British students staying at home

Fewer British students are planning to study abroad, new figures show.

According to the results of a survey carried out by the British Council, there has been a 16 per cent fall in the interest in studying abroad, in any form, over the past two years.

The survey shows that just 18 per cent of all UK undergraduates expressed an interest in any form of mobile study. That’s down from 34 per cent in 2015.

The main reasons for the drop-in interest included financial concerns, a reluctance to live far from friends and family, and worries over a lack of foreign language skills. However, nearly three-quarters of the students who said they were not interested in studying overseas said they would change their point of view if funding assistance was available for mobile study.

Perhaps because of the language concerns many students have, America remains the number one destination for Brits who do choose to pursue their studies abroad. However, the percentage of UK students studying in the US has also fallen dramatically, from 40 per cent in 2015 to 22 per cent now.

Outside of the United States and Europe, which dominate the list of choice destinations for British students who are interested in studying abroad, Japan and China have increased in popularity in the past two years. Â

Article published 8th December 2017