Overseas study alluring for Aussies
GROWING numbers of Australian students are turning their backs on local universities and heading overseas to get degrees, sometimes saving their parents tens of thousands of dollars in the process.
Aussie sporting and academic stars are being offered large scholarships to US colleges, with one business which facilitates sports scholarships to America saying inquiries from Australian families had more than tripled during the past three years, growing from 250 in 2015 to 875 this year.
Brisbane-based Study and Play USA said it had also recorded growth of 80 per cent every year, for the past three years, in the number of students taking up college offers.
New US State Department data shows 2488 Aussies enrolled in undergraduate degrees in America in the 2017/2018 academic year, a nearly 4 per cent increase on the previous year.
That increase is in turn up 8 per cent on the year before that.
And Australia’s Department of Education said the latest available UNESCO data showed 12,330 Aussies went somewhere overseas to study towards a full tertiary qualification in 2016.
More than 530 Victorian students have taken the SAT (scholastic aptitude test) at the Geelong College testing site since October 2017.
Nearly 100 students sat the test at the Geelong College centre last month (October 2018) alone and eight of the independent school’s current Year 12 students have applied to study overseas, six in the USA and two in the UK. This compares with just one student in 2015/2016 and three in 2016/2017.
Down the road at Geelong Grammar, nearly 7 per cent of its 2017 Year 12 student cohort went overseas to complete tertiary qualifications, with most travelling to the US (including to Ivy League colleges Yale and Princeton) and UK (including to the world-famous institutions of Oxford, Cambridge, London Central and St Martin’s).
Former Geelong College student James Gorell, who scored a rowing scholarship to The George Washington University in Washington DC, is now in his sophomore (or second) year. Mr Gorell one of four current Australian members on the university’s men’s varsity rowing team. Former Scotch College student Lachlan Webster is also on the team.
“I chose to study in the US because of the opportunity institutions provide here to both pursue academics and athletics at a high level. The experience in this sense is unparalleled in my opinion. There is a lot of support for student athletes to achieve their goals. Studying in the US provides a real sense of belonging to a university, much like high school does in Australia,” Mr Gorell said.
Studying political science in the world heart of politics was also a big perk, he said, with the university campus located just a few blocks from the White House and US Capitol.
“I began my time here intending to study business but switched to political science,” Mr Gorell said. “My time here so far has taken me all over the US, from St Louis Missouri to New York and Boston, and I know that when my time here is finished, I will have close friends all over the globe.”
Study and Play USA talent manager Alexia Bates said with full or partial sporting scholarships on offer to skilled and smart students, parents could end up paying the same or less than in Australia to educate their kids at tertiary level in America.
This was especially true if their children did not qualify for government financial aid and needed to live away from home in Australia in order to study, requiring expensive accommodation on-campus or in an apartment.
On-campus accommodation in Australia can range from $10,000 to $30,000 a year for a basic, single room, depending on the prestige and location of the university.
Most degrees take a minimum of three or four years, and some take longer.
Tuition fees also vary widely, and can leave students with large HECS debts.
With cost of living pressures rising in Australia, the prospect of shipping kids overseas for a heavily subsidised university place was an appealing prospect for an increasing number of families.
Some US college sports scholarships were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, while many were worth tens- of-thousands, Ms Bates said.
Common inclusions on top of college admission and annual tuition fees were accommodation, meals, airfares, internal travel costs, elite sports coaching, books, sports uniforms and equipment and private tutoring. Another major attraction for students was that they did not have a HECS debt to pay off at the end of their degrees.
There are now several SAT examination sites around Australia, including Scots College in Sydney, Churchies in Brisbane, CQ University Australia in Mackay, Presbyterian Ladies College in Perth and the University of Canberra.
The SAT is the equivalent of Australia’s final year exams and required for entrance to most American colleges and universities.
American Debbie Shively — who worked in college admissions in the US for many years before establishing Sydney-based company Internationally Educate three years ago — said the vast majority of undergraduate degrees gained in the US were globally-recognised and allowed students to work immediately upon their return to Australia.
However, students in some courses, including law and medicine, could be required to undertake further studies at Australian universities to be able to practice in the country.
Ms Bates said her business, which charged a fee to assist students apply for US scholarships, worked with students from all sorts of backgrounds, and opportunities existed at most US colleges, from Ivy League, to second and third tier universities and community colleges.
Scholarship amounts varied depending on the student and institution.
The acting American ambassador in Australia, James Carouso, said his country was “incredibly pleased so many Australians seek out higher education opportunities in the US” where they gained experiences which were beneficial to their academic growth and future careers.
Studying overseas was also personally enriching, he said.
Australian universities also offer a wide range of scholarships, assistance programs and bursaries to eligible students.
I CHOSE TO STUDY IN THE US BECAUSE OF THE OPPORTUNITY INSTITUTIONS PROVIDE HERE TO BOTH PURSUE ACADEMICS AND ATHLETICS AT A HIGH LEVEL. THE EXPERIENCE IN THIS SENSE IS UNPARALLELED IN MY OPINION. GEELONG’S JAMES GORELL WHO IS STUDYING IN THE US ON A SCHOLARSHIP