cent from 18,105 in 2013.

Describing the findings as “a real shame,” TransferWise VP of Growth, Nilan Peiris, said UK students should seriously consider international study, and added: “Immersing yourself in a different culture, meeting people from around the world, and learning a language are all first-class reasons to take the leap.”

Parents’ Ambitions

Over half of all UK parents (52 per cent) say they would actively encourage their children to study abroad because of the high cost of a university education in the UK.

Another 87 per cent said they think the opportunity to study abroad would be beneficial to their children, citing the top three advantages of international study as being: children will gain a broader worldview (68 per cent), they will improve their life skills (63 per cent), and they will have better career prospects (40 per cent).

While it may be financially appealing, however, British parents feel they are being ‘pulled-back’ from letting their children head to a university overseas: 34 per cent say they worry about illness and accidents, and 19 per cent described how they are concerned about acts of terrorism.

UK students worries were different though as over half (51 per cent) said their main concern would be running out of money. 32 per cent said they would be concerned by a language barrier, with 56 per cent highlighting how they would rather head to the US than Germany (only 22 per cent), despite Germany having some of the most prestigious institutions in Western Europe, according to QS Top Universities.

On the whole, Mr Peiris commended parents for showing an interest in sending their children to study overseas, and acknowledged: “Tuition fee rises and maintenance grant changes seem to be having an impact.”

Bank of Mum and Dad

Despite over half of British parents describing their desire for their children to study abroad, from the four countries surveyed, UK parents came out as being the least willing to financially support their children.

With French (31 per cent), German (33 per cent), and American (31 per cent) parents saying they would pay for both tuition fees and living expenses for their children, just 17 per cent of UK parents said they would. Another 14 per cent said they wouldn’t help out financially at all.

French and German parents came out on top as being the most generous when it comes to providing extra help with spending money.

66 per cent of UK parents said they would provide up to £500 every month – compared with 85 per cent of French – and 34 per cent of Germans would give their children over £500 each month, while only 14 per cent of UK parents would.

Mr Peiris issued a warning to those parents who plan to send money to their children overseas by bank transfer. Speaking of the hefty fees they charge, he said: “Most people would be surprised to discover that, when sending money from the UK to Europe or the US, they are charged around 4.5 per cent in fees.

“So, if your child is studying in the US, sending them money using a bank transfer could cost you over £1,000 in fees for just one year. That’s a lot of money which could be spent on something useful.”

Overall, Mr Peiris said TransferWise predicts the next few years could see more UK students turning to places like France – where the annual cost of tuition fees amounts to just €250 (£176).

He explained: “That will leave bank balances a little healthier and means UK students are not going to spend the next twenty years paying for three or four years at a university at home.”